By The Lorry Load

With temperatures creeping into the low 30’s, I’ve been re-bonding with my multi-colour fixed gear along the rapidly melting lanes.

Two full trade bottles maintaining my hydration levels and this UPSO stirling seat pack holding its essentials-tubes, tools and other essentials. Serendipity brought me a white/green version, which blends surprisingly well with the builds’ increasingly hap-hazard, yet strangely endearing colour scheme.   

So, the UPSO Stirling...Measuring 20x9cm, its part of a luggage range, made by hand, on solar powered sewing machines, using high quality recycled materials.  

The main fabric is Lorry tarpaulin, the zipper tags are fashioned from off cuts of fire-hose. Tethering to seatposts via an easily replaceable toe strap and stocky Velcro straps isn’t the only option either. 

I’ve combined ours with this passport frequent flyer wedge pack. The frequent flyer is made from a surprisingly hardy 600d codura nylon, which also moulds compliantly around the Cane Creek Thudbuster ST post.

The frequent flyer is another single compartment model designed to swallow the essentials-multi tool, spare tube, tyre levers, CO2 inflator etc. Efficient packers should be able to slip two 700x25c tubes plus the other basics without straining the zipper. Velcro straps might not be the sleekest arrangement but is as near universal as you’ll get.

The main reason why I’ve bar mounted the stirling boils down to my Pedros’ trixie tool. I mislaid/lost my Cool Tool which, though limited in terms of Allen keys, was blessed with a high quality adjustable/cone wrench with chain tool on the reverse.

It was also surprisingly compact, whereas the trixie favours leverage. Lock rings and similarly torque dependent tasks. It will just sneak inside the Stirling without causing mischief but prevents the tarp from forming a compatible arc.

Sway is one of those things that drive me (and many others) nuts. Thankfully, both tether very tightly, so a moot point.

Approaches to LED tabs are very different. Passport has taken the semi rigid plastic, UPSO the more traditional, webbed nylon strap route.

Both seem good, practical hosts to bigger blinkies and given the UPSO’s present location, compact commuter lights packing 200-350lumens.

The Stirling commands £30, which isn’t cheap but very reasonable when the cost of skilled, UK labour is factored into the equation. I also love the fact that otherwise scrap materials have been used to create a high quality product. 

Detailing is equally sharp where it isn’t so obvious. The zipper is highly water repellent, rather than proof but I haven’t noticed any ingress when tickling it provocatively, at close range using a high pressure hose.

That said; even taped and welded seams aren’t 100% waterproof. I’ve been known to line expedition panniers with refuse/garden waste sacks on really wet commutes, or weekend mtb excursions.

It’ll be a few weeks and several hundred miles in changeable weather before I approach any definite conclusions but thus far I’m certainly warming to it.  Elsewhere, in spite of the heat, John Moss has built; tensioned and trued the replacement, Mavic wheel to a meticulously high standard.

Characteristic of his generation of craft trained engineers; he is perfectionist in his approach and seeks to continuously improve a design or concept. Given I am not particularly heavy-in terms of weight, or riding style and the bike’s function, he seems confident  the tension and two-cross spoke pattern should prove reliable.

Next stage is coaxing that EAI sprocket free from the defunct Inbred hub threads, remembering a carpet of high quality grease (not to mention yearly replenishments)  rim tape and a 30mm section tyre.

Then I’ll start running it in. Mavic recommend sections between 19 and 28mm but I’m confident a couple of millimetres won’t cause any mischief. That said; despite the trend for increasingly large volumes, I wouldn’t chance anything wider.