lachy94

Hey guys, I'm planning on buying a carradice bag, most likely a longflap camper. But, I can't decide whether the camper may be overkill for size, and whether I should get the green from carradice directly, or save some chips and get the black from wiggle. If you guys could share some pics of your carradice saddle bags to help me decide that would be awesome

antokelly

ah i would love to share some pic's but i havent got a clue how to post them,but what i can tell you is i have the camper on my thorn sherpa practally all the time.it's a fantastic saddlebag hold's unbelivable amounts of gear /waterproof/well made/looks brilliant mine is green same as my bike well near enough.one thing if your seatpost is on the low side you will need something to lift it up from the rear rack otherwise it will droop down either side of rack,i have a gadget called an uplift works great .hope that helps.

BengeBoy 

Here's my Carradic Pendle or Barley; sorry I can never remember which model it is. I believe BF member "nun" has some great shots of his Camper Longflap on one of his touring threads...

But I just like the photo so I post it every chance I get.

lachy94

haha, I can see why!

barturtle

check this: https://epicureancyclist.blogspot.com...mper-long.html

lachy94

yeah, I saw that, it was definitely a bit of a watershed moment haha... but I'm curious to know how much all of his kit weighs, he's got the luxury of resting it onto a pannier rack, but I won't... Thing is, the massive size of the camper is moot if all that does is compel you to fill it up and go over weight haha

sstorkel

Here are a few TwitPics of my Nashbar Double-Butted Aluminum Touring Frame bike with my black Carradice Nelson Longflap saddlebag attached to the Bagman QR support:

Ready to head out
Lunch @ Norm's Market in Pescadero, CA on Day #1
Lunch @ Monterey State Beach on Day #2

I probably could have gotten away with the Lowsaddle Longflap. With Carradice bags, it's better for the bag to be a little too small than too large. If the bag is too large, you'll have the straps secured on the last notch and things will still be flapping around; I was always concerned that stuff was going to fall out of the side pockets because they weren't that full.

macfred 

Actually I use my Longflap on the handlebar...



But here is an other one...

lachy94

Looking good macfred, which size bag is that? is it a camper or smaller?

Another question occurs to me:
I own this day pack
https://www.blackwolf.com.au/lifestyle/classic/
which I bought for geology field trips, and is 25L. Almost straight from buying it I regretted it, it is simply too small, even for day trips on foot. how is it then that the carradice bags seem so voluminous? Is it just that the people at blackwolf are fibbing a bit?

macfred 

@lachy94
It`s a Nelson Longflap; capacity is 18 litre https://www.carradice.co.uk/saddlebag...addlebag.shtml
I think the Camper Longflap with 24 litre shouldt be your choice...
Using the whole capacity, the flap will not cover your stuff complete...
( English is not my first language... )

tarwheel 

Here are some shots of my Carradice Barley. Whichever model you get, I would recommend also getting the Carradice Bagman rack to support it -- unless you already have a rear rack on your bike. Without the rack, my Barley hit the backs on my legs when I pedaled, which was very annoying.

Louis

I realize you're considering a larger bag than my Carradice Junior, but here it is anyhow.

That's a Velo Orange bag up front.

sstorkel

Yes. If you multiply the dimensions they give for the bag, the size comes out to 20L or about 1200 cubic inches. That's pretty small as far as backpacks go. I generally don't carry anything smaller than 25L (1500 cubic inches) and my favorite backpack for day hikes is 32L (2000 cubic inches).

Carradice say the Nelson Longflap is 18L (1098 cubic inches), while Peter White says 20L (1220 cubic inches). Regardless, the long flap and nylon surround mean that the bag can actually hold a bit more than its stated capacity.

lachy94

ahh ok, I never really believed it was anywhere near that big, it's really a hopeless pack. I think going on the storage of that pack I probably want the 24L of the camper. Plus I did some measurements, and most beer bottles are over 20cm tall, so I don't think the Nelson would suffice! haha

would anyone hazard a guess as to which model is in this humerous picture, taken from sheldon browns site:

macfred 

The Carradice Club on flickr ... https://www.flickr.com/groups/390786@N25/

nun

The camper is big and good for touring. With careful gear choices the nelson Longflap works very well or lightweight trips and credit card tours. Here's a shot of my bike with the Nelson Longflap and an Acorn handlebar bag that I took on a recent trip down to Cape Cod, MA

Bekologist

I'm with lachy on this one. the saddlebag system is a stretch to fit even a basic ultralite load, heaven forbid you want to purchase a bag of apples from a roadside stand.


Additionally, carrying even ultralite touring loads in saddlebags above the wheels affect handling.

having an ultralite load distributed at axle hight on both wheels makes for a nimble bike.

Better to get two ultralight racks and lower the load for lightweight loaded touring is my advice, keep the carradices for looking good on the rando ride and CC touring.

i know nun's mileage differs on this one but i don't think saddlebags make a practical choice for full kit loaded touring

sstorkel

I found the Nelson Longflap to be more than adequate for credit card touring. If I'd wanted to camp, I think I might have been able to get by with the Camper Longflap, though folks with less ideal weather than California might be hard-pressed to do the same...

I think I had 15 or 20 pounds in my Nelson Longflap and didn't notice any adverse affects on handling. I couldn't throw the bike from side to side as much when climbing out of the saddle, but that's about the only difference I felt. Took me about 5 minutes to get used to it and then the bike was brilliant for the rest of the trip...

nun

Ahh! I've become too predictable. I'm of the school that getting the weight as close to the center of mass, ie my butt and stomach, is the way to minimize it's affect on handling. But I realize that most people will not use a saddlebag for self supported touring, most people will want the extra capacity of panniers. However, the saddlebag is the perfect way to do a credit card tour. If you are setting off on a 5 day tour of Vermont country inns the saddlebag/handlebar bag combo is the natural way to go. I just visited friends in Woods Hole, MA and the saddlebag/handlebar bag combo gave me enough space for all my gear and in no way affected the bike's handling. I supported the Nelson Longflap with an Expedition Bagman and was out of the saddle riding agressively a lot of the time. I could throw the bike from side to side in a way that would be impossible with loaded panniers and I rode the 90 miles from Boston to Woods Hole in 6 hours saddle time so you can make good time as well.

nun

FYI here's a video that includes a Nelson Longflap

https://wheelsofchance.org/2009/08/11...-touring-gear/

BengeBoy 

Hey nun - if only this were true. I do wish that your ability to make good time translated into *my* ability to make good time!

nun

It was 8 hours total time, one hour for lunch and a couple of half hour coffee and donut breaks. On a long ride Dunkin Donuts is your friend.

barturtle

I think lachy is mostly trying to figure out how a Carradice will work as part of a system that includes frame pack and front panniers (from a previous post), I doubt that he considers it a one bag a solution to carrying a full load including a trangia for a couple week self-supported tour.

lachy94

thanks for the replies guys great video too nun, really helps me get a feel for the size of that bag.

Touring wise I should be sweet for storage capacity even with the nelson I think; I've ordered the carradice super C front panniers (my short chain stays don't permit rear panniers, and I think the weight distribution will be better this way anyway), which are 28L... I'm more trying to work out the practicality of each size for life not on tours...

so, to summarise, how many upright bottles of beer do you think the nelson can hold?

barturtle

Cool. Once you get them a review with photos would be sweet. I'm really wondering how much space a trangia takes up in one of them, as they are on my short list.