Blackburn bikepacking seat bag

[pedalad]

that is why bikepacking is so stinkin' cool. it takes a lot of effort and hard work before any of it begins to pay off, thus weeding out a good majority of the general public.

thanks to everybody here supporting the little guys and riding because they love it. it's such an amazing thing.

and even if the big guys want to play, it only creates a robust and well-rounded market to pick and choose how we gear up. Mountain Hardwear made a bikepacking tent- the sprite I believe a few years ago with a nice vestibule garage for bikes. and Big Agnes has the lightweight tent market sewn up, I'd think they'd be able to make a splash in the market.

[Adam Alphabet]

Bingo!  At the end of the day, bikepacking is a lot of hard work, more work than mainstream America is willing to dish out.  

Spot on.
Bikepacking the next Enduro....probably not, but I think it's safe to say that with every market, as niche as it may seem someone will see an opportunity in ripping someones ideas, exploiting and then turning their backs when it's no longer profitable, it's the way of the world...unfortunately.

We, the bikepacking community have to be the ones to weed out the leech's, the thieves, turn our back to them and continue to support our own who have got us this far and help the next generation of bike packers through that as well.

It may be easier for me to say this because I make my own stuff, but if I were to buy a full kit, straight up, you better believe my money would be spent with the people in here on these forums, not some Giant company Specialized in other facets of bicycling seeing an opportunity in this little bicycle Treking bandwagon to make a quick buck.

[joeydurango]

I am stoked to see the groundswell of support for us little guys!  Thank you all!

[Flounder]

The positive thing I see is in the support given to the smaller guys doing good work. Being small is not enough in and of itself to warrant blind support. Plenty of little guys are failing to provide good product and more importantly, good service. Those people are having to either re-invest in their efforts, or clear out of the market. This is driving better products, better service, and a more stable market. This applies equally to the big guys dipping their toe into the bikepacking sector.

All of this speaks to the authenticity of the user group. Big or small, if you can't offer good products and good support, you just won't make it. It's not like other industries where crap sells.

[joeydurango]

That, of course, was implied...

[speen]

to address pedalad and his experience this summer, I was one of the three dudes he met, I was the guy with the purple diamonback with a messenger rack, also I was not sponsored by blackburn.

"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. "

 "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"

you talk about my buddies being idiots for only having one tube between the two of them. This was silly for sure, we had to use that tube to get to the next town and hitch to a shop to supply up, not so unlike you're trip to tighten your crank arm (seems kinda silly to not to have an 8mm on your multi tool on you're tour of ultimate self sufficiency) having basic tools is easy to prepare for. Just saying dont call people idiots for not having simple supplies that you basically overlooked as well.  If I saw you on the side of the trail with your crank arm almost fallen off Id would stop and let you use my tools, not say fuck it and leave you in the dust.  Doesn't seem like the spirit of bike touring to me, that kind of douchery makes people not want to go bikepacking.  We made it through that section and then hitched to a shop so we could all carry 2 tubes a piece.

Honestly I believe I was the one who probably suggested sleeping on somebodies lawn, it was also probably us joking about it, we have all toured thousands of miles before this trip and wouldn't straight up disrespect anyone's property like that. I remember two instances around the time we possibly met, if you want to clarify any of these details Id love to know your experience so I can make sure I'm not perpetuating those sentiments. 

We hitch hiked a lot this summer, sometimes for fun and sometimes out of need, I don't feel this reflects badly at all on the community of bikepackers or of the communities we pass through.  People like to help people when they are in need, some of the best stories I have from this summer are from hitching on the GDMBR.  I dont expect people to fix my problems and unpreparedness, I HOPE that when I come across a situation that I was genuinely unprepared I can receive some help from wonderful humans.  When we ran out of tubes and had to hitch to a shop, it put in motion one of the best experiences we had from that trip. 

[bigportions]

As far as the Blackburn gear is concerned. Yes, the 2 of us did receive a small stipend that was used to cover a small amount of expenses for the trip. This is no secret and was made very public in the application. We were 2 broke guys without bikes when we accepted to represent Blackburn, of course we are going to use as much free product as we could. We did however not make our decision based on any of this. After spending 5 days personally with several Blackburn employees including product managers, designer and other associates during an event in Arizona, we knew that we wanted to work with them. They had a genuine interest in our idea on tackling the Great Divide.  We liked the gear and our discussions of product before the ride consisted of how and what we could use to better our trip. They wanted to capture how the gear was going to improve our trip. Using product on the Divide for several thousand miles is a great way to receive feedback and improve future productions and we were all about putting it to the test. Our ride was approached slightly different than most and resulted in the bags being used way beyond the limit of what they were meant for. There is a very clear video and dozens of pictures of this ride in progress from beginning to end detailing the bags, none of which show signs of failure. Fortunately/unfortunately for some bikepacking is growing and I am one for it. I had never heard the word bikepacking nor seen a bag directly mounted to a bike before applying for the Ranger program and can say that without a larger company like Blackburn introducing their bags I may still not be in the loop. The Great Divide tour was one of the best times of my life and I have Blackburn to thank for the opportunity given to me. I will continue to purchase and support bikepacking products made in-house by cottage industry businesses as I did for the Divide because I find that different manufacturers will provide different designs and features that not all bags possess. Just exactly who ripped off who? Revelate, PR, Wanderlust, Apidura and the dozen other bag makers have a striking resemblance, do they not? "copy-cat rip-offs" is not a factor.

After a little digging I came up with who pedalad was. This proved more difficult than expected as everyone in our group had very positive experiences with all of the riders that we met on tour.

As much as I do not like to get involved in these discussions, I feel the need to speak up when someone calls me out behind my back, most likely with no intention of ever thinking I would see it. You my friend were pleasant enough to be around that we didn’t mind spending time with you and Dan over the course of a few days as we leapfrogged each other on route. Everyone was going through some tough times in Wise River where we all met.  I was completely aware that some riders might not have been as friendly as usual due to this but this is easy to overlook. A massive spoonful of a cake mix and a stick of butter cooked in the microwave shared by one of yall didn't hurt either.  I remember us waiting out a storm in town one day and everyone was getting along very well. Here you are with us in rest stop bathroom a couple of days after we met. Hard to do after you leave someone in the dust and never look back


Riding out of town that evening was tough but we had a very nice time with Dan and even got some cool pictures with him and a bald eagle while you were riding a few miles back.


 As the sun was setting we were having a hard time finding a camping spot and probably did consider camping on the edge of someone’s vacant vacation property during a time you were still several miles behind us. We did push on as it was getting dark to find a spot a ways up the path. We had eventually found a decent spot to set up camp as we were all waiting for you to arrive. You decided to push on until 1am, riding in the dark, looking for a campground that was never found. I know this because we soon caught up with Dan down the road that was also experiencing severe tire problems the next morning and had been stuck for hours. That night we ended up meeting together at the gas station restaurant and sharing a nice meal together and exchanging stories. We even called around to different hotels that evening in hopes to split a hotel which your crew ended up doing while we opted to camp. Never a bad time that I can remember.  The next day one of us did decide to hitch-hike 40mi up to West Yellowstone, something that I have absolutely no shame in doing. Within 2 minutes of having his thumb out, Kurt was approached by a girl that we had ended up going to the bar and camping with the night before. She simply handed him the car keys and said just leave it here in the parking lot when you are done with it, I don’t need it today! We gladly accepted. I think our last encounter with the 3 of you was pulling up in the SUV joking that we just traded our bikes straight across for the car. This was of course after Dan from your crew exchanged cell numbers with us before parting ways for good.


Shameless promotion of a couple guys having the ride of their life! Bags in action
http://youtu.be/FYTz1XCBo1c


Ride On!

[pedalad]

a few things. First- i prefer anonymity. this is not a personal issue, only a perspective that I think is valuable for others to hear. there are no ill-feelings, no "douchery". my post was an indignant rant about things much larger than ourselves and the brief time we spent together. Again, no hard feelings.

yes, i thought it was silly to have one tube when and where you did. we told you guys straight up it was moronic, but you just weren't concerned. In your head there was always someone out there wanting to help.

I absolutely agree that some of the finest moments out on the road have come from getting help from the nicest, unexpected strangers, reaffirming the goodness in humanity. I was not saying that getting or giving help out there is wrong or bad. I was however, asserting my personal ethos as a bikepacker and a human being, which is to tread lightly. These ideals get lost in the miles and the gear and the egos but to me they are important.

the point of my write-up was about getting folks to think about what is important to them as bikepackers and human beings. These ideals and principles shape our character in life and on the road. There is no right or wrong.

The second and final point of the post was to claim my grievance with our culture, or lack thereof. To me it was such a relevant example of how monster companies infiltrate our world by creating culture, then selling it.

“You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that's being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world.” –T. Mckenna

the video was very nicely done (assuming that was speen), but let’s remember it's marketing. They’re selling products using experience, emotion and image, your image!  my point was that nothing is as it appears in this world, like the perfectly juicy big mac on a billboard, it's an illusion fed by sugar coated superficiality.

You're right bigportions, I was a wee bit dramatic in my words about blowing past you guys. We were both on different trips, with different goals and itineraries. We crossed paths for a few days in Montana but then we were off.

And easy speen- you know how much crap I had! you don't think I left my multi-tool at home do you? the bottom bracket couldn't be re-tightened because the crank arm fixing bolt broke and right bottom bracket cup needed to be replaced. not sure exactly how the problem started. I can’t prepare for everything, no-one can.

[stever121051]

i am someone who had in years past did a lot of backpacking in Wyoming and in Montana.

I am new to bikepacking and it is refreshing to see these small companies churning out quality gear.ut plan i

I haven't even bought any of the bags but have read everything I could get my hands on the past couple 3 months.

I plan to go Revelate or  look good as well. I have looked at Porcelain Rocket also.

My concern is that these companies will be able to keep up with the what looks like a growing demand
for their gear.

As is usually the case as a company grows the pressure is to keep
up and at same time provide a quality product.

Let's hope this will be the case.