Originally Posted by
StephenH
"Somebody else wants one that doesn't require rack mounting, while I refuse to have anything to do with a bag that doesn't."
I think I was the only one that mentioned the rack. I don't object to the rack, I just think if it's required, it ought to come with, and/or be incorporated into, the bag. As opposed to spending $200 for the bag, then another $150 for the rack to hold it up. And, it seems to me that if the rack and bag were specifically designed to work with each other, you'd have a lighter and more stable system when done. Keep in mind, we're discussing the "perfect" handlebar bag here, not what is actually out there.
A standard Gilles Berthoud bag will fit on many different front racks. I have three bikes that I use my GB with. So having the bag and rack be an integrated system would actually be a negative from my perspective.
Frankly, the rack is the easy part. It's the decaleur that is complicated and hard to integrate. In my case, I had to do some MacGyvering to take stem-mounted decaleurs and get them mounted to my specific stems (Nitto Technomic was easy, the no-name single-bolt threaded stem on the tandem required a little more work, and the four-bolt Ritchey stem on my Gunnar was a real pain -- I machined a piece of stainless to go "sideways" and drilled two holes on the side for the stem bolts, and two bolts perpendicularly down the middle to bolt the decaleur to it).
But the advantage of having a low-mounted, securely-mounted handlebar bag is just tremendous compared with a high-mounted, floppier handlebar bag.
Nick