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Your favorite Swift Industries bags just got a new, limited edition material option. Dubbed, the Horizon Line, the Zeitgeist, Sugarloaf and Paloma bags are made from X10 Cotton Duck, the very first traditional canvas fabric to incorporate the modern magic of XPac. This X10 Cotton Duck is a totally new waterproof cotton canvas, made here in the United States. Check out the Horizon Line, which is in stock now, at Swift Industries.
These clever bags strap into your Wald 137 basket, utilize a zipper for closure and can be removed easily. You can even use an optional over-the-shoulder strap for transport. The Sugar Loaf bags are 11.5 L, come in three colors, inspired by the Pacific Northwest, weigh about a pound and are in stock now at Swift Industries.
… because this is a damn funny commercial!
Getting High in the San Gabriel Mountains at Mt. Lowe Trail Camp
Photos and words by Kyle Kelley
Each year everyone at Golden Saddle Cyclery gets super excited when Swift Industries announces their annual campout and then every year we become more and more worried about killing everyone because it is always way too hot to ride a fully loaded touring bike up a mountain. Yeah, it’s summer and yeah it’s hot everywhere, but we’re talking Buster Poindexter “HOT HOT HOT!”
Only thirteen more days until the Summer Solstice and the Swift Campout, an evening of bicycle camping under the stars with friends in your city. To find out more information, head to Swift Industries.
This June 24th and 25th, on the night of the Solstice, the Swift Campout returns and you can sign up now, for free at the website. Head on over to read about route planning, gear recommendations and to view people’s photo contributions from previous year’s events.
The Super Stoke Weekend Seattle-Austin Exchange Program
Photos by Gideon Tsang, Jordan Gomez, Jonathan Kneve and Alex Gui, words by Jordan Gomez
Editor’s Note: When I lived in Austin, Texas, I wanted to bring my friends who were accustomed to racing a training on a weekend outing of camping and riding dirt roads. Since this time of year in Texas, the parks are often crowded, I decided that Super Bowl Weekend would be ideal, since everyone in Texas would be glued to their televisions and not driving their RVs to campsites around the state. Over the past few years, the ride has continued, further morphing into this year’s Seattle-Austin exchange program… Check out the first Super Bro Weekend photoset in our archives.
Part I: Central Texas Excursion (Code name: Vitamin D)
In the past few years, a tradition has formed in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where the adventurous souls of Beat The Clock Cycling go out to explore the far edges of the cycling universe. This year’s edition brought with it a special layer of stoke. Through a conversation between delegates from Seattle-based Swift Industries and Austin-based Beat The Clock, an idea began to percolate. The delegates were discussing a future trip up to Washington when the idea of a cycling exchange program was born. For the Northwesterners, the pull of the warm Texas winter was too much to resist, and it was decided that the Cascadia contingent would join forces with the Texans. This idea turned into Super Stoke Weekend, where the visitors could experience firsthand what the Texas Hill Country had to offer. Anticipating a sprightly and somewhat daunting 300 miles of mixed surface riding for the weekend, the Seattle crew began an intense training regimen of weekly randos/taco cleanses.
Winter weather got you pining for long rides and cycle touring? Swift Industries is here to help with their Stoked Spoke series:
“Each evening highlights four to six self-supported bike camping routes complete with maps, slideshow and planning tips. This year the trip reports will be 5-10 minutes long. Once all of the presentations are finished, each presenter will host an information table where they will answer individual questions and have maps of the region they explored.
This is a three-part series that highlights the best bike camping destinations in Cascadia and beyond. Stoked Spoke is being graciously hosted by the Rhino Room once again (click for map), a full bar equipped with a rad set-up for screening Stoked Spoke and booths that are perfectly laid out for you to check out maps and learn more. Rhino Room is opening its doors just for us! (21+ only). We’ll be publishing a summary of each Stoked Spoke event on our blog, including route summaries and digital maps.”
Check out more information at Swift’s Blog!
Curious to see some more hands-on information about the new Swift Industries Sugarloaf basket bag? Well, look no further…
Everyone has been asking about this bag. Swift Industries’ new Sugarloaf basket bag has landed. Designed specifically for a Wald 137 bicycle basket, it makes on and off-the bike portage a cinch, especially when paired with the shoulder strap. The Sugarloaf basket bag comes in three color options: 1000d Cordura in black or steel for $150, Camo XPac with Cordura laminate for $165 or a limited run of waxed canvas for $165. You can see more specs below and check Swift Industries for ordering!
Wald Baskets are one of the best accessories for a bike. Any bike. I’ve seen them mounted to just about anything. The new Swift Industries Sugarloaf basket bags are upping the ante on Wald Baskets, allowing you to take your cargo with you on the fly. Be on the lookout for more information on these shortly!
The weekend is here and hopefully these Swift Campout photos from their disposable cameras will stoke your flames!
Our friends at Path Less Pedaled got a sneak peek at two new bags from Swift Industries in their latest webisode!
Photo by Spencer Harding
Ultra Romance knows a thing or two about bicycle portage and while he always has ideas, sometimes making them a reality is out of his capabilities. That’s why he reached out to Swift Industries to help in the design and fabrication of a new bag design.
Dubbed the Ültraswift Wizard Sleeve bags, these roll top bags can expand to engulf your cargo needs and are available in two sizes: Cavernous (44 liters expanded / 27 liters closed) and Covy Cave (28 liters expanded / 16 liters closed). Like all Swift bags, these are made in Seattle by cyclists!
Head to the Poppi’s Fine Public Restrooms for pre-ordering.
For the past 25 some-odd years, the Mount Wilson Bicycling Association has claimed Henninger Flats as the official, yet unofficial campground for cycling enthusiasts in Los Angeles. In that time, various events have brought men and women to its cliff’s edge overlook of the city to share stories and bond. The great outdoors are like that.
So when Swift Industries announced the Swift Summer Solstice Campout again this year, Golden Saddle Cyclery, along with Ray and some MWBA OGs proposed Henninger be the destination. It’d be a perfect way to introduce bicycle campers, bicycle tourers and bike packers to this age-old tradition. Think about it this way: for as long as mountain biking has been a thing, people have been bicycle camping up here!
Carrying stuff on bikes can be complicated – especially when you’re a notorious over-packer who likes to have a DSLR on hand. The Wolverine is my first ground-up drop bar build in a while, and I wanted to ensure that both transporting and accessing my camera would be well thought out.
Since we got married last October, Stephanie and I have been putting the pieces together to take off on a multi-month trip beginning in July. Wanting to produce galleries and stories on the road means having a bike-camping friendly way to carry my camera gear. I decided on a Swift Ozette rando bag – and the Hinterland Collection made with X-Pac VX21 had classic rando utility with a technical, modern twist.
I got talking with Martina at Swift over email, and ended up heading down to Seattle to visit their studio and pick up my bag in person. While Martina does get out on a lot of adventures herself, she also loves to live vicariously through others. Finding out that Stephanie and I were headed in the direction of the Great Divide route and planning on sticking to dirt as much as possible, she recommended finding a robust decaleur solution for my Ozette.
… and this one’s too good!
Another year, another spring and another Swift Campout. Last year, bicycle campers, bikepackers and touring enthusiasts alike took to the hills, roads and mountains to explore their local forests and discover new camp sites. This year, Swift already has a website up, promoting this FREE event. Head on over to Swift to see all the details!