CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help

Handlebar bags

(9 posts)
  • Started 10 years ago by DaveC
  • Latest reply from gkgk
  • This topic is not a support question

  1. DaveC
    Member

    I have limited experience of these handlebar bags. I borrowed one from Instography but with any reasonable weight in the bag it dipped down onto the front wheel. How do these bags remain straight? I was led to believe sometime ago that there is something which goes under the stem to stop the bag from falling down? Has anyone got a handlebar bag? Are they any use for touring? I'm thinking of lightweight camping and just adding what I need to the bike, so may not get a handlebar bag for this but still don't know which brands to look at. I have Ortlib panniers and it would be a no brainer to get their handlebar bag, but looking at their main bag, they don't come with fitments and need to be bought separately (but thats not the question here.

    What keeps the bags upright? Any pictures? Is there some standard fixing? looks like Klickfix is a standard attachment?

    Cheers,

    Dave C

    Posted 10 years ago #

  2. steveo
    Member

    Fully loaded you'd have a front rack to support the bag, but in my (also limited) experience bar bags aren't designed to take much weight and have fairly pitiful volumes.

    My approach in the past has been to strap a dry bag to the bars with my sleeping bag and bivvy in it. These are the bulkiest items I have to carry but they're not heavy enough to greatly effect the handling. This is on a mtb however and may not help on a roady bike.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  3. Instography
    Member

    With some old inner tube round the bar and with the Klickfix attachment screwed up tight you can have a reasonable weight before it starts slipping, although bumpy roads do eventually lead to some slippage. They're only intended for a camera, wallet and a flapjack.

    Since all bar bags look pretty horrible, and based on Dave's adaptation, my partner uses a small Carradice saddlebag as a bar bag. Wider and shallower than a standard bar bag so doesn't reach the wheel/mudguard and would be held up by the mount for the front dynolight. It naturally comes to rest on the steerer tube. Doesn't come off unless you fancy undoing the leather straps.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  4. DaveC
    Member

    Interesting Steveo, How do you strap on the drybag? I have a few drybags and would like to strap a bivi and sleepingbag to my handlebars so that the rear has stuff I may need on the ride, more heavier stuff.

    (I have carbon forks on the Audax bike, and drop handlebars but the plus side is 105 STIs so no cables sticking out of the insides of the STIs to get in the way of a bag.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  5. steveo
    Member

    Alpkit x-tra or something like that. They've got rubber mounting points for securing them in a whole manner of ways but enough bungies could secure a normal one.

    https://www.flickr.com/x/t/0095009/photos/49248828@N06/5968018032/

    edit: These puppies- https://www.alpkit.com/products/airlok-xtra

    Posted 10 years ago #

  6. DaveC
    Member

    Cheers, I have ordered a couple of Alkit bags. They are much cheeper than I thought!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  7. cb
    Member

    My rather old handlebar bag (Karrimor I think) uses Klickfix. There is a cable which runs from one side of the mount over the handlebar, under the stem and back over the other side of the handlebar and into the mount again. So if the cable is screwed into the mount correctly the bag cannot slip.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  8. Dave
    Member

    I have two, the Carradice conversion and a klickfix one from the bike co-op.

    The klickfix has a wire under the stem as cb describes, so it can't slip down (at all). It's quite useful with the quick release - used in Cuba so I didn't need to worry about camera, passports etc

    Posted 10 years ago #

  9. gkgk
    Member

    DaveC, if you are thinking lightweight, consider also the smaller velcro attached bar bags (circa 200g), great for camera, phone, map, wallet and sunglasses. £5 on ebay.

    Posted 10 years ago #

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