Built on the road.
Before BikeBackbone was a company, it was one rider, one overloaded backpack, and thousands of miles ahead.
A journey toward Argentina.
Founder Adam Keen left Valparaiso, Indiana—outside Chicago—on a bicycle with a 44-liter hiking backpack and Argentina on the horizon. The journey began as exploration. The problem that would create BikeBackbone was already on his shoulders.
Made for walking. Miserable for riding.
Across thousands of miles, the same tradeoff returned every day: a backpack was useful away from the bicycle, but punishing during long hours in the saddle. Adam needed the bike to carry its weight without losing the freedom of a backpack.
The idea takes shape.
In Flores, Adam built a pole-like support behind the saddle that carried the backpack’s weight while he continued wearing it. It was rough, immediate, and functional—the first Backbone.
The prototype goes south.
The first Backbone continued through El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Heat, rain, rough roads, and daily use turned the journey itself into the test.
10 months. The road runs out.
Ten months after leaving Valparaiso, Adam reached Yaviza at the edge of the Darién Gap. The road ended there. The journey—and the development of the Backbone—did not.
Across the gap, development continues.
On the other side of the Darién Gap, the route resumed in Barranquilla. The ride toward Neiva became six more months of testing, adjusting, and learning from the Backbone in real travel conditions.
The road becomes a company.
After six months from Barranquilla to Neiva, the expedition had become a development process. In Colombia, Adam kept refining and fabricating the Backbone. Nearly two years and seven versions after the first idea, the consumer-ready BikeBackbone launched in August 2022.
We build freedom into the ride.
BikeBackbone is a bicycle-accessory company shaped by real travel and a simple standard: solve a genuine rider problem, keep the design intuitive, and build it to stay on the road.
Road-born
Our ideas begin with real riders and real conditions—not invented problems.
Purpose-led
We support mobility, independence, and a more comfortable way to carry what matters.
Built to give back
A portion of profits supports people experiencing homelessness through our giving program.