Scicon Sports 098 Saddlebag With Light

The Scicon Sports 098 Saddlebag With Light is a great idea, but the overengineered design adds complexity without real benefit, and the light just doesn’t work that well – side visibility is poor, and it’s not really bright enough for sunny days. The motion sensor also works poorly, and you can’t reach the switch without detaching the light… which is really fiddly. Add an effective but also fiddly dial closure for the seatpost attachment and it all becomes unfortunately hard to recommend.

The bag is well made from CrossGuard fabric with PVC reinforcement across the base – it’s water-resistant and easy to wipe down, though not waterproof, which can lead to rusty tools if you’re riding through winter. The zip is smooth and reliable and the bag holds its shape well when loaded.

At 0.8 litres it fits the essentials comfortably – an inner tube, CO2 canister or mini pump, multi-tool and patch kit with room left for a gel or two. Inside there’s a small pocket on each side, which helps stop things rattling around. The light does protrude a little way into the bag – it takes up about the same space as a matchbox.

The bag has a distinct wedge shape which keeps in out the way when pedalling, and reflective inserts for a bit of shine in low light conditions.

Two conventional hook and loop straps attach it to the saddle rails, but the seatpost attachment is a BOA dial-style affair with a hook on the end. It’s there to eliminate sway whilst pedalling, which it does well, but it’s a complex and fiddly way of doing it. A standard strap would do the same job more simply and quickly.

The rear light features a motion sensor to switch it on and off automatically, but I found it pretty unreliable, and the light would often just stay on. Luckily the claimed runtime is a lengthy 34hrs, so it staying on too long isn’t always a disaster, and while I didn’t measure that runtime I saw no reason to think it wouldn’t do it.

The light runs at a set 30 lumens, with visibility claimed at up to 1km. Maybe if you were in space it would be noticeable that far, and for dark or dingy rides it’s bright enough to get you noticed across more useful distances, but on bright, sunny days it’s just a bit too feeble to really stand out.

One thing that is a real pain is that to turn the light on or off you have to remove it from the bag. This involves holding a tiny bar that runs across the centre of the light and then twisting/pulling it away from a magnet, and it’s insanely fiddly.

Getting any purchase on it is nearly impossible with bare hands, and with gloves it’s impossible.

Value

At £70 the price seems reasonable at first – a saddle bag can easily cost £25-35, and a tail light another £30-40. However, you can get better bags and better lights separately, and many saddle bags feature mounting points for lights anyway. You can also get both things for less than £70.

For instance you could go for something like the Magicshine Seemee 50 MAG Smart Magnetic Taillight, which is only £26.99 and a fair bit more powerful and sophisticated, and combine it with, say, Topeak’s Sidekick Wedge Pack at £29.99. The Topeak has a much simpler mounting system and a very similar capacity at 0.75L. This combo works out to around £57 – it’s much cheaper and, frankly, much better as well.

Overall

This bag had the potential to be genuinely brilliant, but unfortunately the design just doesn’t do the idea justice. It’s well made and the right size for most rides, but the dial attachment adds pointless complexity to a simple job, and the light is both very awkward to use and lacking in real performance.

There are cheaper saddle bags that do the same job without the faff, and cheaper lights that perform to a far higher standard, and unfortunately, for us that makes the Scicon a non-starter.