Originally Posted by
63rickert
Simplest solution is to use a Carradice Classic rack instead of the rather fragile Carradice Bagman.
https://www.carradice.co.uk/products...saddlebag-rack
They've only been selling this about a decade now. An absolute copy of the long gone Karrimor Uplift. Which was a fair copy of the Tonard saddlebag support. So around in one form or another over eighty years. I've been using it fifty years. Gives much better support to the bag than does the Bagman or most homemade. Less sway than any other traditional bag mount I've seen. Undo one strap and lift bag and rack off the bike. Rack become a carry handle. Easy to set up for different levels of saddlebag elevation. Totally durable, does not break. I've been using just the one rack for fifty years. Solves the problem permanently and you don't have to keep fiddling about.
Interesting. I had considered buying the Classic Rack recently as a support for my Camper Longflap. I liked the design. In the end, I went with the Bagman Expedition, mostly because Carradice rates it for for 10 kg, as compared to (as I recall) 7 kg for the Classic. I doubt that I'll ever carry anything near 10 kg in the saddlebag, but that number did suggest to me that the Bagman was perhaps more robust of the two, and I'm big on robustness. I've been happy with it so far, but I do like the looks of the old Karrimor design. I would guess that its weak link is the metal "tongues" that are inserted in the saddle loops. But given that you've used it successfully for 50 years, maybe that's a non-issue.