Blackburn bikepacking seat bag

[dgjessee]

Interesting design... Anyone seen/used one? http://www.blackburndesign.com/bags/seat-bags/outpost-seat-pack.html#.VAr_1GK9KSN

[Adam Alphabet]

Looks like they have a full bag kit out (minus frame).....
http://grit.cx/news/2014/08/eurobike-2014-blackburn-outpost-luggage
http://urbanvelo.org/blackburn-outpost-bikepacking-handlebar-roll-and-seat-pack/

[Area54]

Could it be a death knell for cottage industry businesses?

[joeydurango]

I doubt it's a death knell for cottage manufacturers.  To my eye that stuff looks pretty shoddy.

[Flounder]

Agreed. Blackburn stuff either saves my butt one ride....like their goofy micro-shock pump on their multi-tool, the Toolmanator. That saved me in Iceland.
Or their products fail miserably causing much ass pain.

I'd rather use Bedrock Bags and know that my bags will not fail. Ever.

[vikb]

I doubt it's a death knell for cottage manufacturers.  To my eye that stuff looks pretty shoddy.

+1 - indeed.

[Area54]

Look at it this way. Most people new to the sport and on the buying train for their gear, only choose cottage made gear 'coz that's the only option. Once it's mainstream at their LBS from suppliers like Blackburn etc, these items will more than likely be chosen on price and 'it's in front me to play with'.

Like many on here I'm sure, will stick by the hardcore cottage guys, because we know their gear works and is tough for purpose. Joe Noob Public however may be more influenced by what they see in the magazines. This has got to be eating into marketshare in the long run for the cottage guys...

Agreed death knell is a bit strong term, but might hamper growth for them.

[bigportions]

A friend and I used them along with the new handlebar roll, top tube bag and oversize cages for the Great Divide this summer. I did not use the included stuff sack which made it extremely versatile for however you want to pack it yourself and made accessing everything very easy. I used it for all of my clothes, climbing shoes and sleeping bag. The handlebar roll had over 10lbs of gear in it and worked excellent when secured properly.

[THE LONG RANGER]

Hey, bigportions - did you do that climbing trip on the GDMBR that Blackburn released as a video? Because that's full of awesome.

[bigportions]

yeah that was us. thanks for the kind words

[THE LONG RANGER]

Totally impressive, man - I'm very much a fan of what you've done. I'm hoping you get a chance to do more!

[bigportions]

read your write-up on bikepackersmag. what you have done doesn't even translate. you are legend

[Michael_S]

not sure about the bags but that cargo cage might work out nice depending on durability  http://www.blackburndesign.com/en_ca/cages/switchback-bottle-cage-512.html#.VB4P3PldUnE

[pedalad]

i was fortunate enough to see this new blackburn stuff in action on the gdmbr this summer. i would like to add a few things to this conversation being I was there, living it and thinking about it incessantly while out on the trail.

here is to the best summer of my life- long saddle days, many miles and limitless adventure. no phone, no sponsors, no blogs, no food stamps and no charitable cause (not that there is anything wrong that!) or limiting groupthink. It was just me, the trail and an eager, positive self-sufficient attitude. I feel it's important to be a proper ambassador of bikepacking by treading lightly, unobtrusively on local people. Things happen out there that are out of your control, requiring assistance. For instance, my crank arm loosened up and fell off just outside of the great basin (Pffheww! perfect timing really, could have been really really bad) before Rawlins. I started walking south but ultimately hitched a ride (thank you JB!! she runs the bike only hostel north of Rawlins at 287 and 73. she is awesome!) to town to assess the situation. Next time I'll know the symptoms of said problem and hopefully remedy the issue BEFORE it slips off, damn near sending me flying over the handlebars mid crank. But I couldn't have prepared for that nor brought all the tools needed for every situation. I'm not saying asking for help is a bad thing, it might even be good for those John Wayne types. I'm saying the mentality that says "If something goes wrong I'll hitch or mooch supplies off another rider..." is a bad thing giving bikepackers a shoddy rap amongst the communities we roll through, instilling disdain and ultimately - animosity. Unpreparedness is foolish. i'll come back to this.

as for the gear itself -it is what it is - cheap, chinese manufactured rip-offs of already proven designs for less money, which will be widely available in big box stores across the country. you pay for what you get. period. and if you value quality and ingenuity made here at home stick to revelate, bedrock and the other cottage folks. they will be just fine IF they keep quality up and continue having great customer service. yes, they may have to price their gear more competitively. hopefully they can do this without compromising, maybe they can't, we will see. i spoke with eric after the trip and told him to at least think about lawyerin' up, as these designs are as i said, copy-cat rip-offs. he said he wasn't worried, and has full well expected and prepared accordingly for this to happen.

life is not constant- all things "cool" are inevitably hijacked. bikepacking is cool. and hip. now let the bike conglomerates sell it to you.

the corollary to all this, in my opinion is that this will bring bikepacking to the masses. similar to when the specialized stumpjumper was introduced to the market in the early 1980s. they co-opted other folks' designs and mass-produced them overseas, significantly lowering the cost to get in to mountain biking and thus increasing the sport's exposure in the decades to come. now for some, that is a good thing. for others, myself included, prefer bikepacking remain a small-niche obscurity of sorts.

it makes sense for these large companies to get on the bikepacking bandwagon at a time when bike companies are struggling and looking for ways to increase revenue. to some reasonable extent, this mass exposure might possibly do more good for cottage gear folks' business than harm. to me however, it's refreshing knowing wal-mart doesn't have what you need for a big trip, at least for now.

to me this passion stands upon ingenuity and know-how, resourcefulness and dedicated toil. it is the riders, mechanic's and the innovators/producers who breathe life into the bikepacking world. no longer in it's infancy, bikepacking remains suspended in a state of uncertainty. it is up to us to defy convention, trends, labels. get out there. be real. pedal your passion.

[pedalad]

it's time we start to read through the marketing BS. things are not always as they appear.

they paid these kids a grand (give or take) each and gave them all the blackburn gear they could stomach.

yet they were riding through nowhere montana with only 1 spare tube amongst three of them. as they were throwing their last tube in to fix a flat we told them they were idiots. the next bike shop wasn't for hundreds of miles. we left them in the dust and didn't look back.

this same group also wanted to pitch camp on someone's front lawn without asking for permission in an area surrounded by national forest and plenty of nice free camping. it took someone saying, "hey guys, you shouldn't do that..." for them to find another site.

good camera work and nice tunes goes a long way in concealing a lot of stupidity and foolishness. these products are junk and we are being fed a bunch of crap by a half-a**ed marketing team scheming of ways to make us think their stuff is cool and hip- all to exploit some kids in china and profit off untapped niche markets.

sales are down- companies are trying new ways to sell us their stuff. stick to your guns and don't swallow this nonsense.

[joeydurango]

I've been struggling with the commercialization of bikepacking for a long time.  On one hand, it's what I love to do most of all, and I much prefer the small, underground feel of the bikepacking world.  On the other hand, my small Durango shop was one of the first shops in the country to actually stock bikepacking gear.  I don't see those two things as necessarily at odds - I specifically sell only high-quality bikepacking and touring gear, and am not trying to push it on anyone.  My favorite customers are ones who know what they're after and why they need it, and come see me because they know I have the gear in stock, use it myself, and know it well.

This move in the last year or so by the bigger companies to capitalize on bikepacking bothers me because, like so much in American culture, it's less about a passion for the pursuit and the products that make it possible, and more about selling The Next Big Thing.  Nothing says that your hobby is about to get run over rough-shod by corporate greed than when some giant company does a crappy knock-off of actual useable gear and tries to sell it to everyone in mainstream outlets.

I guess it remains to be seen if the mainstream cycling public actually wants to go out and stay out for more than a day.  While I have a lot of customers who are getting into bikepacking, I also see a lot of people who still drive two miles to the trailhead for an hour ride...

[JRA]

I guess it remains to be seen if the mainstream cycling public actually wants to go out and stay out for more than a day.  While I have a lot of customers who are getting into bikepacking, I also see a lot of people who still drive two miles to the trailhead for an hour ride...
[/quote]





Bingo!  At the end of the day, bikepacking is a lot of hard work, more work than mainstream America is willing to dish out.  Your trailhead analogy is right on the money.  Bikepacking will undoubtedly grow to an extent, but IMO, it will never become mainstream.  That being said, I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing the occasional knock-off gear at the coffee shop.

(Side note:  My wife and I visited your shop this summer, Joey.  You were out but we met your wife.  Very cool shop, best of luck with it.)

[Area54]

The Blackburn distributor here in Australia didn't even know about this stuff, suffice to say it is not coming to our shores. I'll be putting locally made alternatives into our shop - stuff I know will go the distance.

Plenty of people with all the gear and no idea, we see them around, generally not the kind you ask to come along on a trip with you...they like the concept of 'packing but don't like the hard work that goes along with it.

What you say Joey is true here as well.

[joeydurango]

Thanks for the compliments, JRA!

Area54, I think that's probably true everywhere!  Good to know it's not just Americans, though...

[Flounder]

It is interesting how quickly the bigger names are gravitating towards the bikepacking sector. About six years ago I had lunch with the CEO of a rather large and very well known manufacturer of high end tents, bags, pads, etc. I showed him some images of bikepacking, gave him a little "pitch" if you will, and his reply was....."Looks super dorky. You can't sell that."

Fast forward to today. I just signed his NDA agreement to test some of his bikepacking prototypes. He's all into it now. However, not because he wants to cash in on it, although he sees the value, he's been bitten by the bikepack bug and wants in with both feet. So, some of the "big boys" are simply seeing it for what it is - finally.