5/13/14 5:27 AM

By "minimalist aesthetic" I mean that a saddlebag is a cool thing because--in theory, at least--you don't need a rack. Just a saddle with loops, or small adaptors. If you have a rack on your bike, panniers seem to me a much better way to go. Panniers make for a lower center of gravity and greater capacity (in general). And of course, panniers don't require a saddle with mounting points.

The nice thing about a saddlebag is, if it's done right, it lets you turn a bike without eyelets and other fittings into a commuting or day touring bike.

When I set up my first "road" bike, I did everything I could to make it lightweight and fast. Definitely no rack. Racks were for 10-speeds, right? But when I needed to take stuff to work, I could hang a saddlebag on it and (on dry days, since I eschewed fenders as well) have a commuter.

These days, I am slower than ever and weight is not a factor in the least, so I don't mind racks and fenders and a bell (!) even dynamo lights.

A rack *and* a saddlebag seems like belt & suspenders to me.

5/13/14 9:16 AM

you see this downtown a lot.




How to make link: http://www.commutebybike.com/2009/12/09/how-to-make-bike-buckets/


I have some soft bags pairs that clip on a rear rack. Kirtland tour packs. They have an aluminum sheet backer and the top of the bags site even to top of the rack. So a top bag can be used as well. Have one of those too.

You are welcome to borrow the three, and even a rack for the task if you don't want to spend for a new set up. They are not pretty really, but the zips and clips are intact. Just send them back when you are done with the trip is all I ask. Have a front handle bar bags also yo can borrow as well. making 4 bags altogether. Front one is very handy too, for grabbing shit with no dismount, and even keeps liquids cool a long time... Map window top etc., but the mounting bracket is fussy as to what step it will work on...


Tour packs look like this pic I found on the net:

5/13/14 9:59 AM

I didn't realize you were a pre-frog owner.^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Strap an amp on the back and you could ride along playing a tele!^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H

Never mind. I still think it would be a cool way to cycle along making music. I wonder if you could power an old Pignose from a hub generator?

5/13/14 12:10 PM

quote:

---

A rack *and* a saddlebag seeds to ms like belt & suspenders to me.

---

5/13/14 12:21 PM

April:

Exactly. The trick is that I see lot of folks these days using racks as saddlebag supports. That's where I think things are being overdone.

5/13/14 1:19 PM

quote:

---

using racks as saddlebag supports

---

5/13/14 1:53 PM

5/13/14 2:13 PM

Well, those are a little weird.

Perhaps they're too lazy to take their rack off when they're not using it? (photo 2) BTW, that's the exact rack I have. 4 bolts, can be taken off in 30 seconds and put back on in 2 minutes!

Photo 3 is a little hard to tell. Is that a saddle bag? Or was it an improvised trunk bag without its own mounting hardware?

(photo 1 looks like the owner didn't like the way the saddle bag is mounted and decided he'll put a rack on and use the saddle bag as a trunk bag. )

5/13/14 3:21 PM

Those are all Carradice saddlebags.

See, these are the kinds of bike setups I see all the time.

5/13/14 4:12 PM

Did you pull them off the Carradice website?

I would think that's truely weird to have tht kind of setup!

The whole point of gigantic saddle bag is so you don't have to have a rack!!!

5/13/14 5:27 PM

Google search on "Carradice saddlebag" then click on "images."

I agree--rack or saddlebag. A saddlebag by itself satisfies my "minimalist aesthetic" because there's no need for a rack. But both together is just...too much.

Like I said above, I love the idea of saddlebags--I have just found that the reality doesn't work well for me, though it may for others.

5/13/14 5:57 PM

quote:

---

I love the idea of saddlebags--I have just found that the reality doesn't work well for me, though it may for others.

---

5/13/14 6:16 PM

Saddlebags feel awkward to me...they rub on my thighs a little, which I don't mind too terribly much over a day's commute, but which got to really bug me on a 5-day tour.

I think now that my hip is replaced, they also form a bit of an obstacle in getting on and off the bike. I can't swing my right leg like I once could, so that may also be a factor.

It could also be that if I had my saddle farther forward on the post, the bag would fit better. I tend to slam the saddle all the way back on the rails, though, which introduces a bit of a gap between the bag loops on the saddle and the seatpost (where the front strap on most bags is supposed to go).

My current ride (a VO Rando) is well-equipped with eyelets for racks and fenders (hammered, as Dan points out) so it's not a big deal. But the OP had a bike without any fittings for carrying stuff, and that's what started the whole thread...

5/13/14 6:26 PM

quote:

---

they also form a bit of an obstacle in getting on and off the bike. I can't swing my right leg like I once could,

---

5/13/14 6:41 PM

I have a very low rack--it adds maybe an inch above the rear tire (give or take--it's a close fit with fenders) so I don't have problems due to that. I have seen some very high-mount racks, though, and you're right that seatpost-mounted racks tend to be the worst in this regard, like this:
.

Mine fits more like the rear rack in this photo:



Of course, that's without any load. But panniers don't add appreciably to the height of the rack...

5/13/14 7:14 PM

quote:

---

Mine fits more like the rear rack in this photo:

---

5/13/14 8:04 PM

Since we got the tandem, and I started getting the bars lowered again from the femoral nerve raising...

I just mount with my left leg over the front.. Over the back of the seat on the tandem does not work too well. But for the task of traveling, would you bars be higher making that a harder task I wonder...

5/14/14 1:34 AM

If you want saddlebags that don't need a separate pannier rack for support underneath, have a look at the Berthoud saddlebags, which mount off the seatpost. They're not cheap though - I was a bit shocked at how much the price has risen when I just had a look - the best part of $400 for the bag and its seatpost-mounting support, which is about twice what I paid for mine about a decade back: http://www.wallbike.com/berthoud/berthoud/berthoud-rack-saddlebags-gb604704 . I've done weekend tours with this bag...



And Carradice saddlebags can mounted on a Carradice SQR seatpost mount and used without a rack underneath. That's how we used ours when touring Switzerland. The SQR mount also moves the bag back a couple of inches from where it would be if hung off the saddle rails, to help clear the back of your thighs:

5/14/14 3:07 AM

An SQR was the way I found to make my saddlebag most useful when I was using one regularly in the naughts. Of course, I didn't have the range-of-motion issue with my hip then that I do now, so (for me) mounting was much less of an issue.

I like saddlebags, but they don't work well for me. Racks (and panniers) do .

My issue with saddlebag users--and it is solely aesthetic--is having both rack and saddlebag on a bike. Saddlebags seem to be ideal for bikes where you can't have (or don't want) a rack, so to use them with a rack seems...off-putting (again, to me).

I will say there is one set of circumstances where a saddlebag and rack work well, and that is fully-loaded touring...

5/14/14 7:01 AM

quote:

---

I will say there is one set of circumstances where a saddlebag and rack work well, and that is fully-loaded touring...

---

5/14/14 2:48 PM

quote:

---

I think a trunk bag works way better if you already got a rack. It doesn't rub your thigh. Most trunk bag are also easy to take off so you can bring it with you (to your room, restaurant etc.)

---

5/14/14 3:00 PM

I should rephrase: I don't see saddle bag work any better than trunk bag if you're going to have a rack anyway.

Granted, if you already spend the money on those high end saddle bag and the mounting hardware, it makes sense to continue using them even when you have a rack.