Saddle Bag No 001

From the first day I strapped my first carradice on my bike I have had ideas bouncing in my head on how to make it less historical in design and more of what I wanted it to be.  Yesterday I was out of bed before 5 and drew out the preliminary sketch that has been fermenting in my head for months now.  All day jamming between the baby’s naps and all the other things life throws at us, and the results are really good.

With my Carradice Nelson Long flap I alway found myself wishing for either a little more space, or that the thing was not as floppy with stuff only in the side pockets.  Solution, the pockets are gone, and the bag is 2 inches wider.  I resolved the hunt for a place to store the U-Lock that has become a part of our daily lives, great security, but how to carry the heavy things and get to them with ease when needed.  The bottom is double layered, with a pocket to slide in a stiffener, preventing sag of small items around the BagMan support.  I used the long flap design and internal skirt, they work great.  Leather was used only to prevent chafe at the saddle, otherwise it is nylon and clips, no more fiddling with buckles in the dark.  I have had a love /  hate relationship with my Bag Man over the years, but have settled in with it an a slightly modified state.  I relocated the traditional mount to the seat post with two dedicated attachment points to the rack, and the bag is rock solid on there.

There are only a few minor things I would adjust, but I am really happy with the finished product.  I can start making this on a custom basis if you are interested.  Prices Start at $150, and I can tailor the bag to your specific rack or support.  The link for contact is at the top of the page.

Thanks to my wife’s patience and her dad for babysitting for us in the morning.  Also, thanks to Jacque, the new old sewing machine is a joy to use.

Another Frame Bag Done

This one will be going on a 64cm Rivendell Atlantis and is ready for some touring action.

It is only a little bigger in each direction than the one I use on my Roadeo, but 1/2 slimmer to accommodate the possibility of down tube shifters in the future.  Perfect for a water bladder, tent poles, or other long skinny gear that otherwise might be lashed down.

Nothing is New

At least most things, and maybe new twists on old themes.  I was at the local used book store the other day.  Every now and then I stop in to see if something new has shown up in the areas I like, and ran across Gail Heilman’s bicycle touring book.  While skimming through this one I ran into a line of bags from Velocipac I had not seen before. 

It seems they had made full triangle frame bags for a while. 

This really shows the limitations of the internet as a catalog of all things.  Today there are a few companies out there making bags like this for Lightweight MTN Bike touring, and me taking the canvas approach.  But when you search the history of the things there is a big jump from the Swiss Army bike bags to the modern jumping right past things like this.   Some other interesting bags of the era were made by MountainSmith under a BikeSmith label, and a local Ventura company was making bags under the Kangaroo label.  It is near impossible to find good information on either company’s lines.

There were other bags that were quite interesting too, maybe a few good ideas I could incorporate into other bags.  Nothing new, just recombining old ideas to suit my needs.

Stuffing a Bicycle Frame Bag

What do you put in a frame bag for daily use?  Today it was my Houdini jacket, one dozen eggs and two avocados.

Most days is has my Gorillapod with extended legs as well as the Houdini,

On longer rides can get a 2L Platypus bag of water in there with the jacket and a first aid kit with room to spare (I still need to grab a picture of that). The most asked question by people on the street suprisingly is, “do you keep a fly rod in there”? and if I was going camping it would be the perfect place to keep the tent poles.

When I first made the bag I knew it was going to see more than touring duty, but it turns out to be incredibly useful every day.