Single and Loaded

Hey.

Nathan Shearer is the intended victim of this bike.

Nathan lives in the DC area and rides decidedly rocky,
steep, technical, long rides.
The geometry of the bike follows his lead.
Relatively relaxed angles, and a bb height to allow clearance for the rocks.

The paint scheme on this one is inspired by
a metal smithing process called mokume gane.
Came out pretty neato.

Sometimes when Nathan heads out into the woods, he stays there for a while.
He asked for the ability to carry a bit of sleepy time supplies.
I ended up making some racks to reflect his desire to ride
technical singletrack while, ahem, loaded.

The bikepacking scene right now is all about bags
mounting to handlebars and seatposts,
claiming all the typical light weight virtues.
Seems to me though that the bags are mounted in such a way
as to prohibit full mobility on the bike.
Its hard to make the steeps and tight switchbacks
if you can't get off the back of the saddle.

The racks have three mounting points to allow for moving and
bending in case of a crash (instead of breaking)
while still staying stable with weight.
The racks are not designed for panniers, just mounting cargo
on top to keep the weight tight, centered, between the wheels,
and as low as possible while keeping a very slim profile.

I'm sure those bags work great,
but I'm better with a torch and tubing
than I am with a sewing machine.

Makes me want to go spend a few days
riding around in the woods.

The Ergs! is your new favorite punk
band that doesn't exist anymore.
Thought you'd like to know.

Select Dorkrockcorkrod
Hit "Play all".
Freak out.