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review

Lezyne Pod Caddy M Quick Release

8
£25.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Stylish, practical and very effective storage solution… but check it fits your bike first
Weight: 
160g
Contact: 
www.upgradebikes.co.uk

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Saddle bags are a useful accessory but can often ruin the look of a nice bike; a baggy material with velcro straps wrapped around multiple surfaces. The Lezyne Pod Caddy does away with straps and baggyness, creating a saddle rail mounted hard shell case.

In-line with what I've come to expect from Lezyne, it's a stylish and well made bag that will not look out of place on a high value bike. I was looking forward to testing it on my Giant TCR, as with its aero post, fitting a standard saddle bag proved cumbersome and I also wanted something I could easily remove when racing. Unfortunately the Pod didn't fit either: the rail mounting interfered with the seat-post clamp.

Granted the TCR has quite a bulky rail clamp but it is something to consider when buying on of these. I have my saddle on the limit of set-back, offering the maximum amount of rail to the Pod and still couldn't get it on. You need to have a good amount of horizontal rail area for the clamp as you won't be able clip the Pod on if it's on the curve at all.

So, with it not fitting my road bike I mounted it on the mountain bike. I decided it would offer a better test for stability of the Pod anyway, getting rocked around off-road.

With only support from the top, you might be concerned that it would wobble or become loose. Thanks to a well designed and solid support this isn't the case however. Fully loaded with a tube, multi-tool and a few other bits, the Pod is still held fast and was not noticeable during riding. The bag clips into the mount with a confident 'clunk' and isn't come to come out until you want it to. The Pod is a EVA foam moulded construction with Nylon cover and is water resistant, certainly more resistant than most soft material bags but after forgetting to take it off during a bike cleaning I can say that it isn't going to keep things 100% dry.

Onto the main sell of any saddle bag, the Pod's design makes it one of the easiest to load and unload from. A zipper runs around three sides of the case, allowing it to open like a clam shell. You then have full access so you're not removing everything to get the change that has fallen to the bottom at the cafe stop. A netted partition stops things falling out when the lower opens. The zip also features a large finger loop to avoid any fumbling around with cold hands.

We had both the S and M sizes on test and the difference in size isn't massive but with the M i'd say you can get two road tubes in rather than one (or one MTB tube in my case), along with a tyre lever and multi-tool. It's a good size - not too big to look odd perched under the saddle - and for an extra £2 probably the size I'd go for. We also had both the black and the white colours and I'd say the black is subtle - as you want from a saddle bag - but is purely taste.

Verdict

I really like the Lezyne Caddy Pod, I've used a few saddle bags in my time and reckon this is the most stylish, whilst remaining practical. That makes it more of shame that I couldn't fit it on my race bike, whether you'll have the saddle rail access is something to consider before buying. The S and M retail at £23.99 and £25.99 respectively and although there are cheaper options I don't feel it over priced for what is a tidier saddle bag option for most that isn't going to cause any paint rub.

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Lezyne Pod Caddy M Quick Release

Size tested: Medium, black

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

It's a saddle bag aimed at those who might not otherwise consider a saddle bag I think, with tidy lines it isn't going to ruin the look of a race bike.

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

EVA foam shell, Nylon cover, sealed zipper with loophole

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Good and solid, it isn't going to wobble around at all.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

Nice sturdy zip and riveting to the plastic mount

Rate the product for value:
 
9/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Once I had it mounted on a bike it was excellent. No wobble, plenty of easily accessible space and it looked good.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Single supported design that removes the need for any straps that can causing paint rub.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Not being able to fit it on my race bike - a Giant TCR Advanced

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

It possible, get one from a shop to check the fit with your bike.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 23  Height: 184cm  Weight: 66kg

I usually ride: Orbea Onix (Carbon) - Summer, Orbea Asphalt (Alu) - Winter  My best bike is: Orbea Alma G10

I've been riding for: Under 5 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Semi pro

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, club rides, mtb,

 

Add new comment

2 comments

Avatar
PJ McNally | 10 years ago
0 likes

hmm - but I have >1 bike!

So, any seat pack which requires mounting a bracket to the rails is a non-starter for me. Most of all when they only give you 1.

Hence velcro.

The best system, IMHO, is the Scott seat pack, which hooks neatly to the rails, but leaves nothing on the bike.

Avatar
mattbuckley | 10 years ago
0 likes

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