bike bags?

[pooks]

Hi, I'm new here!

I can tell already that I want some sort of bike bag (probably on front of my hybrid) to carry a few things, including a camera.

Does anybody have any advice? What to look for and what to avoid?

I found these and love all the colors to choose from, but am open to all suggestions!

http://www.arkel-od.com/panniers/hb_...asp?fl=1&site=

http://www.arkel-od.com/panniers/sm_...asp?fl=1&site=

Thanks!

[Veronica]

We have the larger Arkel. It's built like a bomb shelter! We got it for our tandem trip to Hawaii. It poured one day and everything stayed dry. I'll be putting it on my single for a trip to Nova Scotia in a couple of weeks.

V.

[pooks]

I was told that having a bag on the front instead of panniers could make the bike more difficult to handle. Is that much of an issue? I'd like mine where I can get into it quickly and easily, plus like that it comes off and works as a shoulder bag so you can carry your stuff in with you if you go inside somewhere.

[Veronica]

A lot depends on how much weight you have up there. I routinely ride with a small handlbar bag, a GPS unit and a light and I don't really notice a change. I REALLY like having things like food and Advil right at my fingertips. I can get into that bag while riding. I often drop a few Advil, but that makes the squirrels with headaches happy.



Ignore how unhappy I look. It's not because of all the stuff on my handlbar.

I expect the Arkel will feel a little different and change the handling some. But I'm making a lot of changes on my bike to go from doing double centuries to a self supported tour. The advantage of having my camera handy will be worth it.

My husband uses a different handlebar bag everyday that he commutes and he prefers it to his saddlebag.



Here's the large Arkel on our tandem from our Hawaii tour - Feb. 2003.


V.

[pooks]

Those pics are really helpful. Thanks for all the feedback!

[Veronica]

Yeah... I figure a picture of the bag on a bike gives you a better idea of size, than just the bag by itself.

That little bag on my single holds a lot. If you have a point and shoot camera, it will fit in that. Along with a Red Bull, a tube, a tool kit, a small container of Advil, some food... and a partridge, but NOT the pear tree.

If you're carrying a larger camera (Thom does) or need some other gear handy, we've been happy with both bigger bags. The gray ones are Gilles Berthoud.

V.

[pooks]

A lot depends on how much weight you have up there. I routinely ride with a small handlbar bag, a GPS unit and a light and I don't really notice a change. I REALLY like having things like food and Advil right at my fingertips. I can get into that bag while riding. I often drop a few Advil, but that makes the squirrels with headaches happy.



Ignore how unhappy I look. It's not because of all the stuff on my handlbar.


V.

Dredging up an old thread to ask Veronica --

What kind of handlebag is that ? Now that I've been cycling a bit more I've decided that I really would like a small bag that straps in without brackets for now. It looks like yours fits the bill, but I don't think you ever said where you got it!

[KnottedYet]

Me too! Is that something from Rivendell?

[Veronica]

Dredging up an old thread to ask Veronica --

What kind of handlebag is that ? Now that I've been cycling a bit more I've decided that I really would like a small bag that straps in without brackets for now. It looks like yours fits the bill, but I don't think you ever said where you got it!

It's a Gilles Berthould bag. But it's not on the Riv site anymore, which means they probably don'y have it in stock right now.

I just checked and Wallingford has it on their site. It's the small saddlebag. It can go either on the bars or on the saddle. I think it was cheaper at Riv.

V.