# Specialized Burra Burra Stabilizer Seatpack



## toni31 (Jul 22, 2012)

Anybody owns this seatpack and can give some impressions?

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/accessories/burra-burra-stabilizer-seatpack-20/118430

Does it have any flaws?

Ideally I would buy Mr. Fusion but its not available:

https://porcelainrocket.com/products/mr-fusion-v2


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## lentamentalisk (Jul 21, 2015)

I'd go with the Arkel Seatpacker if you can't wait for the Mr. Fusion to come back in stock. 
https://www.arkel-od.com/en/seatpacker-15-bikepacking-seat-bag.html
Really anything to avoid Specialized. The materials look much better, more durable, and the design is better thought through. Not to mention the Arkel slides right off if you want to take it inside with you, and with an adapter, is dropper compatible.

Your other option is to keep an eye out on FB and such for people selling used Mr. Fusions.

Last thing to note, the Mr. Fusion is one of the only truly waterproof seat bags. The Revelate Terrapin is the only other that I know of. If you are in desert country that's probably fine to lose, but here in New England, full waterproof is non-negotiable.


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## toni31 (Jul 22, 2012)

But Arkel is also out of stock. As for waiting for stock and unknown shipment time is not something I prefer.

Funny I have Specialized Burra Burra Stabilizer available in my LBS, however I cannot test this prior to purchase and return if used.


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## fotooutdoors (Jul 8, 2010)

Bedrock black dragon? Black Dragon Dropper Seat Bag - Bedrock Bags I'm also in the camp of avoiding specialized; they went after one of the pioneers in bikepacking, so they lost my money


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## toni31 (Jul 22, 2012)

Model : Standard post - Out of stock 

But anyway, I prefer Mr fusion or Arkel, I think they have sorted swaying the best way. If only they can actually be bought.


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## Volsung (Nov 24, 2011)

https://ridepdw.com/products/bindle-rack# is an option too


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## toni31 (Jul 22, 2012)

Call me picky but its ugly rail design


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## nowhereyonder (Nov 29, 2016)

toni31 said:


> Model : Standard post - Out of stock
> 
> But anyway, I prefer Mr fusion or Arkel, I think they have sorted swaying the best way. If only they can actually be bought.


The Coconino has a fairly solid mount using the Railwing (and it's available on the website).

IMHO, little bit of sway and movement- especially in the event a crash- is a good thing.


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## lentamentalisk (Jul 21, 2015)

toni31 said:


> Ideally I would buy Mr. Fusion but its not available


Instagram says they are back in stock. But act fast!


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## toni31 (Jul 22, 2012)

Thanks, but 210$ plus shipping to Europe is I think too much for me.

Also, as nowhereyond says, having a little bit of sway might be good after all, especially if you drive off road.

Is this rail material same or similar to those bike racks like tubus has?

I am wondering if you hit those rail hard during the crash, is this going to bend or break?


Also, what is with the Specialized hate? Is there something wrong with their gear? I was looking at their backpacking bags and they look nice, buckles and all looks sturdy. The only thing I am not sure of is material they use which feels like fancy leather, not sure if this is the best material for outdoors where could be lots of scratching..


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## Volsung (Nov 24, 2011)

Specialized sues people when they feel their product names are being infringed upon. 

If you say it like that it doesn't sound like they're doing anything bad, but they give products really generic names and then sue other companies for using the same generic names. (like Epic Designs, Roubaix, some stump names)

The same people ignore Trek's buying up and dissolving competition or QBP's income shaming and telling people to spend more money for the same product they could get somewhere else.

But anyway, their products are fine.


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## Rob_E (Nov 22, 2010)

lentamentalisk said:


> Last thing to note, the Mr. Fusion is one of the only truly waterproof seat bags. The Revelate Terrapin is the only other that I know of. If you are in desert country that's probably fine to lose, but here in New England, full waterproof is non-negotiable.


I have the Terrapin, and I like it. I don't have a dropper bar or a suspension seatpost, and my off-roading on it has really only been rail-trails so far, so not a great bikepacking test, but it sure stayed dry (I tested that aspect pretty thoroughly) and stayed put. I also enjoyed the "holster" aspect that allowed me to remove it and put it back on more easily, as well as to repurpose that holster a couple of times on grocery runs.

I can't see not going waterproof, but then that's the pannier argument all over again. Some people prefer to bag the stuff that needs to stay dry separately. But in the waterproof topic, I know Ortleib has released some bikepacking gear. Don't remember if they did a seatpost bag or not, but if they did, I bet it stays dry.

But to the actual OP, no. No experience with the Specialized version.


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## nowhereyonder (Nov 29, 2016)

toni31 said:


> I am wondering if you hit those rail hard during the crash, is this going to bend or break?
> 
> Also, what is with the Specialized hate? Is there something wrong with their gear?


I've had some crashes with an overly packed PDW Bindle, and it's fared fine. It twists on the seatpost if too heavily burdened and laid down, so generally it requires loosening and retightening. It hasn't been subjected to super hard falls, but it is an exposed rack vs others. The frame on the Fusion is centered and as it's made out of 4130 CroMo, I'm sure it'll be fine in a crash in most circumstances.

Specialized hate- I think the comments on this gear test exemplify people's frustration with the big S. Essentially, in the bikepacking world, a large litigious corporation has entered a market where smaller passionate players have been very innovative in conceptualizing and building gear have been able to adapt and improve each other's concepts with enough space for each to develop their own specialty. Only after the market research's been done does Specialized arrive on the scene.

The Big S makes nice bikes. But their behavior past and present seems to indicate that they care more about the dominance of the brand more than they care about cycling as a community endeavor. I think people who bikepack as well owe those small independents (as well as each other for design testing and beta) a lot of credit for bringing useable gear which allowed us further explore beyond our pannier'd doorsteps.

Imho.


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## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

toni31 said:


> Does it have any flaws?


Yes, it's made by Speciialized.

Here's another option: https://defiantpack.com/collections/seatbags/products/malamute-seatbag-harness

Support the little guy, tell the big red S to suck balls.


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## Smithhammer (Jul 18, 2015)

mikesee said:


> Support the little guy, tell the big red S to suck balls.


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## richwolf (Dec 8, 2004)

I think the specialized bag is worth a look and at $139 a pretty good value and in stock at the below link.

Sure it is easy to jump on Specialized for not being a small hipster company but specialized also sponsors a lot of racers and employs a lot of people. The nature of any business is pretty dog eat dog and brutal. Hey Trek stood behind Lance and pretty much put the screws to Lemond.
Compared to a lot of industries the bike industry is pretty small. Is the guy or gal stitching bags out of their garage sponsoring people and paying taxes?
I don't own any specialized bikes ( had a stumpjumper back in 1989) nor have any of their gear save a set of plus tires on my wife's bike so I have no skin in their game.

https://www.eriksbikeshop.com/SPECI...wu2hQRSTnmNMDv-fV5XXuy76fB_CESxhoCikMQAvD_BwE


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## Smithhammer (Jul 18, 2015)

C'mon, man - it has _nothing_ to do with being "hipster."

As to your question, "is the guy or gal stitching bags out of their garage sponsoring people and paying taxes?" In every instance I can think of, with the smaller businesses I've bought bags from, I see no reason to even raise that question, or doubt that they indeed are.

Frankly, to suggest that just because someone is running a small business, they might not be paying taxes, is a lame line of questioning, imo. Without an army of accountants to exploit every loophole, most small businesses are paying a _higher_ percentage than big multi-nationals (which includes S), _and_ they are making their stuff in the U.S. with U.S. labor. If that's important to you...


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## alias (May 9, 2005)

Why on earth would you question whether a small business is paying their taxes?! 

Richwolf is a Walmart shopper / chrysler minivan driver / TGI Fridays patron I suspect :-O


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## knl2stl (Jan 7, 2011)

I think that many of the Specialized soft goods are well designed; however, I stopped buying them awhile back due to poor execution. Just horrible quality. Perhaps that has changed in the last 5 years. Even if that is the case, I don't think I would purchase from them now, especially when there are US made options that really are not that more costly.


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## idahomer (Feb 22, 2017)

Imagine if when possible we all shopped cottage instead of corporate


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## toni31 (Jul 22, 2012)

richwolf said:


> I think the specialized bag is worth a look and at $139 a pretty good value and in stock at the below link.
> 
> Sure it is easy to jump on Specialized for not being a small hipster company but specialized also sponsors a lot of racers and employs a lot of people. The nature of any business is pretty dog eat dog and brutal. Hey Trek stood behind Lance and pretty much put the screws to Lemond.
> Compared to a lot of industries the bike industry is pretty small. Is the guy or gal stitching bags out of their garage sponsoring people and paying taxes?
> ...


Yes, it is good value compared to some mentioned in this thread.


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## richwolf (Dec 8, 2004)

idahomer said:


> Imagine if when possible we all shopped cottage instead of corporate


In spite of perceived common knowledge I don't drive a mini van (old Toyota 4 Runner with 240k on it), don't shop at Walmart, or patronize TGIF (since I gave up alcohol in the mid 80's)

I live in a tiny town and we do as much shopping here as possible. Love locally owned hardware stores although Lowes and Home Depot are on my radar.

I have been self employed since the early 80's and still am.

How many people say "support your local bike shop" but then buy on line cause the prices are better and they don't pay sales tax if it is from an out of state vendor? In California you are supposed to pay sales tax on taxable items whether or not you bought them in state or online. But in actuality how many people do this?? In fact the government cracked down on Amazon and you now are charged the state tax rate on purchases from them. If you buy from out of state and don't pay taxes and the state you live in requires that you report it and pay sales tax on it then you are evading taxes.

I owned a bike shop from the late 80's into the early 90's and it was a very frustrating business. I too got pissed at so many things beyond my control that I got out of it. It was bad then trying to make it and today it is so much harder. The internet was in it's infancy back then but today it is crazy!

My bikepacking gear bags
Revelate bags
Bedrock Bags
Nuclear Sunrise
Jannd Bags
Some other ones whose name I don't recall.

And someone called me out about the whole paying taxes thing: Here is a link that gives some credence to my statement. Small Businesses: The Engine of Tax Fraud - MarketWatch

I just don't understand why people have to go after Specialized because of a few bad decisions on their part? I could tell you stories about other major companies who really made it financially dangerous for me to do business with them.

Hey I don't see eye to eye with some on this forum but I don't think it is my business to tell you who to buy from and who to avoid unless a particular product is not good. We had a local hardware business and the guy was a jerk to a lot of people but I found out how to deal with him and he pretty much had most things I needed saving me countless trips down the hill. Many of us almost cried when he shut down his doors.


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