Some of the earliest cool bags that Rivendell carried -- and brought back to the forefront of American cycling consciousness as a result -- were from Carradice. Thanks in no small part to Rivendell's efforts in that regard, we now have dozens of excellent small bag makers across the country, including Lemolo, ChicagoWig, Black Star, Freight and Acorn. I am glad for all of them and the diversity of design and function their bags offer.
I still love and adore my Carradice saddlebags -- my oldest is going on 15 years now and could use some reproofing but still works great. The problem is that Carradice has never really grown their production to meet increased demand, especially since establishing "stockists" worldwide, and now it takes months for a retailer to get their Carradice order. (Disclaimer: my shop is a Carradice stockist.) Carradice bags remain an excellent product, well-made and durable and giving tremendous bang-for-the-buck/pound. But you need to be patient and persistent to get one these days. Meanwhile, Rivendell offers some excellent American-made bags that are more expensive partly because of the quality, and partly because they're American-made. I appreciate that Rivendell cares about the state of American manufacturing and supports companies that are committed to keeping it alive, even on a smaller scale. When my budget allows, I am willing to pay the higher price for an American-made bag or garment, because I know that the person who made it is being paid a fair wage and works under safe, regulated working conditions. Not incidentally, my American-made stuff tends to last longer these days than its cheaper [Chinese-made] counterpart. Those things matter to me, and I suspect they matter to quite a few other folks as well. If they didn't, Rivendell's ethic wouldn't fly and they'd be scrambling to offer the cheaper stuff in a hurry. Be patient. More coolness is probably on the horizon. beth -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
