I have held off as long as I could but I am afraid I have had to raise the prices on the bags. The main cause of this is the continuing weak Pound causing materials prices to rise. I am also using extra hardware, including military grade buckles compared to when I set the prices originally.
I still believe the bags offer excellent value, as great performing British made artisan bags.
The observant amoungst you may have noticed that the links at the top of the page have now changed – there is now a link to the “store” – click on it and you will see the bags listed there and can easily choose the available options for each bag (colours / extras / postage etc) and it will calculate the price for you.
Wait time for bags is still around 6 weeks, so if you are after a bag for Christmas get your order in soon! 
Also now offering custom vinyl printing for the front flaps of the bags:
Happy Riding,
Dan
BÖIKZMÖIND – A Fixed Gear Bike is… from BÖIKZMÖIND on Vimeo.
Boikzmoind is a documentary film about fixed gear riding in Bristol, by Gav Strange.
It’s something I have been involved with for quite some time now (Gav started filming it 3 years ago) and it has been amazing to see it grow from a short Mash style video into a brilliant 30 minute documentary film. I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Gav and much to my surprise and horror a fair amount of my interview made it to the final cut.
The film premièred as part of Bristol’s Watershed Cyclescreen but was aired outdoors on the BBC bigscreen behind @bristol. This was an amazing event by itself and by the start of the screening there must have been upwards of 300 people watching the free screening – mostly with bikes and beers. A perfect opportunity to catch up with riders I had not seen in a while, whilst being continually amazed by the seemingly exponential growth of cyclists in Bristol
It is a beautifully shot and very inspirational film, which I feel captures the essence of why we chose to ride fixed gear bikes in Bristol. I lost count of the number of people saying that they couldn’t wait to get out and ride after seeing it, a sure sign of a great bike film.
Further screenings are planned as far away as Peurto Rico, although I shall endeavour to make it to at least one Londonshowing (hopefully the Tokyo Fixed Gear screening on the 9th Sept)
Gav has already started work on the photobook and DVD release (planned for later this year) and I will try and produce a couple of Boikzmoind themed bags for the release.
More details here: http://www.boikzmoind.com/
Its been a pretty damp windy couple of weeks here in Bristol so in between being soaked and buffeted I have been busy with the sewing machine.
Here are a couple more bags I have just finished, another grey/red Greyhound but this time with black edging, reflective strips and an xstrap and my first Whippet in a little while.
This all reminds me that I dearly need to make myself a new bag, I am still using my 18month old prototype, that was stitched (not very neatly) on a domestic machine. “Unfortunately” its still going (very) strong, despite my best efforts (and those of a Micra driver the other week)… ho hum.
Anyway – here are a couple more shots and as ever – plenty more pics available on my flickr site.
I Â am also hoping to start offering custom Embroidery for the front flaps soon – so stay tuned!
Click the links on the right to see more photos of some of the latest bags from Levrier. This bag is a custom Greyhound – with grey cordura outer and red webbing and edging along. Â Another feature requested for this bag was the ability to store a Krypto Fahgeddaboudit lock on the front – so the webbing has been adjusted to allow this monster lock to fit.
It has been a pretty busy couple of months at Levrier, which unfortunately means that the wait time for new bags is now up to 5 weeks – this allows me time to ensure all raw materials are available and up to scratch before making the bag.
If you are desperate for a bag then keep an eye on the site as I am hoping to add some stock bags for immediate order in the near future.
I have had a few requests for some additional colours, so have taken a shot to illustrate some of the options (hat and fruit not included)
On my monitor the colours are pretty close, but of course a camera and screen can never capture the exact likeness of particular colours so if in doubt I can provide samples. The webbing is also available in black.
Just to say that the good people over at road.cc have just posted a review of an early version of the Greyhound bag – Read the review at road.cc here
I should add that the Greyhound bag (and Deerhound) have had a few further tweaks following the feedback and testing from the cycleshow these include:
# triglides to stop the bottom compression straps coming loose when just the velcro is used to close the bag.
# quick releases on the compression straps, suspension straps and stabiling strap
# adjustable main buckle position
# sternum slider style stabilising strap adjusters – 3 (2 on the main strap, 1 on the rib strap) – enabling you to tailor where the buckle connects – also allowing should you have an x-strap to have offset xstrap and stabilising strap connects.
# triglides for adjusting the suspension strap take off points
# webbing keepers for all webbing/straps
I will at some point get round to taking some detailed pictures etc of all of these…
So, after the Cycleshow is all done and dusted I have had some great feedback.
I have chosen to implement a few of these ideas straight off:
1st no charge for right shouldered bags any more – I did it originally because I thought it would be more work but after making a few bags right shouldered I have realised that it makes no real difference – so I shouldn’t be charging extra.
2nd Some people have mentioned that if you have the bag overfilled you can struggle to get the flap secured – with that in mind I am offering a set of strap extenders – basically straps with a male and female buckle on each end that attach to the main straps and extend them – this should allow you to secure extra-large loads. They will cost £5 for a pair.
Levrier bags designs are pretty fluid, as I am constantly coming up with different and hopefully better ways of doing things, these little tweaks (which are often invisible on the finished bag) are added without much ceremony but all help to build a better bag.
Finally – if you have any suggestions about how to make a better bag, then by all means let me know and I will trial them out
Just finished 2 more interesting bags – one black and red greyhound with twin pockets, reflective strip and x-strap and one new bigger bag – much the same layout as a greyhound but with an x-strap and just a bit bigger
This is approximately 55 litres to the Greyhounds 35 – although the overall outer dimensions don’t look that much different, the scaling of width, height and depth increases the capacity quite considerably.
The Deerhound starts at £175 (as shown above) – its worth noting that this includes the x-strap, as I feel a bag this size is always going to need one.
Plenty more pics on the flickr link on the left for you.
