Bikepacking is certainly growing as a market segment of its own in cycling. And as in the recent past the offerings were slim, this year at Eurobike we didn’t have to look far to find all manner of bikes kitted out and ready for an adventure. At the extremes there were repurposed triathlon bento bags and then this bike bivouac from Czech outdoor equipment company Pinguin, plus mountain biking adventure and long distance touring gear in between.
There is plenty more to touring by bike than camping on fat bikes and we get the sense that this segment is going to continue to expand, so follow us past the break for more from AcePac, Pinguin, Apidura, Camelbak, Dark Speed Works, Miss Grape, Ortlieb, and Vaude…
A trio of Czech companies put this display together that made us want to crawl in and take a break from long days on our feet scouring the halls of Eurobike looking for out next favorites. A pair of Rock Machine alloy fatbikes make for tent poles on the Pinguin mountain bike tent. Besides Pinguin’s repurposed backpacks, upstart AcePac provides a very roomy set of handlebar, frame, toptube, seat cluster, and seat packs that are sized to carry all the gear you could ever need on your winter backcountry fat bike expedition.
We covered the full setup of bikepacking bags from Apidura in the past, including as part of our coverage of Koga from a few weeks back. And we’ve spent a good bit of time testing the bags from riding to cross races to weekend road and trail trips, but it is always interesting to see bikes fully packed coming back from their world travels.
Plus, Apidura had a few bags on hand at the show that show some significant updates that they were teasing to dealers and media. The first is a new full-frame pack to haul more on long adventures. Apidura’s current frame packs all leave space for a water bottle in a standard cage, but this new pack is a direct response to customers asking for more secure storage, especially low and close to the bottom bracket. The second big news is an all new fabric coming to the complete range.
The new rubberized, fully-waterproof material steps up the protection from the elements and should become available in all of their packs. We haven’t had any issues with water infiltration in our tests with the treated nylon bags, but happily haven’t ended up in multi-day rainy rides. This new fabric should protect anything that gets stuffed inside.
Camelbak showed their new hydration packs to us back over a summer press camp. But we were curious to take another look at the low-sitting 10l backpacks with special low placed 3l bladders, especially what makes the Solstice version women-specific. The women’s Skyline uses just a subtle reshape of the shoulder straps that claim more comfort, something we might be curious to test out.
The Palos bring back hydration to a 4l hip bag, or should we say fanny pack, with a smaller 1.5l reservoir specific to this bag and an integrated tool flap. The new stand alone tool roll also looks like a nice option to stay organized in larger packs and to make tools easy to find.
Not sure how this kitted-out Specialized AWOL Diverge made it in our roundup? Must have been that hatchet. Not sure this is someone we’d want to meet on the road for more than one reason.
Open had this Dark Speed Works Speedpack 483D toptube bag mounted on one of their new Path gravel bikes via the integrated two-bolt toptube bosses. The aero $43 Made-in-the-US pack is one of several made by the company, originally geared towards triathletes but now expanding to more adventure cyclists as well.
Italian made Miss Grape bags was showing several of their frame packs, including this 110€ expandable Tendril handlebar bag that uses rubber spacers to keep it strapped a few centimeters off the bar for more comfortable hand positions.
The also had some special edition bags made for PEdAL ED that used a denim-look technical fabric that is still waterproof and adds reflective details. The toptube bag and stem-mounted bags are new and unique to this collaboration for now, but the frame pack is Miss Grape’s 100€ Internode pack.
Behind the saddle their original 13l 140€ Cluster seat bag gets strapped on. A larger 20l version is also available for 10€ more.
Ortlieb has a new colorful series of waterproof roll-top drybag backpacks called Velocity Design. The 24l packs come in three designs Beatz, Vector, and Street with two colors of each for 90€.
Vaude had a number of updated backpacks for cyclists at Eurobike, as well as new clothing and shoe options. Their big update on packs was using lighter weight ripstop nylons and lighter vented backs. Their Aquarius and Path bags get lighter and new colors, and carry over the simple but secure helmet strap clips
The backs of most of their premium mountain biking packs get an new updated version of their Aeroflex mesh back suspension. The update makes the bags size specific but trims some weight and makes them more stable, while still keeping the pack just off the back for great airflow and a weight distribution still close to the body.
On the ultralight front they also introduced an all new Uphill 9LW bag that does away with any pack structure, and instead opts for light fabrics all around. The back gets a simple lightly padded open mesh, and even lighter straps to keep it stable on the bike.
