Tailfin launches Kickstarter campaign for AeroPack - MTB dropper post compatible bikepacking kit
High-performance cycling equipment company Tailfin has today launched a new Kickstarter campaign to seek backing for its innovative new AeroPack product range. It's road, gravel or mountain bike compatible kit and importantly, works with dropper posts too.
All the info you need to know is in this cool video below. Our mates over at road.cc have also taken a first look at the kit and you can read all about that here. The other important piece of information this - The Kickstarter campaign link will begin 11am on Wednesday 25th July 2018, and needs £20,000 to go into production, click here to support it.
The AeroPack takes on the seat pack market and is the follow up to its wildly successful T1 carbon rack and pannier range, which launched in 2016. Like its predecessor, the AeroPack has been designed to completely redefine how you carry gear on your bike.
The AeroPack family is comprised of three different models to suit whichever type of riding you do: road, gravel or mountain bike.
- The AeroPack Carbon
- The AeroPack Alloy
- The AeroPack Trunk
Each model shares a 20-litre waterproof rolltop pack with a built-in lightweight rigid backbone and these three models differ from each other in the way they attach to the bike. The AeroPack has been designed to solve the problems that traditional ‘soft-bag’ seat packs suffer from, such as compromised ride quality; time-consuming and challenging to pack and then access your goods; fiddly attachment systems; and compatibility issues with dropper posts, smaller bike frames and low saddle heights.
AeroPack Carbon and Aeropack Alloy
The AeroPack Carbon and the Aeropack Alloy both consist of an integrated bag and rack system, in which the rack is permanently connected to the bag for improved weight reduction. They feature specially-designed parabolic arches that strip out the ability to attach side panniers for improved weight reduction. The AeroPack Carbon’s rack body is made from carbon fibre, while the AeroPack Alloy is constructed from 6061-T6 aluminium.
Aeropack Trunk
The AeroPack Trunk consists of a bag only, which mounts securely to Tailfin’s original T1 carbon pannier rack, positioning the bag directly behind the rider, and is a great option for existing owners of the T1.
How does it work?
Tailfin AeroPacks are attached to your bike via a rigid structure and engineered pivots, joints and connectors. This eradicates the ‘tail-wag’ that plagues many seat pack systems, ensuring your gear is held solidly in place, especially when climbing out of the saddle or descending at high speed, offering a confidence-inspiring ride quality.
What bikes will it fit?
The AeroPack takes Tailfin’s T1 axle mounting expertise and builds on it. Depending on the model it can virtually any bike, be it road, gravel, MTB, fat bike or full suspension bike, with rim or disc brakes, and with or without dropper post. The Tailfin Axle, which contains the lower mounting points, replaces either QR or thru axles. It’s designed to work with even the newest standards including boost and even super-boost spacing.
Every product in the AeroPack family has been designed to be quick-release and can be attached to a bike in a matter of seconds without tools, saving precious time at the start or end of a ride. The bag is high-frequency welded (not sewn) and therefore completely waterproof. Uniquely, it has a wide-mouthed roll-top opening that runs lengthways across the top of the pack. It’s easy to pack, unpack or organise your belongings, especially when it’s mounted to the bike.
Although it’s designed for wild adventures, Tailfin appreciates that, by sizing the AeroPack to fit a 13” laptop, it can be used in the city just as easily. Finally, there are twin light mounts and dual-sided pockets, making it easy to access small items easily.
What is aero about it?
All three products in the AeroPack line-up sit directly behind the rider, nearly completely sheltered from the wind. This allows the AeroPack to deliver aerodynamic performance that gives nothing away to traditional seat packs, and gives you a significant advantage over traditional side-mounted panniers.
Additionally, the AeroPack contains Twin Stacking Straps that allow extra gear to be stacked on top of the pack in the wind shadow of the rider. From the wind tunnel tests, moving a 9L bar bag from the front of the bike to the top of the AeroPack saved around 10-20 watts of power (36kmh at zero yaw).
Kickstarter
Keep an eye on road.cc for a future review and support the Kickstarter campaign, it's already at the halfway point within in a couple of hours of the launch! A pledge of £219 will get you an AeroPack Alloy on an 'earlybird offer', there are plenty of other options to choose from to inculde the carbon version of the pack or the T1 rack too.