Rogue Panda Ripsey Seat Bag Evaluate

Simply final month, we revealed a complete record of dropper-compatible seat luggage, recommendations on the way to pack them, and a few various solutions for dropper-friendly methods to retailer gear when bikepacking. Most of us on the crew love bikepacking with a dropper, and with posts changing into extra dependable than ever, bag makers have been busy introducing intelligent methods to hold gear whereas nonetheless having the choice to drop your saddle out of manner on technical descents.

Nearly all dropper publish seat luggage use some mixture of a harness, stabilizer (both on the saddle, seat publish stanchion, or each), and a sewn bag. It’s a balancing act of making of a sway-free setup, offering sufficient room to hold important gear, and never being so massive as to restrict dropper publish journey. Most dropper publish seat luggage require at the very least ~5″ of clearance between the saddle rails and the highest of the rear tire, and once you pair that with fashionable path bike geometry, quick seat tubes, and long-travel dropper posts, you aren’t left with a lot room for a bag. That is the place shorter riders typically run into issues, forcing them to make use of a rear rack, a tiny seat bag, and even add a backpack into the combination. At 5’6″ tall, My accomplice Emily rides a medium mountain bike and has solely ever been ready to make use of an inch or two of her dropper publish whereas bikepacking with a seat bag. Even the pint-sized Rockgeist Gondola, which solely offers 5L of storage, nonetheless requires 4-5″ of tire clearance to keep away from contact.

Lengthy story quick, regardless of the variety of well-designed dropper publish seat luggage on the market, there was a gap out there that the parents at Rogue Panda Designs in Arizona thought wanted filling. They got here to this conclusion a number of years in the past and have been busy creating and testing a brand new tackle the dropper publish seat bag ever since. Their purpose was to make a bag with best-in-class tire clearance, a secure design for driving bumpy trails, and one thing completely fitted to shorter riders and smaller bikes.

The Rogue Panda Ripsey is a novel two-part system that has distinctive tire clearance with out sacrificing stability. It’s primarily based round an injection-molded harness, an aluminum saddle rail clamp, and a Wolf Tooth Valais—completed with some CNC-machined Austere Manufacturing cam lock buckles to maintain the whole lot tight and safe. Whereas the Ripsey has a well-known silhouette, it’s fairly not like any seat luggage we’ve seen or examined earlier than. The inflexible injection-molded harness is a primary and has seemingly been averted as a result of manufacturing complexities, however it is smart to help a detachable dry bag with out flopping round and dealing with the occasional tire rub.

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Creating the Ripsey

Whereas the brand new Ripsey resembles the unique in some methods, it’s a totally totally different bag. The spark to revamp it got here when bikepacker/ultra-endurance athlete Liz Sampey reached out to Nick at Rogue Panda Designs to have him make one thing for her in 2019. That yr, on the Arizona Path 750, Liz rode the route with out incident and with full dropper publish operate. As somebody who has examined a variety of dropper publish seat luggage and has watched many shorter rides wrestle to make use of dropper publish luggage whereas bikepacking, I can think about this felt releasing for Liz. Early prototypes had been initially primarily based round a 3D-printed harness, which finally transitioned to an injection-molded one, and the design has been refined over the previous few years.

The model you see in my pictures here’s a prototype that ultra-endurance athlete Liz Sampey was testing out earlier this yr. Whereas it’s not fully reflective of the ultimate manufacturing model, it’s shut and gave me a good suggestion on the way it works. With a purpose to get a greater understanding of the Ripsey and its evolution, I reached out to Rogue Panda Designs proprietor Nick Smolinske with some questions. Discover a quick interview beneath.

Prototypes from Rogue Panda

Inform us concerning the historical past of the Ripsey and why Rogue Panda felt it was time for a redesign.

The Ripsey is deeply rooted within the Arizona Path Race and the way robust it’s on gear. I’ve been attempting to reply the query, how will we make a bag that works nicely for dropper posts, for each rider, on full-suspension bikes? It’s straightforward to make a bag that may match tall riders, however it’s a lot tougher to make one for anybody else.

I’ve been engaged on this downside at the very least since 2017, making extra prototypes than I can depend. We introduced a comparatively low-profile design to market in 2019, however we needed to discontinue it as a result of manufacturing issues (stitching it was very tough, and that form of tight finger-crimping work will increase the chance of carpal tunnel syndrome). We had been engaged on the following model when the venture bought placed on maintain with the 2020 bike rush.

For the following yr, we had been too busy with body bag orders to make any prototypes. However quite a lot of my design work occurs in my head anyway (normally as I’m falling asleep), so I used to be in a position to preserve engaged on the concept. I used to be positive it was potential to enhance tire clearance, even when I couldn’t fairly see how. Over the course of a yr, the form in my thoughts slowly turned clear; as a substitute of a giant and ponderous holster, we might make a slim tray. In late 2021, I used to be lastly in a position to begin prototyping once more, to see if the concept would translate to actuality.

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What had been the key design objectives with the Ripsey, and the way did you obtain them?

The first objectives of the Ripsey are tire clearance, stability, and the power to resist tire hits. We had been in a position to obtain all three by way of cautious design, retaining the load down. I’ll begin with the harness. It’s a lot stiffer than a design utilizing material and plastic sheets may ever be. With material, there’s at all times the potential of some shifting, however with our design, the perimeters and backside are the identical piece slightly than separate stiffeners that may transfer relative to one another.

Our aluminum saddle clamp additionally helps with tire clearance and stability in equal measure. It offers a safe attachment for the aspect straps, and when mixed with the Austere Manufacturing buckles, it permits you to pull the harness tight to your saddle for a secure experience. We additionally connect the highest strap of the Ripsey on to the saddle clamp, slightly than to material, because it’s finished on most designs. This manner, the strap pulls from a hard and fast level as excessive as potential. When mixed with the very stiff molded harness, this prevents the dry bag from hanging down towards your tire.

What did the testing and prototyping course of appear to be?

I’ve examined our prototypes as finest as I can alone, however since I’m on the tall aspect, I’m not the most effective guinea pig for a seat bag. So, we’ve teamed up with short-legged riders who historically have a tougher time with tire clearance. Our greatest tester has been Liz Sampey, not simply due to her stature, however as a result of she shreds on a full-squish 29er even when she’s bikepacking. It’s very onerous to make a seat bag that she will use in any respect, not to mention one which works nicely. She was the primary one we reached out to once we had an injection-molded prototype to check, and he or she promptly ran it by way of its paces on the Colorado Path. Liz has additionally examined just about all of our prototypes through the years, going again to her AZT750 report run in 2019. So, she has an excellent deal with on how this design compares to what we’ve made earlier than.

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Using an injection-molded harness is exclusive. How’d you land on this?

We’ve been including plastic skid plates to the underside of our prototypes for a very long time, however sooner or later I used to be brainstorming with Liz and we questioned, what if the skid plate was the harness? We made a fast prototype on the spot, which was only a piece of plastic with holes drilled into it for straps. It was a enjoyable design, however solely labored for very small hundreds. Shortly after that, I confirmed a sewn prototype to my buddy Nate, who occurs to be a mechanical engineer. He instructed attempting carbon fiber, and we made our first prototype in his storage. I took it on a few rides, and it was apparent {that a} molded single-piece harness was the best way to go, however carbon fiber was too costly and never sturdy sufficient to deal with tire abrasion.

I used to be researching various supplies after I met one other engineer with a background in injection molding from his work at a significant climbing gear producer. He instructed injection-molded nylon as a fabric, and we employed him to take the carbon fiber prototype and switch it right into a molded plastic design. His intensive expertise ensures that our design isn’t solely sturdy but additionally straightforward to fabricate so we gained’t have any hiccups within the molding course of. The ultimate design could be very related in form to the final sewn prototypes that we made, however it’s on one other stage relating to tire clearance and stability.

How is the molded harness made?

Our prototypes had been 3D printed, however the manufacturing harness shall be injection molded in nylon. Nylon is robust, holds its form, and is sturdy sufficient for intermittent tire hits. Injection molding is a superb course of for this as a result of we’re in a position to regulate the thickness of the harness in several areas to optimize energy the place it’s wanted with out extra weight. The one draw back is the excessive startup value, which is why we’re doing a crowdfunding marketing campaign.

Why Austere buckles over extra conventional plastic choices?

Scorching take: Austere buckles are so a lot better that it’s unthinkable not to make use of them. I’ve by no means been pleased with plastic buckles on the aspect straps of seat luggage, and we’ve been searching for another for years. I used to be stoked after I bought my fingers on the primary Austere buckles. They’re really a reduce above the remainder: they by no means slip, they’re tremendous mild, and so they’re loads simpler to tighten than a plastic buckle. That makes a giant distinction once you’re attempting to maintain a seat bag away out of your tire.

Lastly, any phrases for people who’re on the fence about signing up for the Kickstarter marketing campaign?

We’re going to need to finance the Ripsey’s startup prices it doesn’t matter what, and crowdfunding is our manner of fixing who advantages from that. As a substitute of getting a mortgage and paying the financial institution a bunch of curiosity, we can provide our prospects a reduction in change for upfront funding. It comes out the identical on our stability sheet, however it implies that you’re the one getting deal.

Ideas Whereas Driving

I’m pleased to report that a lot of what Rogue Panda got down to accomplish with the Ripsey holds true in the actual world. Even the prototype model I’ve been testing, which doesn’t totally characterize the ultimate design, has confirmed to be thoughtfully constructed and a pleasant addition to the world of dropper post-compatible seat luggage. Because it’s not fairly a full harness just like the Wayward Riders Louise or totally enclosed just like the JPaks DropperPak or Ortlieb Seat-Pack QR, a wiggle-free setup in the end will depend on a tightly packed dry bag. With out the dry bag in place, or if it’s too loosely packed, the decrease harness can tend to sway round. When packed tight and with the Austere buckles pulled comfortable, there’s subsequent to no motion in all the system.

Emily was in a position to totally drop her publish on her Ibis Ripley AF with the Ripsey put in. She’s on a measurement medium bike with a 150mm journey dropper publish and 29″ wheels, and he or she’s by no means been in a position to run a correct seat bag with out both limiting dropper publish journey, locking out her rear shock, or each. The minimal tire-to-saddle clearance of the Ripsey is the actual star of the present and can seemingly be a recreation changer for shorter riders searching for a minimal dropper publish bag setup. At 6’1″, rear tire clearance isn’t as a lot of a problem for me, however I can recognize its low-profile design, and having a 100% waterproof detachable dry bag is nice for packing up at camp. I’m additionally a fan of Austere’s buckles, so it’s cool to see bag makers like Rogue Panda incorporating them into their designs.

Right here’s a fast comparability on a few of our different favorite dropper-compatible seat luggage. I’ve included weight, bag measurement, minimal tire clearance, and worth for every. Be aware that the three″ minimal clearance of the Ripsey is simply achievable with {a partially} full dry bag, so you possibly can pull the harness manner up into the saddle. The minimal tire clearance at full quantity is 4″.

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What’s New

As promised, there have been some vital modifications to the each the Ripsey harness and dry bag because the prototype I examined was made. Enhancements to sturdiness and security are the secret with the ultimate design. Some of the notable modifications is the place and size of the seatpost and Wolf Tooth Valais attachment, which appeared too lengthy on the prototype I examined. Right here’s a full record of what has modified on the manufacturing model.

• The dry bag has foam padding and sturdy materials on the higher entrance portion to cushion in opposition to the saddle.
• The dry bag is seam taped slightly than seam sealed.
• They’ve added a security hook-and-loop closure to the saddle clamp, simply in case the bolts again out. This hasn’t occurred however Rogue Panda is masking their bases.
• The saddle clamp shall be anodized as a substitute of painted for a extra sturdy end.
• The harness has some very minor beauty modifications.
• The seat publish attachment has been moved barely up so it sits within the middle of the Valais clamp when utilizing a dropper.

• Capability: 8L
• Materials: X-Pac / Injection Molded Plastic / Aluminum
• Weight: 368 grams (13oz) no Wolf Tooth Valais
• Place of Manufacture: Arizona, USA
• Worth: $220 USD
• Producer’s Particulars: RoguePanda.com

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