Scott’s new bar bag…
I guess my white Porcelain Rocket bikepacking bag bling was so hot Scott decided to make some for himself.
Scott’s pimped out Hunter 29er…
He works incredibly hard making bags for other cyclists so he deserves to rock some sweet gear himself. I think he’s showing some restraint by keeping his old black frame bag.
A lovely white seatbag…
Fresh bikepacking gear looks silly. Time to get that stuff dirty!
Santa Cruz Tall Boy bag set…
In case:
I’m letting you know!…=-)
Ben’s Porcelain Rocketized Surly Big Dummy…
Click on either image in this post to jump there.
Scott posts more than just bag porn. He’s got pics of his various bikes as well and the odd cute cat picture…=-)
Stagecoach 400 Results Map - click to see live map...
The Stagecoach 400 is a 400 mile unsupported bikepacking race in SoCal. You can read the FAQ here. Looks like a challenging event! If I got my facts straight 3 out of the top 5 finishers were riding Porcelain Rocket bag equipped bikes. Congrats to the racers for getting ‘er done and congrats to Scott for his role in building race winning gear…=-)
A special shout out to Rick Hunter for coming in #2…he not only builds sweet bikes, but can clearly ride the hell out of them as well.
I’m no racer, but during my challenging rides I know that if I have to think about my gear I’m screwed. I can only put out my best effort if everything works and I trust it 100%.
Porcelain Rocket Edition Nomad...
My Santa Cruz headbadge fell off in Sedona so I replaced it with a new Porcelain Rocket badge…=-)
My 29er On One Scandal mountain bike setup with Porcelain Rocket bags...
Okay first off I beter say that the frame bag you see here is from my Surly Pugsley and doesn’t really fit the Scandal properly. So don’t think if you get a framebag from Scott at Porcelain Rocket that it will fit so poorly. I just jammed the bag into this bike while I wait for Scott to build me a custom bag that will fit this frame perfectly.
The key to a great bikepacking setup is the ability to carry the gear you need on your bike with as little impediment to how it rides off pavement. You can fit panniers and racks to most mountain bikes, but they end up being the weak spot in the bike so you have to slow way down and ride cautiously lest you break something. Your handling is also compromised so that technical riding becomes hard to impossible. When Kurt and I rode our Pugsleys on the CDN GDR with racks and panniers we had fun, but I vowed never to bike tour on dirt with that setup again – unless there was some overwhelming reason to carry that much gear.
Same Porcelain Rocket bags on my Surly Pugsley...
You can see the same bags on my Surly Pugsley above and appreciate how well the frame bag fits the bike it was custom built for. This is a typical bikepacking setup and is designed to keep the weight securely attached to the bike as close to the center of mass as possible. The bags have a limited carrying capacity which forces you to load them with only what you need and the bike remains “thin” which aids in sneaking between obstacles and facilities the seemly inevitable pushing you have to do. If you are fast enough it also keeps wind resistance to a minimum.
So a word about why soft bags are such a great idea for a dirt road or mountain bike trail tour. Standard panniers and racks are stiff and heavy. They hard mount to your bike which means every bump gets transmitted very efficiently from your bike to the racks and then to the panniers. Eventually that will break something. Even if you are lucky and don’t break your gear you will spend your whole trip babying it always taking the easiest/smoothest path to reduce the beating your bike takes. With soft bags the attachment points to your bike are secure, but they can give a little which absorbs the shocks they see without stressing out and breaking them. The upside is that you can ride your mountain bike like a mountain bike while carrying food, water and shelter.
Seat bag...
Seat Bag:
Frame bag...
Frame Bag:
Top tube bag...
Top Tube Bag:
Front roll bag...
Front Roll Bag:
Front bag pocket...
Front Bag Pocket:
Dinotte XML-3 bike light...
Front End Bike Stuff:
The back end...
Rear End Bike Stuff:
On the trail...
Stuff I need to add:
Backpack or no backpack?
Backpack?
I ride my mountain bike with a hydration pack when on the trails. I used a slightly larger daypack for the ride out to the Sooke Potholes to carry water and some spare clothes. In general I think it’s better to keep the gear off your back and on the bike. Firstly it forces you to be ruthless with what you are carrying and secondly it’s much more comfortable. Plus it means that for specific trips where you need to carry a lot of food, water or clothing you have an option that isn’t already full of stuff.
I’ll be adding water bottle cages to my fork legs so I don’t need a hydration pack for fluids. I’ll be a bit more efficient about the clothes I bring and carry any spare clothes I am not wearing on my bike – either in the front roll bag or the seat bag. That will mean I can skip a backpack for most trips and if I really do need some extra cargo capacity I can add in a pack at that point.
Stylish and comfortable...
Clothing
It’s hard to be too specific about clothing since so much depends on where you ride, what time of the year it is and what the forecast is for. Here is a sample of what I might bring on a ride here on Vancouver Island:
The Gravel Pimps at Oak Bay Bikes Westshore...
Scott and I have been talking about getting out and doing some bikepacking on the south end of Vancouver Island, but life has been getting in the way. So we decided to make a break for it when we saw a window of good weather Monday. With both of us busy with work our departure got pushed back until 4pm. In December that would have meant a 100% night ride our first day, but just a few weeks later we still had nearly 2hrs of daylight to enjoy from the saddle. We stopped in at the Westshore location of Oak Bay Bikes just to say hi and check out what they had on the floor.
What else would I rock for bags?
It got dark soon after we left OBB on the Galloping Goose Trail. We both had about 900 lumens of LED firepower at our disposal which we didn’t use at full-power given the easy terrain and our sedate cruising speed. We wanted to hit up the 17 Mile House Pub on Hwy 14 for beers and burgers so I stopped a few times to check my iPhone. I don’t like riding with a GPS on my bars unless absolutely necessary so I had to stop and retrieve my phone each time.
Scott warming his hands...
During one of these stops I found myself at the top of a set of stairs [click here for a photo from the next day's return trip]. Scott wisely backtracked and went down the trail. I of course had to do a stupid human trick and decided to ride down the stairs. Now normally this would be no problem, but at night with a new bike loaded for the first time with gear and backpack, my weight distribution and inability to get back off the saddle because of the seatbag resulted in an over the bars endo/vault. Thankfully not very fast, but nevertheless I ended up with two sore palms and a bashed up elbow/knee on the left side of my body.
**sigh**
It’s been years since I’ve been even moderately hurt on a MTB so I don’t feel hard done by, but what a dumb way to get banged up. No heroic story of a 6′ drop off a skinny wood bridge while being chased by a cougar…just operator error!
Got gravel?
Luckily I was able to find a hand position on my bar ends that wasn’t terribly painful and we cranked along the rest of the way to the pub. Several pints of beer and many dead chicken wings later I was feeling better. I climbed back on my bike gingerly and we cruised the rest of the way to our destination for the night.
A room with a view and no doors!
I had spotted this shelter last time I was up this way biking with Aaron. Since only crazy people go camping in early February on Vancouver Island we had the place to ourselves and simply ignored the no camping signs. Yeah we are bad asses!
Low rent, hardwood floors and indoors bike parking - score!
The shelter was spacious and clean with great protection from wind and the inevitable rain that was to fall that night. Bikepacking bags only let you carry the bare essentials so we didn’t get up to much upon arrival beyond setting up our sleeping bags and munching on a few snacks. When it’s dark and cold I find myself very quickly jumping into a down cocoon! I told Scott he could yell and kick me if I was snoring too loud and with that I passed out.
Black and white On One Scandal 29er...
I woke up in the middle of the night and did a quick inventory of my aches and pains. Everything was feeling pretty good except for my left hand which was very tender and swollen. Not great, but at least I knew I could bike home with 4 out of 5 contact points on the bike feeling decent. Back to sleep I went.
Rohloff'd Hunter 29er...
I wish I had a watch in my sleeping bag as I got up at 6am [according to Scott] to pee and went back to bed because it was still dark. Had I known it was 6am I would have probably made a move to get rolling. After a certain point sleeping on a hard surface with a thin thermarest doesn’t provide much additional benefit.
It's alive!
It started to just get light at 8am so I got rolling. I fired up the stove and made a random dehydrated meal I found at home and some green tea. It was less than gourmet, but it hit the spot.
Minimal, but effective...
Water is plentiful in the rainforest so dehydrated meals are very handy if not the most delicious thing you can eat…=-)
Clean well stocked toilets...
Although we didn’t make much use of the campsite infrastructure there were lots of tables, water and clean toilets close at hand. Nice to see tax payer $$ going towards something I cared about instead of fighter jets!
Sooke Potholes Regional Park...
There was an old mining town a few KMs north from us and I had hoped to spin up there and check it out, but my hand was really sore and I decided it was best to make tracks for home, painkillers, ice and beer!
Scott loading my bike bags...
With one bum hand I was having issues loading my gear back into my bike bags. Scott was kind enough to help me out. Lucky for him I hurt my left hand otherwise I would have needed some assistance in the toilet as well….hahaha! =)
One last look back at our hut...
The scenery up this far along the Galloping Goose Trail is stunning something you can’t appreciate riding it at night.
Pointing our bikes down the map back towards home...
I was sad to miss the mining town, but it will be there next trip. This run up the Goose is our entry pass into a vast network of forest service roads. So unless we drive our bikes to a different starting point all our bikepacking rides will pass this way.
One of the many wooden bridges on the Goose...
My left hand wasn’t terribly happy, but as long as I lifted it off the bars before any major bump was encountered I was able to tolerate light pressure as I gripped the bar end.
Scott keeps it in first gear...
We rode down the Goose slowly in a light rain. Scott kept his back brake on the whole time just to get a better workout…=-)
Yo - check the Pimp rig...
Happily the wide 29er tires rolled well over the gravel/dirt trail surface making it an easy task to spin back towards Victoria.
Another killer view...
The spectacular views helped me keep my mind off my aches and pains!
My bike not looking so clean...
I was happy to roll into my yard and pop a couple Tylenol as I took a swig from an ice cold Corona! Despite my stupidity it was still great to be out on the bike on the South Shore of Vancouver Island. This ride let me figure out some things about my bike and how to best pack it for future adventures.
Nothing a quick hose down can't fix...
The Alfine 11 IGH and the 29er hardtail bike is proving to be a fun versatile machine that’s ideal for lots of different adventures. I’m going to take a few days off the bike to let my left hand rest and then I’ll be back hard at work wearing out parts…=-)
BTW – in case you are wondering about the title of this post we decided that “Gravel Grinding” sounded too boring for a couple wild and crazy guys like us – hence we coined the new term “Gravel Pimping”. You have our permission to use it as you wish!
Life ain't fair...=)
Loaded these photos on Flickr at the same time. I throw a HUGE wheelie and get 6 views…;-) Scott “The Bag Man” Felter pops a tire off a rim and gets 38 views!!! Sadly that’s just life when you hang out with a Rock Star…=-)
Note to self: next time you upload a photo dropping a 5′ ledge of death don’t put it next to a photo of Scott adjusting his hydration pack……hahahahaha!
Photo: Cass Gilbert
Cass Gilbert of While Out Riding Blog fame took some great photos of Scott making a frame bag in his Porcelain Rocket lair. Click on the image above to see the goods!
Porcelain Rocket bling - that's how I roll!
My Big Dummy with a new Porcelain Rocket frame bag...
I’ve been using my triangular Porcelain Rocket Big Dummy frame bag [lower bag in photo above] since April and loving it. It fits my bike perfectly and provides a very useful amount of storage for smaller items I want to grab during the ride. The obvious question is do I really need more storage on a cargo bike? The answer is yes – for small items. The back end of a Big Dummy will swallow a huge box and another bicycle at the same time or 200lbs of dog food, but it’s not a great place to try and keep your cellphone, wallet and snacks.
Porcelain Rocket frame bag porn...
The new frame bag Scott [the man behind Porcelain Rocket] made for me attaches on top of the Big Dummy’s chainstays and only about half is visible when mounted. Looking at the photo above the left half of the bag is actually out of sight under the Xtracycle deck and the bag is internally divided in half. This gives you some semi-secret storage for valuable items or stuff you don’t need often. I’ll be using this hidden storage for tools, tubes, a $20 emergency bill and my Pinhead locking QR key. The upper compartment [to the right above] is a great place to stash stuff like a windbreaker, gloves, energy bars, etc…
A fully bagged Surly Big Dummy...
The bag mounts in seconds with generous velcro straps and fits the Dummy perfectly. It looks like it belongs there and makes great use of otherwise wasted empty frame space without affecting my access to the cargo end of the bike. The rear water bottle cage mounts are not obscured so you can carry a bottle back there. My Big Dummy can still carry 3 water bottles with only the middle cage mount obscured by my triangular Porcelain Rocket frame bag.
Top notch construction...
Scott is a highly skilled craftsman and this bag exudes quality and robustness. It matches the lower frame bag perfectly using burly ripstop nylon and waterproof zippers with red pulls for a touch of flare. My previous bag looks like new after 7 months and I expect this bag will last as long as my Big Dummy is rolling. The fabric is waterproof as are the zippers. The bag ins’t seam sealed so in an extended downpour it might let some water in at the stitching. The triangular bag hasn’t leaked yet, but it is a bit more protected from rain my the frame. I’m going to see what happens and if I get any water inside I’ll take the 30 minutes necessary to apply some seam sealant.
A peek inside...
The interior features a yellow lining so you can find stuff easily and a rigid plastic frame sheet for stiffness. There is a small mesh pocket on the right side of the bag to keep keys and coins from getting lost. The bag has an interior divider to keep the upper and lower contents separate. The elastic loop on top will accept many brands of small pumps.
Upper velcro straps...
From the images above and below you can see that this bag isn’t going anywhere. The 3 underside velcro straps take some effort to located and undo which should stop a lazy snatch and grab thief. So far nobody has messed with my triangular frame bag on this bike when I have left it unattended.
Lower velcro straps under bag...
As you can tell I’m pretty stoked to have this new bag for my Big Dummy. I’m a fan of high quality gear and getting something custom made for my bikes is a real treat.
The business end of my Dummy...
Scott does fully custom bike bags so no matter what make/model of bike you ride or what your needs are he can make something beautiful and functional for you. Contact him through his Porcelain Rocket website.
Photo: Cass Gilbert
Scott from Porcelain Rocket has been busy riding his bike down in the Southern US with Cass Gilbert recently. The trip must have really fired up his creative engine because he came back with all sorts of great bike bag ideas. I hope to get my hands on 3 new custom bags for my Big Dummy, my Santa Cruz Nomad and for Kurt’s Nomad. I’m excited!
Scott's personal bike all tricked out to bikepack...
I’ve been using the bag Scott made for my Surly Big Dummy on every trip I take with it. It adds a lot of useful storage for small items that I can get to even if my Dummy is fully loaded and has survived all my abuse without problems. Scott is gearing up for a busy winter so if you need any bikepacking bags for winter racing or for a tour down south of the equator drop Scott a msg through this website.
My new Porcelain Rocket Big Dummy bag...
Here is a sneak peek at my new Big Dummy frame bag. I won’t say much more at this point, but it will be another nice addition to one of my favourite bikes…=-)
My first Porcelain Rocket frame bag...
Porcelain Rocket BD Frame Bag
Scott from Porcelain Rocket made me this awesome frame bag for my Surly Big Dummy. It fits in the triangle behind the seattube that previously was only used for a single waterbottle cage. With 4 bottle cages on a Big Dummy I can certainly give up one to get some useful storage. Now you might say with all the storage available on a Big Dummy why do you need more? Well the storage options at the back are limited to pockets in the Xtracycle Freeloader bags. They work and are useful for items not needed a lot like extra tie down straps, pump, etc.. The problem is when you have your Freeloaders loaded up it’s hard to get access to these pockets without having to mess with your cargo.
Left side of bag with two pockets...
That’s where Scott’s bag comes in…by adding some easily accessible storage behind the seattube you can carry smaller items like your wallet, camera, snacks, cell phone and get to them anytime without messing with your cargo – that’s ideal.
The workmanship on this bag is top notch. The materials used are very durable and essentially waterproof everywhere, but the stitching and zippers. A bit of seam seal could make the bag virtually waterproof if I desire. It fits perfectly and looks great on the bike.
Left side of bag with a single waterproof cellphone pocket...
The left side of the bag is reinforced with a removable stiff plastic insert so the bag doesn’t hit the chain. There is also a small waterproof pocket for a cellphone or camera.
Inside the waterproof stash pocket...
Scott did such a nice job I’m getting a custom frame bag for my Santa Cruz Nomad so I can carry tools/pump/etc on the frame not on my back.
Scott personal bike with seatbag and barbag...
Scott will tackle custom jobs as well as making a production set of bike packing seat bags & bar bags like the ones shown above.
|
Recent Comments