Ergon is a German company that made its name with a range of unique ergonomic grips, and has recently turned its hand to hydration packs.
As with the grips, Ergon has looked to improve comfort, and the BD1 and BD2 packs address several key flaws with carrying water/food/tools/spare clothing on your back. Chief among these problems is the pressure often exerted on the shoulders, and the pack moving around on your back when getting animated on the bike.
There's two key aspects to the design of the pack. Firstly, a lightweight plastic frame redistributes the weight normally placed on the shoulders and places it on the hips, held in place by a large padded waist strap. Secondly, the shoulder straps are mounted to a small plate, which is then attached to the main plastic frame via the Flink ball-joint. This ball joint allows the shoulder straps to rotate as your body twists left and right when jostling through singletrack, keeping the pack central on your back. The vertical height of the shoulder straps can be adjusted according to your height.
As well as an extremely comfortable fit, the actual bag is thoughtfully designed. Made from a tough 1000D nylon, the bags feature plenty of pockets, internal and external, hidden rain covers, an adjustable pocket for a hydration bladder (not included), and a helmet retention cover. Two sizes are available, the 12 litre BD1 and 15 litre BD2.
Racer types had been requesting a lighter and slimmer version of Ergon's grip design, with the company responding with the launch of the GX1 series, coming next year. A lighter rubber is used to reduce the gram count and there's now an bar-end option, adding just 68g.
There's also a pair of gloves to match the grips, the HM1 line-up. Features include a two-piece closure, which tightens up the slack in the glove across the entire top of the hand, rather than just at the wrist. On the bottom, padding is kept to a bare minimum, with differing densities strategically placed. Inside the two fore-fingers the seams have been sealed externally to further increase comfort.
www.ergon-bike.com
Elly Nash
