My love affair with Chrome Industries: all things must pass

When I worked at Citybikes, our shop was a Chrome Industries dealer. We sold their bags and a few accessories. Their rep wanted us to sell their shoes and apparel too, but we didn’t have enough floor space or a changing room to make that possible. During the time we were a Chrome dealer, we sold a lot of their messenger bags and backpacks. Meanwhile, I also bought some early models of Chrome shoes with my dealer discount, and have worn almost no other she in the last fifteen years. 

They were not cheap. A medium-sized backpack retailed for over $100 in 2008. The bags were made in the US, and they were durable: Cordura outer, truck tarp liner, lots of double stitching and metal buckles made them tough, and spare parts made them repairable. During my time at Citybikes, I sprang for a Chrome backpack for myself and I still have it almost twenty years later. I have traveled extensively with it and sometimes use it in town for errands.

I’ve had to replace the sternum buckles but otherwise the bag has held up beautifully.

It’s the right size for notebooks, a laptop in padded sleeve, rain gear and a sizeable sack lunch, plus a change of clothes.

On my recent trip to visit Sweetie’s mom, it was big enough to carry all my medications, my iPad, a water bottle and my CPAP machine easily.

It wears a bunch of patches from my travels and is comfortable on or off the bike.

Sadly, this backpack is no longer made.

Chrome was founded in 1994, expanded from their headquarters in Colorado and eventually moved to San Francisco. As their brand grew more popular, Chrome began transitioning from a messenger-forward company to a lifestyle company right after being bought by the Fuerst Group (which own the shoe/apparel brand Keen) in the late 2000s. The transition was slow and incremental at first, but when the two original founders of Chrome sold their company, they started another company called Mission Workshop, whose bags are even more costly than Chrome’s. Chrome moved to Portland, where it continues to be based today. However, many of Chrome’s products are no longer made in the US, and quality control on items made overseas has been less consistent.

Today, Chrome Industries remains based in Portland. There is a very small retail location around the corner from the Portland Keen store, and it mostly exists to promote new products and close out a handful of discontinued items. This summer, I went to the little retail shop to ask about shoes on sale, and learned that Chrome would be discontinuing shoes altogether after this year. I was sorry to hear that, though not surprised. When you own both Chrome and Keen, there’s little re@son to have both companies putting out shoes, especially when Keen’s shoes are far more popular. I made it a point to look for used Chrome shoes in my size wherever I could find them.

I’ve also gathered a few other older Chrome bags that I find regularly useful.

This is a Sotnik bag, essentially a suitcase, that I use for extended trips of a week or more. I bought it back in 2018 when Velo Cult was closing its doors and had a bunch of used gear to blow out. The Sotnik holds up to two weeks of clothing (if packed carefully and tightly), or a week-plus if I bring a second pair of shoes. I use a webbed nylon belt to keep it securely closed when I check it on the airlines. It’s been bomb-proof and has been with me through four cross-country music tours.

This particular bag was a special limited edition made for Blue Lug bike shop in Japan, and features blue thread and a commemorative logo screened on bottom. I have worried about losing it only a couple of times when I got to the baggage claim later than planned, but so far I’ve been lucky. Now that I don’t travel as frequently, I’m probably less likely to lose this bag to theft, but the “cool” factor is still there.

This is an original Warsaw backpack, designed for bike messengers who have to carry big loads and also great for racers who ride to their races with all their gear. I recently acquired this one for an insanely low price because of use and needed repairs. It retailed for $200-plus new, but I paid twenty bucks for this one. I obtained replacement buckles from Chrome and did the repairs myself at home with heavy-duty thread. The Velcro is a bit worn out, but the big buckle on front should be enough to keep the bag closed in transit. I also covered the worn area at the bottom of the back padding with gaffer tape and super-glue, which should serve well for a long time.

The Warsaw came in two sizes for awhile, a 55L size for messengers and a smaller 35 L size for commuters. Today, only the smaller Warsaw remains available online, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it fade away very soon.

 “Ivan” backpack. This was the largest of three sizes of roll-top backpacks that Chrome offered during my time at Citybikes. It was the forerunner of the Warsaw, designed for messenger use with a narrower bottom to reduce snagging in traffic. Chrome continued to offer this bag for several years after introducing the Warsaw, but eventually it went away.

I toured with this backpack for weekend gigs and also used it during Cyclocross season. Since switching to the Sotnik, I’ve seldom used the Ivan and at some point I’ll want to decide between it and the Warsaw as I downsize. It’s pocket organization doesn’t serve my needs as well as the Warsaw does

To be honest, at some point I may get rid of both of my big backpacks, simply because as I get older it gets harder and less fun to carry big loads on my back.

Along with these, I did own a single-strap messenger bag for awhile while I worked in the bike shop, but it never felt as comfortable and when it got stolen at a restaurant I replaced it with a backpack. I haven’t looked back. Neither, it seems, have many former messenger bag owners. The truth is that bike messengers are an endangered species and soon to be completely extinct, thanks to the Internet and the ubiquitous nature of smartphones. I still see some Chrome messenger bags in use but by and large the backpack has taken over.

In addition to their bags, Chrome Industries has made some great shoes for use on and off the bike. I’ve owned their Kursk model in several colors since it came out. The original version fit my feet more comfortably than the redesign of a few years ago, and I continue to look for used pairs in my size online. I’ve also had a couple pairs of the Dresden that worked well as dress shoes, and the Truk in several colors as a nice change off from the Kursk. With Chrome discontinuing their entire shoe line, I’ll be beating the bushes for a few more pairs to see me out.

Over the years, Chrome has also made some decent smaller accessories, including wallets (Sweetie loves hers and I’ve got one in reserve for when her current one wears out) and cell-phone pouches (I’ve got two original waterproof pouches that I’ll hang onto because my flip-phone fits in them). But I sense that Chrome, having made the full transition to a “lifestyle” brand, is going to shrink down to bags only and eventually may go the way of the dodo — or the way of the original Timbuk2 bags from the 90s.