Porcelain Rocket Bags

A big thanks once again to Scott Felter for his support.  His Porcelain Rocket bags are simply mind blowingly awesome!!  I have used them non stop and had 0 failures or issues.  Scott recently built me new custom frame bag for the alaska trip with the double zip side panel.  This allows me to more easily get larger items in the bag such as stoves, fuel bottles, or even insulation layers.  Scott's attention to detail is evident in all of his bags and can be seen by the many happy customers going into extreme environments with his kit. 

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For this trip I will only be using a Frame Bag, a Handlebar bag, and a Top Tube ditty bag.  On the back I will forgo my Booster Rocket pack and instead go with a rear rack and two Ortlieb panniers.  Aesthetically this runs against my grain, but the extreme conditions, remote nature of Alaska, and the scarcity of resupply points demand more storage than a typical bikepacking setup.

This image shows nicely the advantage of the Panel Loader.  With this style bag, you have 2-3 options for how the bag is opened.  The top, horizontal zipper is a 2 way zipper that can be opened from either the left or the right side.  The vertical zipper goes from top to bottom.  If you open both zippers, the panel opens wide for the insertion of bulky objects.  This allows the following combinations:

1. Zip the top from left to right and access the panel from the top
   
2. Zip the top from right to left and access the panel from the top
3. Zip the side from top to bottom and access the panel from the vertical
4. Zip left to right, top to bottom, and the panel opens out

No more fighting to squeeze something through the zipper.  The beauty is in the details, so notice how Scott has added a flap in the corner to protect the two zippers from water immersion. 

Thanks Scott, the bag rocks!!

Salsa's new racing Fat Bike - The Beargrease

Oh boy does this look hot, a mukluk on a diet, designed for those that want to got fast and FAT!!  Here is a quick look post over on Dirtrag and I must say, I am excited.  It is no secret that I love my Ti Mukluk.  It is without a doubt the funnest and most comfortable bike I have ever ridden, even more so that my first Salsa, a Fargo. 

I took my Mukluk on an 875 mile trip earlier this year and it proved to me that Fat is not only fun, but a great way to tour an unknown area.​  The new Beargrease is 5lbs lighter than the Muk and is designed to go fast.  I can't wait to check one of these out.  If you are a winter fat bike racer then you need to get your order in to your local Salsa dealer fast, because these bikes are going to fly off the shelves.  Check out more here over at the MTBR forums.  This is an exciting time to love FAT!!