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Saddle bag straps and carbon posts?
Hi all. Just taken delivery of a new bike (Canyon Ultimate SLX, which is STUNNING) and was wondering about using a saddle bag with a carbon post. I have one of the small Toepeak clip-on bags, which clips into the saddle and then has a velcro strap at the front that goes round the post to hold it in place.
On my old bike with an alloy post, the area under the velcro strap has worn - mostly it just seems to be the black anodizing has worn off, exposing the raw alloy underneat, but there are also a few bits with slight pitting that you can feel if you run a finger over it. Is this something I should be concerned about with a carbon post, or should it be fine?
As an aside, the new bike has a Fizik saddle, so I did look at one of their bags that clip directly into the saddle and don't have a front strap, but there are widespread reviews online saying that the bracket is too weak and snaps easily, so I think I'll give that a miss...
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13 comments
Ah, I see. I do read about people pushing saddles forward to improve their reach/grasp on the bars and it usually ends in discomfort one way or another...
Sorry, poor choice of words. I meant the correct position, not "reach" as in reach/stack. I had a retul fit today and the fit is absolutely perfect. But sadly now no room on the rails for the pack.
"Moved the saddle forward on the rails by a cm or so to get the correct reach"
Um, it's not really the way forward.
It's like walking in a crouch because your pants are too short; Sort out your saddle position, then leave it alone. Then use stem length, rise, handlebar shape etc, to get your reach right.
Ungh. Moved the saddle forward on the rails by a cm or so to get the correct reach and there's now not enough room for the Toepeak clip. The Canyon posts have a bit that extends at the back and gets in the way.
Guess I'll just have to stick everything in my jersey pockets, which I prefer not to do with tubes, my phone or my house keys. Oh well.
yeah, I'm sure it will be. I used parcel tape initially! And that lasted pretty well
I make a bit of a mess of the carbon seatpost on my bike with a Topeak saddlebag, so in my experience you're right to be wary. I think a load of grit got trapped in there on a wet ride. I only noticed once it had taken all the lacquer off the post, at which point I wrapped the area under the Velcro strap with some sacrificial duck tape which stopped the problem (I just retaped occasionally as needed). The post survived another 8000 km before I retired it.
I guess you could put some pre-emptive protective tape on the seatpost?
Yeah, I was thinking that. A band of helicopter tape should do the trick, right?
If you want something which doesn't touch the seatpost at all, check out Cyckit's range. Just ordered one from New Zealand, took about 6 days to arrive in UK and I couldn't be happier with it, quite different to anything else out there. (Before anyone asks, I don't have any affiliation with Cyckit, I'm just a happy customer!)
I actually had a Lezyne one that velcro'd the whole rectangular "bag" to the straps. It was very neat and tidy (if a little small), but I found it wore a hole in the bag itself, and the saddle rails quite severely (in about 4 months).
With the "clip-on" ones, the main bit that is subject to vibrations and motion is the clip itself - when bolted to the saddle rails it can't move. With the Lezyne one it is able to rub so it didn't last too long.
Lezyne make good saddle bags that don't loop around the seatpost
Also if you want to stay with your current saddlebag, spraying some hairspray on the post can create a layer of stuff that will wear instead of the seatpost...just check and respray every few months as needed.
That sound like the exact same Topeak one that I have, with the saddle clip and the front strap. It's the medium sized one, so not particularly big (my legs certainly don't go anywhere near it), and I only use it to carry a tube, minitool, tyre levers, my phone and housekeys, so it's not overly heavy either.
I'd guess I've done about 3,000-4,000 miles on my old bike, so mileage would be about the same too.
I didn't know the Fizik ones have been discontinued. Do you know if they're planning on coming out with an improved, sturdier model?
It may be me reading too much into it, all I found was pages of negative reviews across multiple online retailers - and no-one had any stock.
I happen to work in this field, generally in the e-commerce world this means the product is duff and the retailers are refusing to stock it anymore (dealing with the associated costs of refunding/replacing orders). As to whether Fi'z'ik have anything new planned, you'd have to ask them I'm afraid!
Similar situation to me, i'm not sure about your mileage though.
My new bike has a Carbon seatpost with an Arione saddle. I too saw the reviews for the now discontinued Fi'z'ik saddle bags and decided to leave them alone. I've a gone for a Topeak one that clips onto a fastener that is bolted to the saddle rails, with velcro tape to stop it swinging around on the seatpost.
I've used this exact sort of fitting on both my bikes (done around 3000 miles on the other bike, around 500 so far on the new one).
I've not noticed any rubbing or wearing on the seatpost on either of my bikes, is yours a big item that your legs knock against perhaps?