Okay, let's deal with the name first. Douchebags is a Norwegian company with roots in the action sports industry. Since 2010, it has produced high-end ski bags and luggage.
According to Jessica Linder, Douchebags' marketing executive, the name came about after asking the internet for naming suggestions (because that always goes well) followed by mulling the options over during a long night of drinking.
“The name ‘Douchebag’ kept coming up,” Linder said.
Douchebags in road cycling
Douchebags is making inroads into the cycling thanks to a partnership with Team Sky. The team appreciated the details in the company’s luggage and asked if Douchebags could design a bicycle travel case.
The Team Sky mechanics wanted a bike bag that required a bare minimum of disassembly — no removal of the seatpost or handlebars.
The result is the Tour, a road-centric travel case.
The Tour uses an alloy chassis to support the frame. There are compartments for the front and rear wheels and pockets to hold the pedals and other small essentials. The Tour angles up from front to back, which means many riders won’t need to drop their seatpost.
As for the handlebar, there are molded EVA foam pods that stick out the allow the handlebars to remain installed. These pods can be unzipped from the case and replaced with flat panels if space is at a premium.
Another nod toward keeping the bag compact is the fact that the bag folds flat, making it easy to stow under a bed or in a closet when not in use.
The Tour has a claimed weight of 10kg / 22lb and will retail for $999 when it becomes available in early 2017.
Mountain bike Douchebags
Douchebags also developed a travel case for mountain bikes. The Trail is a streamlined case, and it’s not as tall as the Tour, so riders will need to drop their seatpost. Since mountain bike handlebars are so wide, it wasn’t practical to use the pod system, so the handlebar must be removed.
The Trail can accommodate mountain bikes with 27.5 or 29in wheels. It has foam blocks to protect the fork and handlebar. Like the Tour, the Trail folds flat for storage.
The Tour has a claimed weight of 9kg / 19.8lb and will retail for $699 when it becomes available in early 2017.
Douchebag details
The Tour and Trail share similar construction. The outer is constructed from 500d polyester tarpaulin , the same waterproof material frequently used for dry bags. The bag is protected by a ribcage-like structure with armored panels to ward off ill-tempered airport baggage monkeys. (Is there any other kind?)
There are locking zippers for security and a wide wheelbase for stability. In addition to handles on the front, back and sides, there’s a shoulder strap to make it possible to tow the bag through an airport with while pulling roller bags in each hand.
