Making Innovative Bikepacking Gear & Rebuilding After Hurricane Helene with Rockgeist’ s Greg Hardy

Greg Hardy started sewing his own bikepacking bags while getting his PhD in materials science, which led him to put his career on hold, move to Asheville, NC, and found Rockgeist — which became one of the top bag makers in the bikepacking world. But things came crashing down when Hurricane Helene left their workshop under six feet of water. Greg joins us today to tell that story and how they rebuilt Rockgeist afterward. Note: We Want to Hear From You! Please let us know if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover or a guest you’d like us to have on Bikes and Big Ideas. Email us at info@blisterreview.com to weigh in. RELATED LINKS: Momentous: livemomentous.com code: Blister Factor: http://factormeals.com/BLISTERBIKES50OFF Blister Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide Get Our Free Newsletter & Gear Giveaways BLISTER+ Get Yourself Covered BLISTER Access Pass Rockgeist TOPICS & TIMES: Sewing bags and Getting a PHD (1:21) Founding Rockgeist (4:34) Why Asheville, NC? (6:20) Greg’s First Bag (10:25) Custom Framebag Challenges (11:38) Welding Versus Sewing (18:31) Hurricane Helene Devastation (22:17) Rebuilding Rockgeist (25:05) New Products (31:50) Greg’s Bikepacking Plans (38:39) CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS: The Blister Vault Blister Cinematic CRAFTED GEAR:30 Blister Podcast