Blackburn Outpost Handlebar Roll

Bikepacking with a handlebar roll and framebags rather than traditional touring racks and panniers has a certain appeal, part of which hasn’t always been affordability. Even without the cost and complexity of racks, bikepacking gear has been in the boutique realm of cost and availability until just recently. The Blackburn Outpost Handlebar Roll brings the advantages of a rackless stuff bag and bar harness setup down to a $75 retail cost, bringing mixed surface touring gear to the weekend adventurer and budget conscious transnational tourer alike.

The Outpost Handlebar Roll has three components—a plastic bar mount, a harness that clicks into the mount, and a double-ended stuff sack. The harness is sturdy without being heavy, and securely holds the included stuff sack or a 2-3 person tent. Long straps give you the ability to easily load it and cinch everything down tight, with additional tie downs for lashing a jacket or other gear to the front of the harness. The red compression webbing prevents the harness from rocking, and works as a shoulder strap for the stuff sack off the bike. The stuff sack isn’t touted as a true drybag, but in the unscientific test of stuffing it full of clothing and holding it under the faucet for a few minutes everything came out dry, same as my real world experience riding through on and off rain for a couple of days. The bag is large enough to carry most all the clothing you really want to carry on a bike, and the double ended openings allow easy access to an extra layer without having to unpack if you plan accordingly. While having the entire harness easily removable from the quick-release bar clamp is helpful the moment you roll into camp, the clamp itself is the weak point in my opinion. Proprietary plastic bits are bound to give out at the worst moment, and the clamp itself seems overly complicated and never held as tight as I would wish. At one point the locking mechanism that keeps the harness cleat engaged slipped out of place requiring tabletop surgery—luckily an easy fix with no harm done, but something I’d rather avoid on the road. Blackburn has a lifetime warranty on most of their products, so in the event of a problem a new piece is but a phone call away. The entire Outpost Handlebar Roll setup weighs just under 2 lbs for a significant savings over most rack/pannier combos, and is rated for up to 8 lbs of cargo, though the lighter the better on the bars. I don’t foresee returning to traditional racks and panniers for anything but the most heavily loaded touring, this piece is in my kit to stay.
www.blackburndesign.com