Peter Sutherland is a NYC-based filmmaker, photographer and artist who has made a series of documentary films about passionate cyclists. “Sutherland,” says the press release, “has followed athletes, bike makers and enthusiasts on their home ground, biking and talking about their strong passion for the bike culture.”
The series is called “The Way I Roll,” and Commute by Bike gets to be the first to present the latest film, featuring competitive downhill racer Chris van Dine:
The offer to premier the video came from a PR agent for Thule. I asked, What the heck does that have to do with commuting by bike?
The answer came back that Thule is launching new line of bike racks and bags specially made for commuting, but the products can also be used for outdoor adventures. The line is called Thule Pack n Pedal. This film series by Peter Sutherland was made in connection with the launch of the Thule Pack n Pedal range.
There’s the marketing connection to bike commuting and competitive downhill racing.
In my cynicism, I imagined your typical stunt bike video with crappy “high energy” music; the cliche Red Bull formula, but with a Thule logo at the end.
Now that I’ve seen the video, I understand that the film is more than a pretext for putting a logo on a celebrity rider. Van Dyne seems to grasp the “economic and communal aspect of biking” which is a theme we emphasize here at Commute by Bike and our sister site Utility Cycling.
The plug for Pedals for Progress pushed my nonprofit button, and made me glad I’d accepted the offer in spite of my initial cynicism.
Thule has developed a “revolutionary handlebar attachment with various accessories (bag, wallet, iPad/map holder) and a family of top-of-the line pannier bags.”
This line is so new that other than Thule employes with high security clearance, apparently only Bike Rumor has had a chance to see the products up close.
From the quality of the photographs, I imagine these photos were taken hastily while the Wackenhut security guard at the door had nodded off. (Buy me a beer sometime and ask me about my experience employing Wackenhut guards.)
Back to Bike Rumor:
[Thule] bought Case Logic in 2007 and introduced luggage in 2010. That, combined with a fervent cycling culture within the company, was the impetus to create a way to carry stuff on the bike. The side mission was to attach things to the bike in a way that met the needs of active cyclists as well as commuters that are more interested in appearing proper at the office than on the bike.
At my place of employment, Campfire Cycling, we definitely know bike bags and bike racks. We don’t carry Thule products, but we could in the future.
Pack n Pedal was first presented at the Eurobike 2012 fair, Germany. It will be available in selected independent bike shops in major cities in Europe, North and South America in late, 2012.
At first glance, the bags look to be similar in concept to the Ortlieb QL3 system and other proprietary mounting systems I’ve seen — but with magic magnets, and metal blade panels to hide the rail mounting system when the bags are not on the racks. That is a superficial observation having never touched or seen this system in person.
Okay, Thule, you’ve melted my cynicism, pushed my do-gooder buttons, and intrigued me with your new twist on mounting systems.
Now that I’m eating out of your hand, Thule, I guess I’ll be looking for you a Interbike.
Here is a gallery of newly-released photos of Pack n Pedal components and accessories: