Touring - Center Pull Brakes/Handlebar Bag ?

Hi Everyone,
I have a 2008 Fuji Touring Bike with the center pull brake levers and was wondering if there is a handlebar bag I can get to fit the handlebar without removing the center pull brakes ?
Thanks and I appreciate your time and your help.:)

I believe you can find extenders for some bags that put them farther away in front

Unless your stem is really short, the center-pull cable will be near the head-tube and the handlebar bag will be, well, out in front of the handlebars.
The bags which mount on a rigid bracket attached to the bars won't flop back.
The un-structured bags may hang back a bit. You could put a sheet plastic liner in to give it some shape. There used to be bags which hung from the stem/bar intersection and had straps that wrapped around the brake hoods.
And, depending on which center-pull brakes you have, there are small racks (some cost more than others), that your front bag could rest on.
And the randonneur-style supports - decaleurs - also hold the bag out away from the cable.

Maybe take a look at bags in your LBS to get a sense of how it would all go together.

See here. (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=533394#7)

Hi Everyone,
I have a 2008 Fuji Touring Bike with the center pull brakes and was wondering if there is a handlebar bag I can get to fit the handlebar without removing the center pull brakes ?
Thanks and I appreciate your time and your help.:)

Since this is a relatively new bike, I'll assume by 'center pull' brakes you mean cantilever. Like these

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/IMG_0334.jpg

You shouldn't have any interference problems with a handlebar bag since the carrier for the brake cable is integrated into the head set like this

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/IMG_0333.jpg

Any bag will mount to the handle bars and shouldn't come within a country mile of the cable...even with an extremely short stem.

I was under the impression that the OP meant a set of brakes mounted to the flat parts of the drop bars (but the above post may be right!). If so, the ideal solution would be a second stem below the first (combined with a short set of straight bars for mounting purposes), which might give the desired effect.

Hi and thanks for the replies so far.
(cyccommute )I meant the brake levers -center pull brake levers sorry for the mix up:(
my goal is to try and see if I can add a handle bar bag to my bike.:)

Hi and thanks for the replies so far.
(cyccommute )I meant the brake levers -center pull brake levers sorry for the mix up:(
my goal is to try and see if I can add a handle bar bag to my bike.:)

Well why didn't you say interrupter or cross levers in the first place! Newbies:rolleyes:

Most of the interrupter levers I've seen a mounted too flat to begin with. If you have to reach out with your hand at an angle...like typing...they are too flat. Angle them downward like a mountain bike lever. When sitting on you saddle, the lever should fall in a natural angle so that your hands, wrists and forearms are in a straight line. Here's my mountain bike lever angle so you can see what I mean*

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/IMG_0756.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/FSR-front.jpg

As you can see, the levers are just barely forward of the handlebars. You could easily fit most handlebar bags in front of those. Not on mountain bikes because the cabling is wrong but on a road bike there'd be no problem.


*I don't use interrupter brake levers myself. Never felt the need:rolleyes:

I had a pair on my bike and they have since ended up in the parts box. Like mentioned by cyccommute you can rotate them down and out of the way. You can also get extensions like mentioned as well for Ortliebs and maybe others. I'd just rotate them down and out of the way or remove them. YMMV.

Hi and thanks for the replies so far.
(cyccommute )I meant the brake levers -center pull brake levers sorry for the mix up:(
my goal is to try and see if I can add a handle bar bag to my bike.:)

I agree that it shouldn't be a problem since the levers should be rotated down out of the way any way.

BTW: I would have never guessed you were talking about interrupter levers from the original post. Center pull brakes mean something else entirely, although the term is kind of archaic.