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Frame Bags for Commuting
Hi all,
I'm starting to commute to work (only 10 miles) and I need to carry just a few items (lunch, card, wallet, phone, jumper) - I leave a change of clothes and shoes etc at work the day before I cycle in.
(I'm currently on sandwich placement before I return to third year of uni end of September this year).
I need a bag just to carry these items, but potentially able to carry more, I'm not a fan of rucksacks.
I've been looking at Apidura's Road Frame pack medium and it seems to suit my needs well, it's just VERY pricey.
Blackburns Outpost Medium is a similarly good option at a much better price, but it's fairly hefty at 400 grams and I don't need the extra expanding part.
Anyone have any recommendations?
Cheers!
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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20 comments
As a cheaper alternative, look at the Karrimor backpacks at sportsdirect; they do decent reflective backpacks - e.g, http://www.sportsdirect.com/karrimor-reflective-backpack-765256?colcode=... - Not the most stylish, but they work and are fairly robust.
I understand you don't like rucksacks, but I'm gonna recommend one anyway.
The ProViz 360 is my current choice of commuting rucksack. It's relatively light and extremely good at reflecting headlights. It's got a little strap that can have a rear light clipped onto it. It's not especially cheap at just under £70 (luckily I got mine through a kickstarter campaign which was a bit cheaper).
www.provizsports.com/en-gb/reflect360-backpack.html
Road.cc review: http://road.cc/content/review/137571-proviz-reflect-360-rucksack
I've started using only a frame bag instead of panniers etc (http://www.ragsto.com/shop/bikepacking-luggage/). I've now made a few to maximise the fit on various bikes & keep both water bottles, amazing how much it holds. This one will hold jacket, tools, food plus stove, mug, kettle & cafetiere! www.ragsto.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Ragsto-bikepacking-kit-2017-03-07-010.jpg
http://www.carradice.co.uk/bags/saddle-packs-sqr-bags/carradry-sqr-bag
I have the apidura saddle bag and its OK, but when I went touring in france, the other guys were using these.
their stuff stayed dryer than mine. their packs were less wobbly on the bike. their packs took less time to fit each morning. Carradice is also cheaper than the 17l apidura.
only benefit of apidura is it is lighter.
I intend to get a carradice for the next time I go touring.
I think the carradice SQR meets all these criteria, you can get an extra bracket and keep one fitted to each bike at all time, they are quite small and discrete when the pack is off the bike.
Apidura saddle bag, I use the 17l for commuting, its great. £80. Much better than a frame bag, where the stuff just falls into a heap at the bottom and rubs you feet / legs, especially when out of the saddle or maxing it a bit. Less stable in cross winds too.
I wouldn't write off the Blackburn outpost framebag: I've got the medium and it's great for exactly the purpose you describe...the extending part is useful - a waterproof, sarnies, keys/phone/small pump tyre levers and patches all go in mine with the extended bit down, and a bit of a squish. (perhaps I need fewer sarnies)
I don't notice it's weight at all, and I can see how it might catch a side wind slightly, but I've never had an issue as yet. Not fully waterproof though in my judegment, and not easy to remove so I put my bits in an Alpkit drysack or a carrier bag to pull out and carry at the other end.
I use a Wildcat Gear Ocelot, very well made but costs about £80.
Slightly more budget priced is the Alpkit Possum at about £65 but I can't vouch for the quality.
I think it's a toss up between Alpkit Possum and the Apidura Road Frame Pack!
I know I am not really answering your original question and I apologise for that.
You say that you have a pannier solution currently but you find it too cumbersome. Are you sure that another type of pannier bag wouldn't be able to solve the issue? I used to commute with one of those fixed pannier bags set ups (the ones attached together like a horse saddle bags set up), but after changing to a quick release type it changed the handling. I own a pair of these bags but only use one on a daily basis with a smaller cheap one inside it in case I go shopping on the way home. This gives me the flexability to take things back with me from work on the days I am on the bike rather than wait until a day when I am not. There are also pannier bags that act & look like a briefcase or rucksack when off the bike if that's desirable.
A Pannier bag set up also removes the need to have days that you don't cycle in so that you can bring in clothes to change into. I manage to utilise my smaller "shopping" pannier once a week to bring in a full weeks worth of clothes wrapped in a suit bag.
Also a thought occured to me the other day as I was cycling home in a particuly strong wind. My panniers were cought in the wind but I was able to compensate as they are minimal and on the back, I wondered if in the same situation a frame bag might have acted like a sail and knocked in a manor that I could not recover from. Just a thought.
Hope this helps and I haven't just wasted your time.
I have considered going back to my pannier setup...
The reason I moved away from it was because I disliked the way my bike felt clumsy with just one pannier on, the rack itself also added more weight. It also meant I couldn't go through those stupid chicane/bollard things they put on cycle paths to stop motorbikes/ cars and it hindered me getting through Bristol's traffic *squeeze*.
I hate removing and replacing my pannier rack too - I chose to ride my disc brake Point AR if the weather isn't good enough for my road bike, and I don't want a rack on it when I'm doing road rides.
I'd also quite like a bag that I could quickly remove from my Point AR and put it on my road bike, if I fancy commuting on that on the odd occasion!
Previously, I had carried a change of clothes (including jumper and shoes), all my stuff for uni, towel wash stuff etc AND a lock. I've managed to grab a locker at uni so I can leave the vast majority of my stuff at uni anyway.
I'm also shallow and I think my bike looks better without a pannier rack!
How big was the pannier you were using??? I've got a pair of Carradice's A4 panniers (smallish, 18 litres each) on my bike, and I've never had a problem going through A-frames or Bristol traffic. Remember: most panniers will be narrower than your handlebars. The widest bits on a bike are usually your handlebars or your shoulders.
(Of course, if you just don't like the look on them well that's fine too, but don't have a go at the panniers just because you don't like the *look* of them, m'kay?
)
Just a single deuter pack uni bag! It was always fairly bulky though as it had clothes and a towel in. The number of times I bumped it/got it caught on the bollards coming off the Bristol/Bath path and at Stoke Park Estate (and a bus or two squeezing down Blackberry Hill in the morning).
Odd - those are about the same size as my Carradice (the Carradice are more 'boxy', though, so maybe they don't bulge as much). I do agree with other posters here, that you may find a frame bag to be a bit of a sail - IMO if you don't want/like panniers, and don't want to use a courier bag or rucksack, then a saddle bag (a proper one!) will probably be the way to go. Good luck! (Hey, you know, Carradice make good saddle bags...
)
Seems like a Carradice saddle bag will suit me. Either that or I'll just have to deal with a rucksack. Seems like I can get a half decent rucksack for half the price of a saddle bag though!
Carradice Barley as the bare minimum, but the Nelson is a good bet for those days when you need to bring in a lot of kit.
Here's my review of them: https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=22961.msg412292#msg412292
Don't not consider the possibility of one of Carradice's traditional saddle bags (with a support) They may not be 'on-trend' but there's a reason or few that they've been in production fo the past million years or so.
What kind of bike? A rack-top bag would be quite practical but I guess from weight comment that you want as light as possible?
Mango Point AR. I have a pannier rack, panniers and a rack top bag. I found they were just a bit too cumbersome when I was commuting to uni and weighed me down a hell of a lot!
My intention is, when I'm commuting light, to only use a frame bag. When I require more capacity, (when I go back to uni for 3rd year) I'll shove my books and a couple things in a small rucksack - I'll need to take a rucksack to uni anyway.
I know, I could always buy a large specific cycle rucksack, but I'd rather not carry too much on my back!
would recommend a seat pack instead
I have considered a seat pack, that's my other option. Ideally, I would rather have the weight of my stuff lower down and in the middle of the wheelbase.
The requirement for a rear light also makes the seat pack not so preferable. I do have a specific clip for my rear light, but I've never got on with those clips...