When I play ping pong...

I would be remiss in my duties if I failed to mention that the Super 8 Strap I've talked about here and there is now available from  Backcountry Research.

This is definitely towards the top of my "Why didn't someone come up with this sooner?" list.  I rarely wear a pack (almost never) and often times max out my jersey pockets. 

What is it anyways?

Direct from the site: "Endurance racing, bikepacking, and epic rides place a premium on storage space. You end up stuffing your hydration packs, frame bags, and jersey pockets to the point that there’s just no room for anything else. When the day starts to warm up, there’s nowhere for you to quickly stow the layers you needed to get through those chilly morning miles. You end up cramming your arm warmers, jacket, vest, or cap in with your food and other essential gear, making it even harder to access what you need without slowing down or taking the risk of losing something important on the trail."

"The Super 8 Strap was designed to be a practical and simple solution to these problems. Made to be left on the bike, the self-adjusting shock cords allow for ample, on-the-fly storage of your excess gear. You will now be able to handily stash spare layers without slowing down. A light jacket, arm warmers, vest...even a spare tube you hastily grabbed at the last aid station, all tucked away in seconds. Made from 1.5 thick sliced Hypalon, it’s low profile design keeps it out of the way until you need it."

"The Super 8 is so versatile and accommodating, you can even use it to carry some larger items like a fat bike tube, a can of bear repellant, or even a burrito. We’re not saying you should put a burrito in there, but you could totally put a burrito in there."

I've had mine since early May.  I've used it more times than I can remember.  Gloves, rain coat, vest, arm warmers, knee warmers, my iPhone (for navigation), a beer, tube/CO2/ tire lever... just about whatever I can stuff in there.

$15.  That's it.

"Tested, manufactured, designed, and refined in Bozeman Montana."

Surprised by the success and ubiquity of Backcountry Research products WITHOUT doing any normal advertising?  That's because their stuff works, is affordable, is and very popular with many segments of the cycling world.  Commuters, racers, bike-packers, casual cyclists, roadies, mountain bikers... all word-of-mouthing these fantastic products.

Speaking of fantastic, yeah.   The Gristle Strap for fat bike tubes.

Direct from the site :"When you head out on your fat bike, you're not always racing for days across the Alaskan tundra or bike-packing in the Arizona desert. Sometimes, it's a quick spin on a local trail or maybe you're just mixing it up at a "shortish" endurance, XC, or gravel event.

With the Gristle Fat Tube Strap, you can conveniently mount your backup butyl rubber under the saddle. It has enough capacity to also handle a small pump/CO2 and a tire lever, so you can put your bike-mounted luggage set back on the shelf until your next epic adventure."

If you're thinking, "$13-15 for a strap and $3.50 for shipping and... I dunno."

Add something else useful to your cart.  A Race Strap for your MTB tube, a Tube Tarp to cover your rubber, TIGHT ASS Hypalon Accessory Straps so you can strap big stupid things to your bike, or maybe my personal favorite, the Tülbag.

Which is probably my favorite because it's a...

I did my part.  You do yours.