• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Saddle Bag

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
Skier
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
12,630
Location
Maine
I need a saddle bag for my road bike. I have been using a "koki" bag for a few years. Size and shape are good, but the"Velcro" on the straps that hold it onto the seat rails is shot - prematurely, imo. Disappointed. I am done with "hook and loop" straps, since no one seems to use actual Velcro anymore. (IME real Velcro is far superior to the mass market crap.)

It needs to hold a tube, levers, multi tool, CO2 + nozzle, key fob, credit card, money for ice cream, maybe an extra Gu.

I like the looks of the Silca items - especially the "Premio Capsule" - that use a Boa, but reviews are mixed at best. I don't like bulky attachment stuff that stays on the saddle, especially when it interferes with fore-aft adjustment.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.
 

scott43

So much better than a pro
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
13,552
Location
Great White North
I have one of these on my mountain bike. I wouldn't say it's the greatest bag ever, it's a bit big and bulky for a road bike, but it does have buckles and an elastic strap for the seat post. No velcro. I have a Specialized Micro bag on the road bike and it's been fine for me but it's velcro... I think because it's small and you can't pack THAT much stuff in it that it works ok.

 

zircon

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Posts
807
Location
I can’t believe it’s not England!
This uses velcro, but... I have this saddle bag on my road bike: https://ride.lezyne.com/products/1-sb-rdcaddy-v104

It holds 1 18-25c road tube, 2 generic black plastic tire levers, small multitool, 1 CO2 cartridge and nozzle, 2 keys without chain, a $20 + drivers license. Gu goes in the jersey pocket. Old saddle was slammed all the way forward on a post with huge setback and it didn't interfere. Bit of a pain in the ass to take off and put back if you open your saddle bag often, though.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Tony S

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
Skier
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
12,630
Location
Maine
@KevinF , that looks very no nonsense, and it did not come up in my Googles, so thanks.

@zircon , Hmm. Interesting comment about opening it often. When starting rides from my car, I do tend to insert / remove car key, license, etc., each ride. Car keys aren't the minute items they used to be; my fob starts to look pretty bulky when you hold it up next to one of the really minimalist bags. Since it's an expensive piece of electronics I won't put it in my jersey, where it would get soaked with sweat. (Already damaged a phone that way, before I started making other arrangements for that.)

@Erik Timmerman , ya. Pricey, though, especially for an experiment.
 

zircon

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Posts
807
Location
I can’t believe it’s not England!
When starting rides from my car, I do tend to insert / remove car key, license, etc., each ride. Car keys aren't the minute items they used to be; my fob starts to look pretty bulky when you hold it up next to one of the really minimalist bags.

For some stupid reason I assumed it was like a house key fob for a smart lock or something which tends to be flatter :doh: Ignore me, I'm an idiot. Definitely too small. And yeah the (real) velcro is very strong and wraps aaaallll the way around. Key shaped keys can be snuck in the side, but opening and closing fully is a pain.

My car key is giant so it just goes in a ziploc snack size bag (as does the phone) in the pocket when I need to carry it and sometimes I forget other people do it differently.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Tony S

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
Skier
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
12,630
Location
Maine
Blackburn Wayside?
Brooks Isle of Wight?

Not the right kind of bike (or rider or bank account) for Brooks. There's a reason leather straps and buckles disappeared in the seventies. I'll look at the other one. Thanks.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Tony S

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
Skier
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
12,630
Location
Maine
More than one - but every avocado shag carpet ever points to the 70's lack of taste, and you don't like hook and loop :D

I am definitely impossible.
 

cantunamunch

Meh
Skier
Joined
Nov 17, 2015
Posts
21,907
Location
Behavioral sink
Not the right kind of bike

So...not this sort of bike.

brooks-england-isle-wight-saddle-bag-seat-post-strap.jpg


I am definitely impossible.

*nods*
 

Rudi Riet

AKA songfta AKA randomduck - a USSS coach, as well
SkiTalk Tester
Contributor
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
2,462
Location
Washington, DC
Tony: give the Speedsleev Ranger a look-see. It's solid, and I've yet to wear out the velcro strap on mine after 5 years of use and abuse.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Tony S

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
Skier
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
12,630
Location
Maine
Tony: give the Speedsleev Ranger a look-see. It's solid, and I've yet to wear out the velcro strap on mine after 5 years of use and abuse.

That looks good. More Velcro, deployed in a more "wrap-around" fashion. I like it.
 

Plai

Paul Lai
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2015
Posts
1,965
Location
Silicon Valley
@Tony S Looks like you've made your decision. Sorry to be late to the party, but my solution is the Ortlieb Micro Two. No velcro, folds shut and dry like a dry bag; secured to bike with a quick snap on/off clip/holder.

SIGRED.jpg
 
Thread Starter
TS
Tony S

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
Skier
Team Gathermeister
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
12,630
Location
Maine
@Tony S Looks like you've made your decision. Sorry to be late to the party, but my solution is the Ortlieb Micro Two. No velcro, folds shut and dry like a dry bag; secured to bike with a quick snap on/off clip/holder.

SIGRED.jpg

Thanks. Those look nice. In the past I have had bags that use a two-part clip, where one part stays on the bag and the other part stays on the seat rails. That's what this is, right? Depending on the specific clip and saddle designs, I always found them to interfere too much with the ability to move the seat forward on the post.

Meanwhile, if anyone cares the Silca bag has been working well, not that I've put it through hard testing or anything. The jury is very much out on how it holds up to bad weather.

There are two main complaints on it, when you read the reviews:

1) A few people complain that the bag falls off the bike. (!) The only way I can see this happening is if the user did not cinch down the BOA with any kind of attentiveness and then test the solidity of the application with a firm wiggle and jounce, or from a catastrophic failure of some piece of the whole BOA system - the ratchet, the "hook" on the other end, or the cord itself. I suspect the former in most cases. Let's hope I'm right.

2) Lots of people complain that the the zipper is hard to operate. True! It's a bear. BUT! I discovered that there is a magic trick. If you just pinch together the two halves of the "clamshell" while zipping or unzipping, as though it were a suitcase, the zipper runs perfectly. Problem solved.

My only real gripe so far is that because the top half of the clamshell is the deeper one, things do tend to fall out when you unzip. Also, there is no internal key clip, which seems like an obvious thing to overlook. Otherwise works great.
 

coskigirl

Skiing the powder
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
4,591
Location
Evergreen, CO
Meanwhile, if anyone cares the Silca bag has been working well, not that I've put it through hard testing or anything. The jury is very much out on how it holds up to bad weather.

There are two main complaints on it, when you read the reviews:

1) A few people complain that the bag falls off the bike. (!) The only way I can see this happening is if the user did not cinch down the BOA with any kind of attentiveness and then test the solidity of the application with a firm wiggle and jounce, or from a catastrophic failure of some piece of the whole BOA system - the ratchet, the "hook" on the other end, or the cord itself. I suspect the former in most cases. Let's hope I'm right.

2) Lots of people complain that the the zipper is hard to operate. True! It's a bear. BUT! I discovered that there is a magic trick. If you just pinch together the two halves of the "clamshell" while zipping or unzipping, as though it were a suitcase, the zipper runs perfectly. Problem solved.

My only real gripe so far is that because the top half of the clamshell is the deeper one, things do tend to fall out when you unzip. Also, there is no internal key clip, which seems like an obvious thing to overlook. Otherwise works great.

Any chance you've tried to put an iPhone XR or similar sized phone in the bag?
 

Plai

Paul Lai
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2015
Posts
1,965
Location
Silicon Valley
Thanks. Those look nice. In the past I have had bags that use a two-part clip, where one part stays on the bag and the other part stays on the seat rails. That's what this is, right? Depending on the specific clip and saddle designs, I always found them to interfere too much with the ability to move the seat forward on the post.
Yes, these are the two part clip attachment system. The upper part fits in the bend of the rail, right in the rear of the seat. Not much real estate lost (for me). Yes, my bag kinda angles up with the rear of the saddle.
 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top