I wanted to do some gravel charcuterie rides but didn't have any hardwood that fit in a frame bag (or any hardwood actually) so I designed one for my own rides plus a few extras that I'll put in our web store soon. Details here.
My friend Tim Brudnicki from Tree Purpose of Eau Claire, WI helped turn this idea into reality and here are the details. If you have any thoughts on whether these seem neat or if I'm just overthinking this, shoot me at email at josh at the nxrth dot com.
NOTE: We only made a small batch and they will be for sale HERE to our Patrons first in the next few days. They are the special team of supporters who are helping build more adventure cycling resources up north. If there are any left, we'll make them available publicly after that.
About the angled cutout
I've tried shoving a few different pieces of wood into my frame bag but always run into two problems. First, my bike is very small which makes my half frame bag also really small so it's hard to find a piece of wood that fits and second, the angles of a bike aren't conducive to wood with right angles. So we cutout the corner giving it a nice angle that mirrors the common angle on a bicycles down tube.
About the notches
Not everybody rides with a frame bag. We put notches along both sides so that it's easy to strap to anywhere you have room on your bike such as under the saddles or on a cargo cage.
About the wood
The wood is from a black walnut tree that came down about a mile from my house and probably lived a jolly life. It was milled, kiln-dried, and machined in Eau Claire. Black walnut is great for cutting boards because it is hard wood and has tight pores that resists bacteria and is easy to clean.
About the Sizing
One size fits most.These are 4" x 11". If you're looking to show up at your in law's house with a big spread of exotic meats, cheeses, crackers, olives, and organic jalapeño cranberry spread, this is probably going to be too small. Also, if you're wanting to put this in a half frame bag and don't have 4 inches of vertical space, you're out of luck.
3 Ways to Carry it On Your Bike
Have fun with it. Ride like a hooligan and eat like royalty.
1. In Your Frame Bag
This board was born for frame bags. You're going to slide it in and just feel good about having a little living piece of the northwoods tucked right in where it fits beautifully.
2. Strapped Under Your Saddle
Every saddle is different: rail length, rail angle, room between the rails and the seat post, etc. So the fit will be different for every bike. But no worries. We're gravel bikers. We're ok running to garage for a few Voile straps and taking the time to get it right.
3. Strapped to a Cargo Cage
If you're lucky enough to have triple mounts on your fork blades, you're going to look real nice with a charcuterie board and a chunk o' meat hanging on for dear life under a pair of bikepacking straps.
Want one?
These will be available HERE to Patrons first in the next few days. If there are any left after that, we'll put them out to everyone.
