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review

Avenir Sportive bar bag

5
£39.99

VERDICT:

5
10
Good bag let down by a poor mounting bracket
Weight: 
310g
Contact: 
www.raleigh.co.uk

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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On paper the Sportive bar bag looks like a good bet, compact and lightweight for a day ride. And it mostly lives up to expectations, but sadly the bracket is badly flawed and needs redesigning, which makes it hard to recommend.

The Sportive has a semi-hard construction in common with many bags, and the 600 Denier nylon shell is well put together with weatherproof zips. There's a map holder up top and you also get a clear GPS case, a phone holder, a carry strap and a rain cover. Inside the main compartment there's a padded pocket for a camera or phone and some lid pockets for odds and sods, and there's a legre pocket at the front of the bag too. The mount is a twin banded affair with a cable lock to stop the bag rotating round the bars.

The six litre capacity is about right for day riding, it swallowed a spare windproof and gloves, an inner tube, some wine gums, a mini pump and a malt loaf and there was room for keys and money in the top pocket and a camera in the padded one. I zipped it all up and set off, and I was glad I zipped it up as the second speed hump sent it cartwheeling down the road.

The plastic sprung lock on the mount isn't strong enough, and doesn't engage with a close enough tolerance, to stop the bag coming off when you hit a pothole or bump. I thought I'd just put it on wrong but even a cursory examination was enough to discover that it's really easy to dislodge. That spoilt the ride for a few miles until I realised that I could jam a stick into the mount and make it more secure and, happily, it worked a treat. however, as Avenir don't supply it with a stick I'm guessing they think the bracket is okay, and it's not.

Other than that it's a decent bar bag, and the other niggles – the map holder tends to flap up at the front at speed, and the plastic sub frame could do with being a bit stiffer – are more minor. But the mount ruins it, and it needs to be addressed for next year.

Verdict

Good bag but poor mount spoils the package

road.cc test report

Make and model: Avenir Sportive bar bag

Size tested: 6L

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
6/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
6/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes apart from the one major flaw

Would you consider buying the product? not without a bracket rethink

Would you recommend the product to a friend? no

Overall rating: 5/10

About the tester

Age: 36  Height: 190cm  Weight: 98kg

I usually ride: whatever I\'m testing...  My best bike is: Trek 1.5 with Ultegra 6700

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

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