I went on a little quest trying to find a decent bag for my new folding bike, a 20" tire Dahon Speed D7 (with rear rack and fenders = 32" x 25" x 13"). I intend to use it at work instead of my car to get between buildings, so it will spend much of it's life in the back of my wagon. My requirements were:
- Keep the bike out of direct sight of prying eyes when in the car
- Ideally no logos, adornment that scream BIKE INSIDE
- A weave nylon (suitcase-like material) rather than vinyl
- Lightly padded to offer some level of protection against other things knocking around back there
- Totally enclosed / zippered - Important given some of the comments about being able to take it on mass transit (unlikely for me, but on my list).
- Carrying handle and shoulder straps
- Reasonably form fitting, yet a little bit of room for a helmet
- Able to fold up tights so that I can strap it to the rear rack and carry it with me while riding
- Low cost. I set a target of under $40
The Dahon Bolso bag misses on several of the above, as does the older Dahon bag that I saw on the shelf at one dealer. Searching the web, I compared dimensions and specs when available. In cases were the bag ads didn't give size data, I went to the bike pages they listed as fitting, to compare folded size.
Several good candidates emerged:
Bazooka C20 case for 20" wheel bikes - 34 x 22 x 12 , around $50. Looks very nice, but big silk screened screaming logo on outside.
http://www.amazon.com/Carry-Case-Baz...7824936&sr=8-1
Citizen Bike bag - 33 x 23 x 11 - novel hard bottomed rolling duffel style. Handy, but would make transport on the bike more difficult.
PT Cruiser Bike Bag. This bag, sold thru Amazon for around $30 looked interesting on the web. The Cruiser bike has 16" wheels, but due to an offset when folded, the dimensions match most 20" bikes at 32" x 26". The picture shows no external adornment, just an outside gusseted pocket.
http://www.amazon.com/Chrysler-PT-Cr...7825055&sr=8-2
What sealed the deal was that it was on sale for $24.98, and eligible for free shipping if I added something else to get it above $25. You need a cheap Planet Bike water bottle holder for $3 to go with the new bike, right? Sold. $28 total sale, and it arrived in less than a week.
Well, not quite... What arrived was clearly not what is shown, but in the end it did not disappoint. I don't care for the concept of 'bate and switch', but the bag is a decent weave, two layers with what feels like some thin padding between on the sides and bottom. Light and strong. No external pocket (fine with me), but a sleeve zipper pocket on the inside. The heavy handle straps wrap down along the sides, giving more strength, and the shoulder strap hooks to the far ends. The bike fits great, with a little extra headroom above the rack to place my helmet. Nice. Only downside is a screened logo "Bike Parts Source LLC - Folding Bicycle". Not what I wanted to announce to the world, but I will cover it over.
Net is that for the price, I doubt you could find better.