Bikepacking Kit Failures - Unlucky or Unacceptable?

[@onemorecyclist]

Update on the delaminated mat (September) ... fair play to Thermarest for a no quibble and quick replacement. They could have split hairs around warranty but instead just did the right thing. Good communication via email and I can't fault their customer service around this return and replacement. Happy cycling, folks!

[@trek520rider2]

I bought a Gore Bike Wear jacket in Kendal, England. About 6 months later I was crossing the North Cascades in Washington state, elev about 5000', and got caught in a sleet storm.The jacket leaked like a sieve, I could feel ice water running down my arms, by the time I got to 2000 ft. I was hypothermic. After a long hot shower and a night in a hotel I recovered enough to carry on our tour. When I got back home I sent an email to Gore BIke Wear in the US telling them their jacket had nearly killed me. GBW said "Send it back" which I did. About a week later I got a phone call, the bloke said "We've tested your jacket and it is defective. You can have any one of our jackets to replace it" I picked the most expensive one on the website and they guy said "That's a nice jacket" A few days later I got the new jacket. No moaning, no asking for receipts, it wasn't even bought in the US. Left me with good feelings about Gore Bike Wear.

[@onemorecyclist]

Great aftersales there but a serious fail all the same getting caught out in those conditions. Thanks for sharing that and happy cycling! 🙂

[@trek520rider2]

@@onemorecyclist Well it was merely rain at 2000 ft and we thought "Getting wet is part of touring" so off we set. By the time the sleet came we were past the point of no return.

[@onemorecyclist]

@@trek520rider2 yes, definitely all part of touring and all good with the right equipment. Apologies i meant to write a serious 'kit' fail in my last comment. Reads like i was criticising being out in that weather when i meant to just criticise your faulty jacket! Happy cycling!

[@trek520rider2]

@@onemorecyclist Thanks for clearing that up. Without the jacket failure it would have been a hard but enjoyable day. We were naive about the elements and perhaps should have realized that rain at 2000' would be something much less pleasant at 5000'. Lesson learned. BTW as a former field service engineer. It's a good idea to let a quality supplier like Thermarest know about your problem so they can fix production problems as well as give you a refund or replacement. In the case of my jacket: the bad one was made in China and the excellent replacement was made in Thailand.

[@jameswatson5380]

Had a Tailfin rack (aluminium) complete failure on the Corrieyairack Pass two night ago, with about 45litres of kit on it. Thankfully bodged it… but what a place to have a disaster like that! Summer light, good weather and lots and lots of rubber bungies saved the day. But ultimately ended my LEJOG / GB Divide trip. 😢

[@onemorecyclist]

Ah, crap! Gutted for you about that fail en route, James. Glad you got a bodge sorted though and got off the pass okay. I'll bet that was some ride up from Land's End - much kudos!

[@siwphoto]

I'm voting for 'unlucky', but you can probably counter that with cheap production 'out east' and that the 'better' technology gets in kit design, the more fancy it is and more prone it is to failure. Good vid my friend.

[@onemorecyclist]

Cheers, mate. Fancy kit that doesn't last ... yep, I think there's a lot of that about these days. Positive noises on email from Thermarest at least but you know, shouldn't have crapped out in the first place. #stillanoyed 🙂

[@randelscyclevlogperthwa7342]

Pannier bolts that loosen or break is pretty common, especially on rough tracks. Been there, done that. A small piece of wire or gaffer tape can hold the weight better than cable ties.

[@onemorecyclist]

Yes, I was pretty relaxed about the rack as I know it's one of those things that happens with prolonged use. The old/original bolt I pulled out had some signs of deep rust so maybe a lesson is to change them every year or so. I don't carry any cable or wire but that could be a nice addition to the toolkit for repairs, thanks! 🙂

[@philbenniebiking8339]

Wahoo have been great with me with me, providing a free replacement when the screen started showing a large blank area, after two years the replacement started doing the same and they have just replaced it again with the newer model. No questions asked. excellent customer service.

[@onemorecyclist]

That's fantastic aftersales and I think really fosters loyalty with consumers. I'm hearing lots of good things about Wahoo and looking forward to having a play with my new GPS - colour screen too now, proper fancy! Thanks for the comment. 🙂

[@colinwellman9480]

I think you've summed it up fairly, certainly the sleeping mat failure is the worst. Some failures of gear is expected after long use but I've had a Garmin that leaked in heavy rain. A one off maybe but I'd never buy another. I think you had more than your fair share of failures for one trip.

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, Colin. Yes, I think the universe owes me a couple of trouble-free rides now! 🙂

[@Joe90V]

Kit failure (sort of). On holiday I set off for a challenging mountain pass climb of about 50 miles that I had planned for months. Within 8 miles I'd had 4 punctures (using tubs in those days) and had to return to base, pumping up every 200m on my last flat tubular. Almost in tears at frustration and anger!

[@onemorecyclist]

A nightmare ride, especially as I imagine you had high expectations of a great day on the bike ahead! 4 seems to be the magic number with stuff going kaput! 😉 Thanks for the comment!

[@dalj4362]

I know someone who had the same mat, and it happened twice. They were really good at replacing it though. I have the Alpkit Numo mat, and it's been brilliant.

[@onemorecyclist]

Also have a 'warm weather' Alpkit mat and it's been spot on so far. Initial correspondence with Thermarest has been positive, so we'll see. Thanks for the comment and happy cycling!

[@Trekon2]

Glad the weather is good for you Martin, Calderdale looks fun to ride and a nice little beach also. Sorry you had those mishaps. Have you considered a self inflating pad perhaps an ex military one ? And outdoor footwear I have two pairs of Keens great quality with wide fitting one is a lightweight boot and the other one is a robust sandal great for warm days and I will buy them again. Look forward to your next video take care 👏👋

[@onemorecyclist]

Cheers, Phillip. The Thermarest was kind of self-inflating (to a point, then it needed topping up manually) and when it was working it was by far the most comfortable mat I've ever slept on. Nowhere near enough use for it to fail though. Oops, I could start ranting again here! 🙂 Not heard of Keens so will have to check them out, thanks for that. Happy cycling!

[@sarahs784]

It's a shame you had stuff break, especially with the lovely weather! I carry some tools and cable ties in case stuff falls off my elderly bicycle, as I only potter about town on my bike. It must be a worry when things break when you're properly outdoors, glad you got back without problems. Gaffer tape and shoelaces win the day!

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, Sarah. At least the weather was nice while sorting out the various fixes/repairs en route. There's usually some kind of plan b you can make for most things but if you were way off the beaten track - and if the weather was bad - and kit that shouldn't really be failing goes kaput (like that Thermarest) things could get pretty serious. All good fun to look back on ... when you get home safely! 🙂

[@davidhudson7590]

Great salomon shoes came today and have a new thermarest topo luxe😂

[@onemorecyclist]

Yikes! Don't worry I probably just got the Friday afternoon factory ones! 🙂

[@Biking360]

Wow, what a run of bad luck! The rack bolt is a pretty common failure point so no big surprise. The Wahoo I think you did pretty well to get six years of use. The shoes could be down to poor manufacturing if they have possibly been outsourced to some sub-par factory here in Asia. The mat is not excusable though. Theramrest is a huge and highly respected brand that should not have these kinds of problems. I would be pissed off about it and make a complaint.

[@onemorecyclist]

Spot on, Jay. C'est la vie bar the mat, which really shouldn't have had issues after such little use. We'll see if Thermarest agree.

[@davidanness6180]

SPA TI touring bike & Tubus rear rack both use M6 for fixing

[@onemorecyclist]

How do you rate the SPA bike and company (to deal with)? Been looking at their frames on and off for a while, for a possible tourer build.

[@davidanness6180]

I have built up 2 Spa Ti touring bike and one of my cycling friends bought two complete bike from them. We have both been delighted with the quality and service

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks, David. That's really good to know.

[@simonb6058]

Id say the mat was likely a manufacturing error, a bad batch or the like. Hope they sort you out with a replacement. Defo worth asking. I think the other stuff was just bad luck. Id bob some grease on any fixings. Or get some stainless bolts.

[@onemorecyclist]

Cheers, Simon. Yes, c'est la vie with the other stuff but the mat was perhaps a slight dud to begin with. Thanks for the comment!

[@frankducett9]

We pay more for that level off quality and you expect more. In the USAF as a Rescue helicopter crew chief, we fly 1 hour and work on them for 9 hours. Things fail. Gotta be ready. Would you buy a parachute from that camping mat company? Always bring duct tape and and zip ties.

[@onemorecyclist]

Interesting 'servicing to use' ratio there, Frank. And rightly so as there's no room for mechanicals in that line of work I'm sure. I probably would have bought a parachute from them (before this trip) ... and had a very short-lived skydiving career! Best stick to pootling around on a bike! 🙂

[@frankducett9]

​@onemorecyclist Me too, now the bike is all the adventure I need, as well as it being good medicine. Your videos are terrific, the music is perfect. However the Text on the screen could stay up a bit longer. Thanks for all you do.

[@ianbarbar3869]

Not sure whether you manually blow up the mat or not but I recently became aware that human breath contains bacteria that can build up inside the inflatable over time and damage the interior. The way around this is to use a footpump or battery mini-pump. Thanks for sharing.

[@onemorecyclist]

Thanks for that info, Ian. I'd heard that too and generally over the years have avoided keeping my (manually inflated) mats inflated when in storage. This one was kept under the bed in the spare room, unrolled and with the valve open - so kept self-inflated a bit but not with breath, not in direct sunlight, no massive temp fluctuations etc. - pretty much following the manufacturers guidance as far as I can tell. Even with manually inflating it on trips, really shouldn't have failed after so little use (I reckon). We'll see if Therm-a-rest agree when I contact them! 🙂

[@zopEnglandzip]

Description of the demise of your mat was amusing. I used to absolutely love hi tec silver shadows then suddenly they weren't large enough and fell apart in no time, I've carried on using them with much lower expectations for years now and can't even explain why. Bottle cage bolt is m5 as are most pannier mounts but i suppose that doesn't help if the remains of the bolt is stuck in there.

[@onemorecyclist]

If we'd had pliers I might have been able to get the sheered bolt out (which is what what I did when I got home) and yes, used an m5 from elsewhere on the bike. Possible future addition to the toolkit. Hi-Tec Silver Shadows, wow there's a name I've not heard in decades! I remember my dad and I using some of their softer walking boots for the Wainwright's Coast to Coast back in the 1980s - quite a revolution in footwear at the time. 🙂

[@seancowlam9818]

I used to be a massive fan of Salomon footwear but have found that over the last 2-3 years the quality has really declined. So much so that I no longer buy them. I replaced my trail shoes with some Meindl ones and have to say they’re so much better quality.

[@onemorecyclist]

I think with online shopping functionality like 'buy again' etc. it's easy to just stick with one brand. Interesting, will take a look at Meindls. Thanks for the comment!

[@DAB248]

“Brands” build up a reputation, then outsource manufacturing etc to cut costs, until it’s just a name.

[@onemorecyclist]

It can be a bit of a bait and switch game I think.

[@ianwilde1800]

iv had exactly same thing happen with a Therma rest

[@onemorecyclist]

Hope it didn't completely ruin a trip? Had no idea that was an issue with these mats but an Internet search suggests delamination isn't that uncommon. I though they were a quality brand and kit you could use for a long time, so of all the bits that failed that one was the most frustrating by far. Oh dear, I'm ranting again! 🙂

[@kevindean9613]

Did you contact Wahoo about it ? I found them an excellent company to deal with ,I had a faulty Bolt it was way out of warranty & they just sent me a new one .I since treated myself to a roam 2 . Regarding bolts I use stainless ones as they are more flexible from a company called Accu .

[@onemorecyclist]

To be honest it didn't even cross my mind to contact Wahoo, given the age of the unit and how much use and abuse it's had. I've got myself another Wahoo unit though as I really do like and rate them. Thanks for that bolt company tip! 🙂

[@Bikefixguru]

It's not really a kit fail as the rack didn't fail, the bolt failed, for the mat you should always carry a strip of kampa tape as it takes up very little space and can be used to fix loads if stuff.

[@davidhudson7590]

I'm newbie and sharp realised bike gear was crap compared outdoor gear I have

[@onemorecyclist]

@@davidhudson7590 I'm still using bits of outdoor gear i bought in the 90s, particularly Wolfskin and Berghaus stuff. Think there might be some truth in that, or at least that stuff from yesteryear was more hardwearing. Enjoy the new pasttime!

[@Iiiii-c4h]

Thanks but a bit off editing wouldn’t go amiss. Only joking

[@onemorecyclist]

🤣