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Bikes & Big Ideas

Bikes & Big Ideas

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

Bikes & Big Ideas · Sep 22, 2026 · 44:23

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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.

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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)

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Episodes: Bikes & Big Ideas

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