Touring - carradice duck bags

hello does anyone have experience with thee type of seat bags? ill be getting one in november, i would like you guys opinions.


a cool front just came thru dallas and has brought some drier air! but still lost of sunshine. i guess ypu northern folk are packing your machines away now, huh?




:)

Ive havent used the saddle bags, but I have used their panniers daily for the last 5 years.
They are very tough and water resistant and survive major abrasion better than any other material.
I keep mine proofed by rewaxing with the stuff for waxed cotton jackets. You melt the wax and rub it in.
The bags are pretty popular with UK tourists, usually combined with a Brooks B17 saddle. The weight is held near the centre of gravity, so has little effect on handling. they are aerodynamic
and the load/weight ratio is favourable compared to the modern solution of a seatpost-mounted rack with a rack-top bag.

The only downside is that some people, on some bikes suffer from their thighs hitting the bag.

I wonder why more people dont use them, esp on full suspension bikes.

I use a Carradice Junior combined with a Brooks B-17 saddle on my sport tourer.
The bag is well made and seems to be almost bulletproof, although not actually waterproof (as no bag really is).

I do notice a slight thigh touching as MichaelW mentioned but it's not a problem.

I like the carring capacity of a rack trunk without the added weight or hassle of a rack. The Junior does exactly that and looks "laid back cool" too.

Keep in mind, some (most?) of these bags require the saddle to have "bag loops" as on the B-17. I believe add on bag loops can be attached to the rails of racing type saddles, if needed.

Overall, I am quite pleased.