The expansion of Uswe’s product range has encouraged its return to Eurobike after a long absence. A look behind the scenes of the Swedish company.
When Jacob Westerberg tried an Uswe hydration pack with his adventure racing team in Norway about 12 years ago, he was so impressed that he wanted to help spread the product. He agreed to lead the Swedish brand and take it into many more markets, from mountain biking to gravel and bikepacking.
The expansion of Uswe’s product range has encouraged its return to Eurobike after a long absence. For the last two years the focus has shifted to cycling again, using its smart harness technology and clever attachment systems to target more ridersAs Westerberg explained, Uswe was built around a harness that promises to keep hydration packs firmly in place on the wearer’s back. The shoulder and straps go into a four-point buckle on the middle of the chest.
The patented technology was dubbed NDM, for No Dancing Monkey, because riders don’t feel that they are carrying a jiggly primate when wearing the pack. The one-click buckle allows for adjustments to make sure the pack sits snugly on the back and remains bounce-free. “The usual straps that get into your armpits can get super uncomfortable on long runs or training sessions,” Westerberg said. “The Uswe pack doesn’t bounce at all, it sits in one position on your back, and it doesn’t move at all.”
Karl-Johan Engdahl and Jörgen Gustafsson, who launched Uswe in Malmö, in southern Sweden, began by targeting the enduro motorcycle business. Westerberg joined in 2017, when Uswe had just branched into the mountain biking market.
The chief executive said a breakthrough came in 2019 with the launch of MTB Hydro, a range of packs targeting bike racers as well as mountain bike adventurers. It then moved beyond hydration to expand with larger packs of 16 and 25 liters for mountain biking. One product with particular resonance was a “super slim” white racing pack. “Nobody believed in white, most packs are really black, but it has been a huge success for us,” said Westerberg. “It has taken us into marathon and later gravel.”
Uswe’s product range has expanded from hydration packs to protector packs, running vests, hip packs, performance wear and more. They are sold mostly through independent bicycle retailers.
In June 2021, Uswe Sports secured financial backing for its development through an initial public offering on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. This helped finance the acquisition of Void Cycling, although Uswe agreed to sell this Swedish cycling apparel brand again to WeSports Group earlier this month. Giant Loop, a company from Oregon that makes soft luggage for motorcycles, was added to the Uswe group in 2022. After consistent expansion in the U.S. in previous years, this buy enabled Uswe to get a steady base in North America. Westerberg himself moved to Bend, Oregon, a haven for outdoor sports.
While Uswe claims market leadership in motor enduro, cycling makes by far the largest share of its business. Gravel has been a fast-growing market for the brand over the last two years, with strong uptake at Unbound Gravel. This year, Uswe became a sponsor of the event, the premier gravel race in America.
Bikepacking was added to the offering last year. Uswe and Giant Loop’s teams worked on a range of 10 bags, taking advantage of the U.S. company’s smart attachment systems. The purpose was “to have the bag sit on the bike as well as the pack on your back.” The bags use grippy straps to create friction. “When you use Velcro, you can never really get it to stick on the tube or the bars,” said Westerberg. “But with the rubber TPU, the bag just sits there.”
For its return to Eurobike, Uswe showcased its VST line, consisting of versatile backpacks that could be used for anything action sports related, from road cycling to mountain biking, downhill skiing, snowboarding and much more. The Uswe team’s trip to Frankfurt was also motivated in part by the European market’s recovery. Another motive was the increase in U.S. import tariffs that led to a 10-percent price hike for Uswe gear in this market beginning in May. Uswe’s packs are made in Vietnam, and it has some European production for apparel.
Uswe Sports’ sales moved up by 9 percent to 124.1 million Swedish kronor (€11.4m) in the fiscal year ending in March 2025. The European team was reinforced at the start of April with the appointment of Oliver Kessler as European sales manager, based in Germany. German sales have soared this year. The brand has started distribution in France, and added a distributor in the U.K.