SKS Triangle Bag

Reborn classic bag design that'll take a useful amount of stuff, but isn't the comfiest if you use it for carrying your bike.

The SKS triangle bag swept me back to 1989 and geography classes spent fervently flicking through mountain bike mags, lusting after thin walled, triple butted rigid chromoly beauties with balloon tyres, beefy grips and er, Bio-pace elliptical rings while bearded teachers burbled on about their gap year jollies across faraway lands in melon trucks.

Bracing neatly against the seat and top tubes these bags kept safe the arsenal of tubes, tooling, keys and in fact anything else you didn't fancy been spattered in acres of evil smelling gloop, or leaping lemming fashion from jersey pockets come the first bump. As the nickname implies, it also provided cushioning for the rider when conditions dictated carrying your bike.

Made under licence by Deuter and with a 1.4-litre capacity, this faithful rendition of the original shoulder holder overcomes the need for frantic pannier rummages when you've had a flat, or need to locate your wallet, passport or other valuables that might be needed at a moment's notice.

Rip-stop polyester is much lighter than the old Cordura fabric these bags used to be made from. There are no obvious signs of vulnerability when frisked by thorny foliage and it resists hard showers handsomely.

With efficient packing it manages a spare tube, multi tool, tyre levers, energy bars, micro jacket, mini pump and CO2 cartridges without making the rubberised zip fob tricky to operate. The zip failed my hosepipe torture test, showing signs of water ingress after thirty five seconds at close range but this is academic in the real world unless you come a cropper during a river crossing.

Filled to the gills, this reborn frame bag is slimmer than the originals, which is just as well. In those days 122mm bottom bracket axles had us pedalling like John Wayne, but we're better seated now and there's not as much space to play with. As long as you've got the Velcro snugged tight, there's little chance of it brushing against your inner thighs, impeding a decent cadence.

However, while it's a nice tour-friendly take on an old favourite, mild bruising following some extended carrying of my crosser leads me to conclude there are some better big name options on stream for mud pluggers and old school mountain bikers.

Verdict

Nicely made touring accessory but retro revivalists will need to look elsewhere for the classic shoulder holder.