Velofollies 2026 was a jam-packed show, attracting nearly 40,000 visitors to the Xpo exhibition centre in Western Belgium, a cobblestone's throw across the French border from the famous town of Roubaix.
Unlike Eurobike, Velofollies is a consumer-facing show for its full three-day run. That means it doesn't necessarily deliver the same number of headline new product launches as shows built around dealer and media days, but it does offer an interesting peek into what the year will look like. As Eurobike's influence continues to fade, Velofollies has also become an increasingly important event for the industry, and stands as a place to meet a host of product managers and C-suite industry leaders, as well as pro riders, all in one place.
Though industry and media attendance have grown, Velofollies remains, first and foremost, a show for the public. And it certainly confirms, as one industry worker put it, that "Belgians are bike crazy."
The sheer number of visitors was pleasant to see, but also made shooting content interesting. Everywhere you turned, there were rows of bikes surrounded by curious, hands-on attendees, as interested in watching a product manager unbolt a bike from its display stand as they were in geeking out over unreleased tech.
Compared to Eurobike, the Xpo setting is much more compact and arguably, stretched at its maximum capacity with the current number of exhibitors.
While not all Belgian, the largest representation of visitors and exhibitors alike was from the Benelux region, with companies such as Belgian Cycle Factory taking over a big chunk of the floor space with its Eddy Merckx, Nukeproof, and Ridley stands. And though all the big performance brands were present, considering the consumer audience, there was a lot on offer for commuters and everyday cyclists, too.
This year was Escape Collective's first time attending, and this gallery is our run-through of some of the finds from the show floor, covering wheels, parts, accessories, and clothing. The bike highlights will follow tomorrow.
Duke Wheels /BMC 32-inch prototype
If there was one trend in tech conversations at Velofollies, it was 32-inch wheels. Even if they weren't yet everywhere on complete bikes, bigger hoops are clearly on a lot of product roadmaps.
Dominic Geoghegan
French wheel maker Duke has been working with BMC on the brand's 32" prototype and brought the wheels to the show. These are not market-ready yet, but moving towards seeing daylight later this year. Marketing and communications director Tommy Marin described the development process as a hunt for the right balance of weight, stiffness, and durability and explained that as the diameter increases, rims naturally become more flexible and easier to damage, so Duke is iterating with current moulds, sending new wheel batches to BMC, and then tuning them based on rider feedback.
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