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review

Exspider 8.5 Seat Bag with LED Flash

5
£17.99

VERDICT:

5
10
Designed to take a big load, but not well-enough built to survive if you actually put a big load in
Weight: 
330g
Contact: 
www.todayscyclist.co.uk

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Ah, it was almost such a good seatpack. The Exspider is a cavernous pack that'll easily swallow enough survival kit for an epic ride. The only problem is that if you do fill it up, it's not really built well enough for the job in hand.

As standard saddle mounted seatpacks go, this is more or less as big as they come. The 8.5 seat pack will swallow tools, tubes, gels, your phone... there's even straps to mount your pump underneath it. On top of that it has two expanding wings for even more stuff, and a built-in LED light at the rear. It attaches via a quick release bracket at the saddle rails and a Velcro strap on the seatpost, and once it's mounted it's a pretty solid unit.

If you have a narrow saddle or your pedalling action means your legs are very close together, this pack will probably be too wide for you. I found that it just brushed my legs a tiny bit when it was full, but it wasn't a big issue. I stuffed as many gels and bars as I could into the pack and set off on a long ride across the country. And the pack didn't really stay the distance.

Okay, it's still in one piece. But if you're going to make a pack that'll swallow a kilo of stuff it needs to be strong enough to cope with that kind of a load, and the Exspider isn't. The top panel isn't rigid enough, and the rivets that hold the quick release bracket are working loose. That meant quite a swingy seatpack near the end of an epic ride, which was pretty annoying, and now I don't think I'd trust it to last on another big one.

I still like the pack, and I'm going to replace the rivets with some bolts and stiffen up the top section somehow. It's good to have a seatpack that can swallow a big load sometimes. But I can't recommend it as sold.

Verdict

Designed to take a big load, but not well-enough built to survive if you actually put a big load in.

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Exspider 8.5 Seat Bag with LED Flash

Size tested: Black

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Exspider Seat Bag Red/Black

Mesh Side Pockets with Elastic Binding

Built in 'Tap start' LED

Quick release Seat mount system

Moulded EVA Hardshell

pump mounting straps

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
6/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
4/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
6/10
Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes, until it started to break

Would you consider buying the product? No

Would you recommend the product to a friend? No

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

If only it was a bit stronger at the bracket mount this would be a nice pack for an epic ride

Overall rating: 5/10

About the tester

Age: 38  Height: 190cm  Weight: 98kg

I usually ride: whatever I'm testing...  My best bike is: Genesis Equilibrium with SRAM Apex

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, cyclo cross, 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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