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80 Days. 80 Framebags. 80 Dollars Each.

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Viewing 19 posts - 1 through 19 (of 19 total)
Nick Smolinske BPL Member
PostedJan 13, 2015 at 12:17 pm

So there aren’t too many bikepackers on here, but . . . Rogue Panda Designs is offering $80 custom Xpac bicycle framebags, until I get 80 orders or 80 days go by!

EDIT: As of March. 5th, 66 framebags have been ordered out of the 80, and 46 bags have been finished and shipped.

Why? Think of it as a retroactive kickstarter project – I get to pay off all the sewing equipment I bought last year and jumpstart my business, and you get a great deal out of it.

Click here to get more details or order a bag.

Basic Black Bag

PostedJan 13, 2015 at 1:10 pm

Nick,
Thanks a ton for the deal! Practically a local business for me just 180 miles west on I-40.

Will get the photo to you this eve.

Nick Smolinske BPL Member
PostedJan 14, 2015 at 6:38 am

Kevin, no problem! This is looking like just the kickstart I wanted it to be – 6 orders yesterday and a lot of inquiries. Time to get busy in the shop!

PostedJan 14, 2015 at 11:11 am

While I want to dabble in bike packing, it's a bad time for me. But I forwarded this on to my bike friends who do bikepack. Thanks!

PostedJan 14, 2015 at 11:11 am

Nice deal Nick. I paid significantly more for my framebag! I don't have a need at the moment, but wish you the best of luck.

Chris Errico BPL Member
PostedJan 18, 2015 at 11:03 am

I might have to allocate the funds and get in on this deal. That's a great price for a frame bag! Hopefully you'll be hearing from me soon.

Chris

Nick Smolinske BPL Member
PostedJan 19, 2015 at 3:34 pm

The first batch of 5 bags (plus one extra small bag) is complete! Shipping tomorrow. Tonight I'll start on the next batch. I'm super happy with the sale so far, I've had 15 orders out of the quota of 80. I've already used the proceeds to purchase a year's supply of zippers at wholesale prices.

bags

Here's a closeup of the side pocket option:

Side pocket

And a closeup of the hydration port option:

Hydro port

The hydration port is made of CSM/Hypalon (one of my new favorite materials; I use it for all kinds of things, mostly very small pieces of it). I used CSM because it hardly frays at all, so it's easily modifiable by the end user. I start with a hole just big enough for a hydration tube, so that there's a smaller entryway for water when in use. But if the end user wants to make it bigger to easily fit a bite valve through, they are free to do so.

PostedJan 25, 2015 at 8:11 pm

Got mine 7 days after ordering! The bag fits perfectly, a testament to the use of photos for dimensions rather than the hassle of tracing the frame on paper and mailing a hard copy. Nice stitching and beefy zippers. Best value i've found in bikepacking gear by far at $90 w/ side pocket.

bbb

Nick Smolinske BPL Member
PostedFeb 5, 2015 at 1:31 pm

Kevin, thanks for the action shot – I don't have nearly enough of those.

As of yesterday afternoon I'm halfway through the sale – 40 bags have been ordered.

Out of those 40, 23 have been completed, including a couple I finished this morning. I also did another Arizona flag bag:
3 bags
side pocket

Nick Smolinske BPL Member
PostedMar 5, 2015 at 10:31 am

So there are 15 bags left on the sale, and I've finished 46 to date. I'm going to the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival this weekend, where I will be making custom framebags for people on the spot – so I could potentially sell out there. But if that happens I'll give a couple of extra days for online orders at the sale price before I end it.

Here are a couple more pictures from recent bags:

green stripe
I put a green stripe all the way through three bags for this bike – top tube bag, framebag and downtube bag.

FS Bag

Ian BPL Member
PostedMar 5, 2015 at 11:19 am

You had me at "Rogue Panda." I'll place an order the week after next if there are still any left.

Nick Smolinske BPL Member
PostedMar 5, 2015 at 1:01 pm

Ian,

Glad you like the name. :) Well if there aren't any left I think I'll still have the best prices around, and I'll be updating the website and simplifying my price structure after the sale ends.

Ian BPL Member
PostedMar 5, 2015 at 1:11 pm

I may have to move to AZ to get that frame bag in your avatar. That thing looks sick!

Maybe a hip looking George Washington on a field of green? Probably won't go with my red&black 29er but whatevs.

Nick Smolinske BPL Member
PostedMar 9, 2015 at 1:52 pm

I hit 80 bags last night, but I've gotten way more efficient at making these that I'm giving everyone another 24 hours on the sale – it'll end at 2pm Arizona time. For those in states/countries that observe that weird daylight savings thing, that's 2pm California time.

Nick Smolinske BPL Member
PostedMar 10, 2015 at 10:49 pm

And the sale ended at 2pm today. Whew! That was a long one. I'm pretty happy with how successful that was; I learned a ton and got way more efficient at making bags. Making one bag per day while still teaching math part time and going backpacking every once in a while is totally feasible!

And while the sale is over, I think I still have the cheapest prices around – I updated my price to $99 with free shipping today, and I don't intend on raising that, at least not this year.

PostedMar 10, 2015 at 11:31 pm

Way to go Nick! Looks like some super sweet bags. I love the frame bags I've made for myself. Even for my commuter, a frame bag is a great place for a lock, water bottle, jacket etc. Heck, I'll even throw my backpack in there on my way to the grocery store or running errands. Its a truly handy accessory that no bike should be without. Ive made a dozen or so framebags over the last few years and I really think they are the bees knees.

Nick Smolinske BPL Member
PostedMar 11, 2015 at 12:10 pm

Nathan: thanks! And yeah, I love framebags – I have one on my commuter that I use for all kinds of stuff.

The other thing that's really exciting about ending this sale is that now I'm stocking all the Xpac colors direct from Dimension-Polyant, so I can start making bags in more interesting colors. I brought my sewing machine down to the Sedona MTB Festival and made these for folks on the spot – it was fun working with red, blue and yellow!

Colors!

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