Made in Australia: Bike Bag Dude
Kedan at Bike Bag Dude proudly makes custom bikepacking equipment for riders around the world.
Words: Georgina von Marburg | Photos: Tim Bardsley-Smith
Specialising in custom bicycle frame bags, Bike Bag Dude is a Newcastle-based brand that make all their products to order. Kedan Griffin is the sole craftsman at Bike Bag Dude, and he likes to run his business a little differently to most. We caught up with the man behind these bombproof bags to find out what makes his products so unique.
Georgina: You have quite a specific business, and it's pretty interesting. I don't really see many others doing this in Australia. So how did you get the idea to make custom frame bags?
Kedan: I got into it when the fat bike phase started in the world. A lot of it is just timing. I got some and I was in Facebook group posts and things like that. And then a mate wanted a bag made, and I helped him out. And then I put a picture up, and that's how it started. I remember just still being excited to get to 50 likes on the Facebook page! Then I broadened the range and I could do more bags and had sponsored athletes winning big races in America.
Georgina: Who are some of the athletes that you sponsor?
Kedan: JP (Jay Petervary), he's huge. He used my stuff for winter ultras and tours and things like that. And Jordan, another big American dude. He wins a lot of stuff. Um, so they were the main ones. There's other ones in America as well, but they were the big ones. I was really big in that scene, and I still send stuff to America.
Georgina: So obviously you can't just decide to make these really high quality, waterproof bags. What was your background before doing this?
Kedan: You kind of can! I've always been able to sew to an extent. I used to make my own clothes when I was younger, and then I had a sewing alterations business. Then I was assistant operations manager at a custom sail making company. Even though I'm not a sail maker – I was more of the operation side of it – I learned stuff about fabrics and how to put fabrics together for the marine environment.
Then when we started doing bags and I think the first ones I did were inside-out and they weren't used. I didn't use the tape that I use now but then somehow, at some point, it must have clicked in the head I went “Oh, why don't I try and do it like that?” I used special tape, a bonding tape.
That’s why all my bags are very distinctive because I have all these seams on the outside. It means you can create a waterproof barrier on the outside because the fabrics are fused together, basically with a bonding tape. But it also means you can have straps externally on those edges so you can always repair and fix things easily. But I don't think anyone else has figured out how to do that.
Georgina: So what's the sort of scale of your business? Do you try to keep bags on hand, or do you only make them by order?
Kedan: I only make them to order, with around a 2 week lead time.
Georgina: And who do you find is the most common sort of customer that comes to you?
Kedan: I'm at the ultimate high-end of what I do, so you get the people who will buy things once or want the best quality straight off the bat. So it’s mainly 40 to 60 year old professionals, and I get lots of repeat business. Everyone's got nice bikes, because you don't want to put my bags on a cheap bike because they're worth more than the bike!
‘Buy quality, buy once’ – that sort of mindset will come to me. There are enough reviews and people talking about my stuff on forums and groups, so I don’t do any marketing.
Georgina: That was going to be my next question. How do you market yourself?
Kedan: It is 100% word of mouth. This has always been the way that works the best, and the least amount of effort. Instead, you put that effort into making the bags and not having complaints and warranties when they go out. The business is at the stage these days where I don't do anything and I still get a plenty of orders coming through each week.
Georgina: And what are some of what are some of the biggest challenges you find running your business? Have you encountered any manufacturing issues, especially over COVID?
Kedan: The hardest part is trying to grow and scale, and training someone. I've trained people multiple times and given up. It’s just because the business is not big enough to offer someone a career path. And there’s ups and downs, and quiet times and busy times – it’s just so hard to retain staff.
Georgina: Totally. And in terms of material technology, where do you see the next big advancement?
Kedan: We’re limited to the fabric makers, as all the stuff we use comes from sail makers. We use the latest and greatest stuff from those companies, and there aren’t any decent other options other than that. It has to be up to those companies to want or need to develop something, and what they do now is pretty damn good.
I can't see myself welding bags together, and there's no technology that exists to do that for custom shapes anyway. You’ll notice this with all the big companies that get welded bags – they're all the same. They're all made by the same company and just different brands. So even the big companies don't have any variety as far as developing new materials.
And I would never have the scale to go to Asia, and I would never do it anyway. My stuff is way stronger and more durable than anything you can buy from there.
Georgina: Wrapping up, what would be your favourite job that you've done so far in terms of making bags?
Kedan: Oh god, I don't know. Like I do so much, and make so many things for high profile people. If I mention one, I'm going to offend others! But I really just like the personal interaction with clients. I don't like the idea of people just click clicking on a website and ordering something. Because I work by myself, I like the interaction with people ordering and asking questions. So I like that side of it, Which is probably why I haven't bothered trying to automate the whole thing.
