Adventure Magazine

BENNY AND
THE WORLD OF
BIKEPACKING
Bikepacking is bursting onto the New Zealand
scene, and when we asked around who to talk to,
the name Benny Devcich came up time and again.
By his own admission, Benny is just a “regular bike
nut”. He’s been a lifelong bike rider and spent time
in Europe working for some of the world’s biggest
road teams before returning to NZ for a more
relaxed way of life.
Eventually, Benny’s Bike Shop was born,
combining an awesome character-building
specializing in old-fashioned bike service and
sales. The shop leans towards speciality bikes,
and builds custom-built bikes with a good oldfashioned
sense of pride and workmanship.
We caught up with him to get his insights into the
emergence of bikepacking.
What is bikepacking? Bikepacking, in simple terms,
is it just an overnight or multi-day adventure on your
bike? Much like its name’s sake Backpacking, but you
carry your stuff on a bike.
Bikepacking is essentially just touring on a bike.
But rather than bike racks (which can break easily
offroad) and large panniers (which will be overfilled
and heavy in the wrong places on the bike), we have
stripped the racks off, packed up the bike with light,
small, aerodynamic, and efficient bags. Weight is kept
down low in the main frame of the bike. The balance
of the lighter gear is carried out the rear, hanging off
the seat post, and in a roll, plus a bag hanging off the
handlebars. Bikepacking is more about mountain bike
tracks, gravel roads, and some far-out and bumpy
roads. There are also ‘bike tourists’ who have gear
hanging off racks and in panniers, which will turn the
bike into a wide, wind-grabbing and not very stable bike
at speed. They are not the same, and the two groups
do have common ground with a bike taking them
places, but that is where it stops.
How long have people been doing Bikepacking?
Has it evolved of late? Bikepacking has been around
for years. There are plenty of good photos from the turn
of last century, with similar kits, roll bags on the front of
bikes and small leather frame bags. The bike tourists
took over for a while, as the biking equipment was
evolving faster than the bike packing gear.
There are many bike packing-specific companies
out there to choose from. Tents have got smaller and
lighter, and the bikes have been changing; with Gravel
bikes being a ‘thing’, and some very light MTBs. There
are now some amazing rigs to look at for inspiration.
What to take on a bike packing trip? What to take
on a bike packing trip, I guess, depends on where
you’re riding (how far you will be from civilisation), how
long and your inclination to rough it (can you take the
bare minimum, or do you need a few luxuries?).
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