Chrome Industries Yalta 4.0

The Chrome Industries Yalta 4.0 is typical Chrome – built like a brick outhouse with lots of recycled materials, good looks and with a lot of neat design touches. The wet section might divide opinion, but it doesn’t have to be used, and doesn’t affect the overall storage capacity much. Critically, the Yalta is very comfy – despite its 35-litre capacity meaning it’s on the bigger and heavier side. As with all Chrome bags, it is a bit of an investment, but will reward you in the long run.

> Buy now: Chrome Industries Yalta 4.0 for £114.99 from Bike Inn

We’ve reviewed the Yalta on road.cc in its previous incarnations – the most recent, the Yalta 3.0, in 2020.

The latest edition, version 4.0, retains the same sort of straightforward aesthetic as before, with a long and narrow design, including a roll-top closure, front zippered pocket and side zippered access to the main compartment.

But that’s where the similarities end because everything else has been updated for 2025. Gone is the removable tote bag which, let’s face it, was quirky but a little overly complicated.

In are heavy-duty recycled materials – 1050D recycled nylon for the main areas, 500D TPE tarp for the ‘wet section’, 1680D recycled ballistic nylon for the bottom of the bag, and 150D recycled polyester for the lining. There’s also a slimline bottle pocket on each side of the bag – big enough for a regular size cycling water bottle.

The bag’s capacity has been increased to 35 litres, making it capable of carrying a lot of stuff – enough even for a weekend away. It also features a multitude of internal pockets to organise your things. Each of these is outfitted with a high quality YKK zip with a chunky pull cord, for easier accessibility.

The first of these pockets is a ‘wet’ section at the front of the bag’s inner. This, presumably, allows you to store wet clothing, such as a rain jacket, without impacting on the rest of your kit. It’s pretty capacious, so could easily swallow your entire cycling clobber, and is kept fastened shut when not in use via a magnetic popper. A nylon tab makes it easy to open. Personally, this section has limited appeal for me as I don’t tend to carry wet items, but I can see where it might occasionally be of use.

At the rear section, accessible via a side zipper, there’s a lightly padded pocket for a laptop up to 17 inches, fastened close with a velcro tab. In front of this is a smaller pocket with a dual zipper.

As you might expect with a roll-top bag, the main section – accessible via the new-for-2025 magnetic-fastening buckle – is good for chucking in things like clothing and lunch.

The buckle is quicker, and nicer, to fasten than a regular side-release buckle, though I did find it somewhat tricky to unfasten at times – you need to rotate both sections away from each other to do so, but in a rush I’d occasionally forget the proper procedure.

A concealed pull handle makes it easier to open up the main compartment, though looking in from the top it’s quite dark inside, despite the light grey interior, making organisation tricky. The side zipper, however, does allow for a better view into the bag’s interior.

Alongside the main side zipper is an additional small zippered pocket, which is good for stashing smaller items like a phone or a wallet when security might be a concern.

As with the Yalta 3.0, there’s a zippered pocket round the front of the bag, which is great for quick access to your essentials. Unlike before, this section features waterproof material for better weather protection, as well as weather-resistant zipper. It’s not 100% waterproof, but it’ll certainly keep things dry inside unless the bag is exposed to torrential rain.

Inside there are two separate sections for keeping things like a phone and keys away from each other, while a plastic keychain allows you to attach said keys to the bag, helping to prevent them from falling out.

> Cycling luggage for beginners: find out the best ways to carry stuff on your bike

In terms of low-light visibility, a reflective Chrome Industries badge on the lower front of this pocket is subtle but effective, and there’s some minor reflectivity to the main fastening strap, while at the rear there’s a reflective logo on the right hand shoulder strap, inserts at the bottom of each strap, and some reflective stitching here and there. It’s not going to light up like a Christmas tree at night, but Chrome has always been about keeping things low key for the day time, without sacrificing visibility.

Another upgrade over the previous version of the Yalta is a chunkier padded back section, with a particularly large section at the bottom of the bag – useful for protecting the bottom of your spine as well as the top of your hip bones. Mine are particularly pronounced, and so I tend to find that some bags are uncomfortable in this area.

The straps are also now more streamlined, though they’re still wide and well padded, and feature a removable sternum strap with a T-Lok adjustment system. Connecting the two sides of the sternum strap, the buckle here has been improved – it’s a low-level seatbelt-style unit that is easy to operate. Nothing wrong with the old style side-release buckle, this is just a bit nicer overall.

There’s plenty of adjustability to suit your back length, or how tight you want the bag against your back, and elastic retainers on either side ensure that you can tidy away any excess strap length, to prevent them flapping around while you ride.

The first time you don the Yalta 4.0 it’s immediately obvious that this is a comfortable backpack, despite its slightly larger size and extra weight. The padding feels great against your back thanks to the way it conforms to the curvature of your spine, whether you’re upright or in a more aero road-bike position.

When you’re riding hard, sweating on the back is pretty inevitable – but it’s definitely one of the better bags out there in this respect. The padded sections are a couple of centimetres thick with lots of room around them, so airflow is, in theory, pretty decent.

I carry a hefty MacBook Pro in the bag along with lunch and clothes, so the overall weight is about 5kg. I noticed very little pressure on my upper back or shoulders. Thanks to the sternum strap, the bag feels very stable with no movement, even when out of the saddle. It will jump slightly when you hit a big bump in the road, but without a waist strap that’s to be expected.

Value

Unusually, in a world where the price of items only seems to go one way, the latest version of the Yalta is actually cheaper than the previous version – £10 less, with an overall price tag of £150.

Still not exactly cheap, then, but as Chrome Industries bags go, it’s pretty standard. I’ve had a few Chrome bags in the past, and they’re just built to last, so the investment will be worth it in the long run.

I previously tested the Chrome Industries Warsaw 30L Pack. It’s a similar style of bag, with a similar capacity, but with a few different design flourishes – some good, some not so good. Overall internal capacity is more impressive here, but it’s lacking pockets. It costs £134.80.

Proviz’s Reflect360 Cycling Backpack offers a similar capacity, at 30 litres, but you get loads of reflectivity and compartments to store your stuff. It’s around half the price of the Yalta 4.0 at £70.

Similarly, Craft’s Cadence 30-litre Cycling Backpack Roll Top Waterproof is now a similar price at £139.99, is fully waterproof and well made.

Check out our best cycling backpacks buyer’s guide, which covers our favourites. 

Conclusion

There’s a lot to like about this bag, from the heavy duty materials to the plethora of pockets. I’ve no doubt the slightly above average 1.25kg weight is the price to pay for all this, but I’ll take that over light and flimsy every time. Most important is you’re getting a high level of comfort and a backpack that remains stable while you ride. The only minor, for me, is the wet section which I think is probably overkill for many people.

> Buy now: Chrome Industries Yalta 4.0 for £114.99 from Bike Inn

Verdict

Comfy, stable, well made and attractive – and while a bit of an investment it does have a lifetime warranty

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