Bike tours: Out of his passion for bike adventures, Eric Parsons founded the Revelate Designs brand in Anchorage/Alaska in 2007 with the aim of producing the finest bikepacking and lightweight luggage bags for bike tours. After a decade of adventures with different luggage transport setups for multi-day tours, it quickly became clear that some unconventional lightweight construction systems could also be applied in the world of bicycle touring, be it for MTB, road bike or fat bike. Velomotion met Eric Parsons at Cosmic Camp 2018. In an interview, Eric tells us how Revelate Designs came about and how best to pack your bike bags for a bike-packing tour.
Hi Eric, when did you start Revelate Design? How did the company come about?
That is a long story. I've been a mountain biker since the early 90's. Along the way I did endurance racing and then got interested in touring. Through several expedition tours with different luggage setups, it became clear to me that there was a lack of bikepacking systems that work very well in rough conditions. On the way, a friend showed me a frame bag his mom had made for the Alaskan winter. I thought it was brilliant and soon after I got interested in sewing and constructing luggage bags for personal use.
When I first started sewing, I enjoyed the quick gratification of coming up with a bag design and then sewing it. My day-to-day job was civil engineering, where it would take months or years to see things you designed to compare the two. At that time there was a real demand for panniers for drivers who were winter racing here in Alaska. Seeing it as a huge void, I dove to discover new ways to ride the gear needed for multi-day Alaskan winter races like the Susitna 100 and Alaska Ultra Sport on the Iditarod Trail.
I started designing frame bags that fit Surly Fatbikes. With both the bikes and gear readily available, I quickly had a backlog of 100 and sewed non-stop after work and on the weekends. It was obvious that in order to make something real out of the fledgling business, I had to quit my real job.
All of this happened coincidentally at a time when bikepacking races like the Great Divide Mountain Bike Race (now Tour Divide), the Arizona Trail Race or the Colorado Trail Race were becoming more and more popular. The racers asked me to build components tuned for these events. That was the beginning of bikepacking bags as we know them today. I had a small group of people to help me improve the designs. In just a few years, the Tour Divide grew to over 100 participants and bikepacking made a name for itself in cycling.
With this boom in fat bikes and a switch to adventure travel in general, we had a big growth spurt but remained a very small company. Revelate Designs is widely recognized as the pioneer brand of bikepacking bags and we've really grown with the growth of the sport.
What has been your best experience with Revelate so far?
My favorite part of Revelate is seeing people using our gear to make the trips and adventures they dream up come true. Personally, I also like meeting people in places I travel to. I'm also thankful that I've met many customers who have become friends and even brand ambassadors just from riding bikes in remote places.
What is special about the Revelate products?
Revelate is the pioneer brand for bikepacking. We have reinvented most of the systems that are common today and are being adopted by other manufacturers. We were the first to bring modular waterproof handlebar and seat bags to the market. We were also the first to produce high quality frame bags.
We are special because panniers is what we do. It's not a niche or something we invented. We've been innovating and innovating in bikepacking longer than any other company, and our quality and attention to detail can't be beat.
Which Revelate bags do you use on a bike tour?
All from Revelate Designs! It really depends on what kind of trip it is. But I always have a frame bag, mag tank and mountain feedbags on board.
Which things are important for a bike tour? What should I leave at home and what should I not forget?
In general, you can leave more stuff at home than you think. The most important things are that you have a good orientation and things that you need like good rainwear and clothes suitable for the climate. We humans are tougher than we let ourselves think and can get by with far fewer things than modern life.
What do I have to consider when packing? weight distribution? What should always be at hand?
A bike packing system always has less storage volume than a conventional pannier setup. The pockets also don't work well when overstuffed. In general, food and water should be stowed in the frame bag as these carry the heaviest weight. Sleeping system on the handlebar and tent and clothes in a seat pocket. This is especially important if it's a mountain/trail tour so the weight is evenly distributed. In general, you can do without much more than you really need. Forget changing clothes or shoes. Bikepacking focuses on the riding, not the comfort of camping.
Where is your next trip going?
I'm enjoying the fall here in Alaska now, have another trip to Utah and hope to put together a good bow!
Revelate YAKATAGA
The Yakataga is a waterproof handlebar bag for multisport bike adventure use. The bag can be combined with a harness or sweetroll or attached individually with the straps supplied. The handlebar bag is made of 420 denier nylon with double-sided TPU lamination and sealed zipper. The side profile is rounded and serves to improve the fit on round luggage. The Yakataga has a carrying handle and four D-rings on the back for secure lashing. The bag also has a removable, padded inner bag with a small zipped pocket. The small handlebar bag holds 4,26 liters and weighs approx. 255g (incl. padded inner lining and shoulder strap). The handlebar bag is priced at 169,99 euros.
Revelate Terrapin ® – SYSTEM 8L
The Terrapin ® 8L is an updated, smaller version of the modular Terrapin ® system. Like the popular Terrapin system, the mount stays on the bike and the custom fit drysuit bag is removable for easy packing. With a volume of 8 liters it is perfect for short bike trips and also for bikes with little tire clearance.
A key feature of the Terrapin holster-like mount is the Indie-Rail attachment system. This is a step up from traditional bike pannier mounts where the rail straps attach to the top center of the bag. Each rail is attached to the sides of the bag, virtually eliminating side bag movement without external hardware. Revelate combines this with a stiff internal structure and active camming buckles to prevent straps from slipping over rough terrain.
The mount is stiffened on all sides, including an outer plastic bottom sheet that protects the bottom of the bag like a fender. A composite inner cover sheet provides a solid and stable platform for the strap points and transfers the vertical load to the seatpost connection. The system holds up to 8 liters and costs 115,55 euros.
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