Bikepacking: the continuation of a trend

Once a year, sports enthusiasts get together at the world’s largest sports trade fair in Munich. At ISPO, almost 100,000 visitors come to see the latest products from around 3,000 exhibitors across 120 countries. But ISPO is also – or even more importantly – an event that showcases trends.

Outdoor lifestyle megatrend

One of these trends is the outdoor lifestyle. Adventure travel has been booming for years. And the pandemic, lockdowns and potentially viral crowds have intensified people’s desire for freedom and nature. Brands such as Mammut, The North Face and Salewa offer the right products for any adventure and own the largest slice of the cake that is the outdoor market. This year, the industry expects around 320 million francs of turnover in Switzerland and growth rates of over ten per cent annually in the years to follow. According to the forecast, a market volume of 475 million francs will be reached in 2027.

Meanwhile, a new term has emerged – bikepacking. It originates in North American long-distance mountain bike races, so-called «self-supported races». These races can’t be completed in a single day. In addition, getting help from others is forbidden – that’s where the «self-support» aspect comes from. Participants in such races must transport all their own overnight equipment and food. To avoid losing manoeuvrability and speed, they strap their gear directly to the bike instead of lugging it around in wobbly side panniers or backpacks.

From self-supported races to bikepacking

So, if you’re a bikepacker, you’re self-sufficient. More and more adventurous people are drawn to the outdoors and travel by bike with bags that are attached to their vehicle. It doesn’t need to be in the context of a competition. That’s how self-supported racers turned into bikepackers. It also explains why gravel bikes have become the number one trend bike alongside mountain bikes in recent years. This was very obvious at ISPO – almost every second exhibitor showcased a gravel bike with travel bags to go with it.

Familiar and new faces

There are bike bag solutions for handlebars, saddles, forks and frames as well as various sizes with a range of packing volumes. Every need is catered for. And various suppliers, such as Vaude or Evoc, offer these products. In addition to the old familiar faces, however, more and more new faces are entering the market. Jack Pack, a Polish company that launched its first collection in 2019, is one of these young brands.

On the other hand, there are companies such as Fixplus that take a different approach and produce simple plastic tension straps that allow you to strap objects onto the bike. How suitable are Fixplus products for everyday use? I don’t know. The Germans company’s marketing is a matter of taste – I’m not a fan.