Originally Posted by
mdilthey
I worry about plastic pieces. I've broken plastic pedals, plastic water bottle mounts. I've broken plastic light mounts. it's that one fall, or that one time you accidentally put pressure on it, or the one rock that flicks up, and you regret using plastic. I defer to flexible materials like cloth all the time. In my head, I see a bracket that holds a handlebar bag flexing a centimeter or two every time you go over a bump over and over and over, and I have a hard time trusting it. Experience from someone with thousands of miles is a big plus, but it still makes me nervous with a DSLR. If I have four attachment points with rope or velcro, the chances of all 4 breaking simultaneously are outrageous.
Of course, I could always find a plastic mount bag and then tie some velcro on as a backup!
The bag mounts come with a wire that goes around and over the stem so just in case the screws let go, it holds the bag in place. You could probably secure the mount further with some zip ties, if you feel necessary.
If that won't work for you, I can only suggest a metal front basket, like for groceries, but even some of those have plastic mounts. Oh, and you will probably look funny...
You should do whatever you're comfortable with, but I would not try to secure a regular bag to handlebars - I wouldn't feel it was safe enough. And depending on how long you will be riding, carrying it on your body and having it swing around would drive me mad.
Let us know what you decide.