Bags

Price, detailing and water-resistance let down the Agu Attache Bag Quorum Platinum 660 despite its good looks.

The Agu Attache Bag Quorum Platinum 660 has an imposing name for a briefcase pannier. It looks pretty good too. But in a market where you can get a QL2 version of Ortlieb's Office Bag for a tenner more, or an Altura Urban Dryline 15 Briefcase Pannier for a hefty £40 less, this bike briefcase's performance and value are both left wanting.

Ventoux's Event Bag comes packed with numerous features aimed to satisfy the specific needs of cyclists when travelling. Combined, these serve to differentiate the Event Bag from the multitude of generic holdalls out there, making it an ideal purchase for anyone looking for something to tote their gear in.

A bar bag is a useful bit of kit for touring, audaxing, commuting and the like and this Topeak Compact handlebar bag is an excellent example, assuming you don't want to chuck the kitchen sink up front.

The Union 34 Stripe Rucksack with seatpost mount option looks like a really good idea on paper: pop it on your bike for going to the station (for example), park bike, pop rucksack on your back, away you go.

The alternatives are a normal backpack and getting off your bike with a sweaty back, or lugging a pannier when you're off the bike. Combining the best of both worlds could be a winner, but the Stripe doesn't quite deliver.

I had to have a spare set of retinas on standby looking at this Crumpler Dinky Di messenger bag, the colours are so loud they almost burst my eye balls.

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.

The SKS Energy Bag is nicely made and easy to access, and it's pretty cheap too. Triathletes have been using top-bar-mounted energy hoppers for years, and they're becoming more popular among road riders too as they give you a handy place to chuck a few gels or your phone.

The Lezyne M Caddy Quick Release is a very neat and useful saddle-bag.

Lezyne have a range of small bags that fit under your saddle, including this M Caddy QR. The M stands for medium, and the QR stands for quick release. It's perfectly sized for carrying all the kit you need for a day out - and you can attach it to your bike (and take it off again) very quickly indeed.

Designed in the Netherlands, the New Look Office Postino has that decidedly utilitarian, yet stylish feel synonymous with that cycling nation. Made from a rugged weather resistant canvas/faux leather fabric, it's a 16 litre satchel doubling as a pannier, which has some implications on the bike, depending on riding style... but more on that later on.

The day will come when our mobile phones will be built to survive the British weather, until then, a cheap (relative to replacing your phone) and simple solution is to put it in a sealy bag like this product by Donkey Label.