Touring - saddle loops

i'm new at touring and i was wondering how important saddle loops are...i'm a big fan of the brooks professional, but it is loopless...however, i just got a rivendell adam bag for christmas, and it's possible to mount it to the rails, but it seems a little swingey. is that just the nature of saddle bags, or would having it mounted to proper loops (ala b17) make a difference?

thanks in advance for imparting your wisdom.

oh come on...40 views and NOTHING?

doesn't anyone have experience hanging a biggish bag from their rails?

hasn't anyone tried both ways?

I use a large Carradice bag with a loopless Brooks saddle. Since I have no loops, I got an SQR adapter from Wallingford (wallbike.com). It has a quick release adapter that mounts to the seatpost and a metal frame that attaches to your bag. It should work with any bag designed for saddle loops.

large saddlebags tend to be swingers,Yeah Baby!Yeah! .I have some limited experience with a baycliff bag but have not toured with it .Be patient i am sure there are some people on these forums who have had the experiences you care to discuss.There is an all brithish Bicycle ride around Lake Pepin in Minnesota .The participants all looked to be using large saddlebags.You should be able to find the site rather easily.

Some time ago I purchased a couple of little adapters that actually mount on the seat rails they have belt eyelets on them that allow any kind of saddlebag, including the old style Raleigh bags... I wish I could tell you where I found those darn things..

cut and paste this website:

About half way down the page in the section called lights,bags, racks you will see cyclo seat tabs...they are the things I mentioned in my earlier contribution.

Happy riding.

http://www.bikeville.com/accessories.html

The converter you want can be bought from the CTC at www.ctcshop.co.uk and cost about £10 bp . I use one on my professional and it's a good bit of gear. Hope this helps, George.