Looking for info/advice on using a rando bag
 

I have considered buying a large rando bag for a the last couple years, but held off because the pandemic killed 90% of the reason I wanted the setup which was to commute to work, and work is currently a few steps away.
This would go on a modern steel Black Mountain Monstercross frame that I turned into a commute/tour/whatever bike. It has bar end shifters with cables running under the tape, cantilever brakes with the front cable stop in the fork, and a Jandd Extreme front rack.

I would like to use the Jandd rack as a platform and just add a decaleur to the headset spacers.
The Restrap Rando bag's attachment tech is super cool, but it requires some goofy cross bars to be permanently attached to my rack which isnt a great look or convenient.
Ive also looked at a 15L Swift Merlin(used to be Ozette 2) bag and the Acorn Tall.

QUESTIONS-
- Are there any large bags that are more convenient than others to attach and remove or are most all bags about the same amount of fuss when it comes to attaching and removing?
- How vital is a tombstone? The Jandd front rack doesnt have one. Im pretty sure if a tombstone is mandatory, Ill just strap a dry bag to the top of the front rack and call it good, or switch to my rear rack and run a pannier bag. Either of those options are free and simple to attach/remove gear.
- If this is doable, am I missing anything besides a decaleur bracket for the setup?

As I understand it, the weight of the bag needs to be supported by a platform of some sort, i.e. a rack although I've seen a strong fender used. The decauller is there to stabilize and secure the top of the bag. I've run a couple french style handlebar bag with a variety of front racks and either a ready made decauller or a non-removable one I rigged up out of a strong old reflector bracket.

I haven't kept up with all the modern bags, but to use a decauller you'll likely have to drill/poke holes in it to attach it. My old LaFuma has a leather strip to help provide some durability where the bolts go through.

That's a long rack. You could just pick up a Jandd duffel rack pack if has enough volume for you:

https://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FDRP

Ooh, well this is something I hadnt seen! I figured I would just lash down a compression bag, but this bag compresses with some built in straps! Hmm, definitely a consideration.
thanks!

For my commuting needs, I went with a custom bag from WaxWing and a custom decaleur and rack from [MENTION=381793]gugie[/MENTION].

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...38b416833.jpeg

The bag doesn't make it easier or harder to get on and off, it's the attachment system. A tombstone helps keep the bag from shifting around, but a study decaleur might do the same. The "Ortlieb Hack" method was developed by Ocean Air Cycles. I think that would be stable enough that a somewhat stiff bag would work on. It's comes on and off very easily, but won't self-eject. You could rig up something like Ocean Air did, I make a version of my stem mount decaleur that does the same. My only concern would be that the bottom of the bag might slosh around a bit. Waxwing Bags sells RaClips which would help eliminate that.

How much do you plan to carry?

I try to keep my cargo to a minimum for commuting, so I've found a small handlebar or trunk bag is sufficient unless I need to carry a laptop. If I need to carry my laptop, I generally resort to a trunk bag with fold out pannier-style pockets. Otherwise, any rando bag smaller than that portable house [MENTION=45088]nlerner[/MENTION] has strapped to the front of his bike is likely to be too small.

For just a lunch, clean shirt, tools, and a tube or so, I can get away with a small bag like this:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ec6ac10d_b.jpg

I use that one with a VO decaleur and a Nitto rack. I've managed to eject it once on a rough gravel road when I wasn't using the tombstone. This bag didn't come with a loop for a tombstone, so I fashioned one out of velcro, which comes in handy because the Nitto tombstone doesn't leave room for a traditional slip-over attachment with the size bike I ride.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...da3e8359_b.jpg

On paved roads, you're probably not going to eject the bag, but the VO decaleur has a reputation for failing, so if you're going to use one like that you may choose to use the tombstone to minimize stress on the decaleur.

For anything approaching actual rando use, you'll obviously want a significantly bigger bag. In that case, The one bike I have equipped for that type of use has a custom rack and decaleur from [MENTION=381793]gugie[/MENTION]. I use it with a VO bag, which is quite floppy even with the tombstone loop deployed.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...293d1a96_b.jpg

This is pretty easy to take on and off the bike.

RaClips plus the Dock-It system is a really sweet setup!
Front bags are basically always a hack(except for when custom designed to the frame and rack), but those two bits of tech together are really slick and make the setup more integrated looking.

thanks for the info!

That’s what I have on the house-sized bag shown above. Super stable, and really easy to get on and off the bike.

For more rando-type riding, I go with smaller bags. I just got a new compact rando bag from Acorn that fits to a front rack without decaleur. It’s really smartly designed:

https://www.acornbags.com/collection...31410202804358

Is it an optical illusion or am I just really high? That is the largest handlebar bag I've ever seen. It looks big enough to haul pony kegs.

Hah! Well, I can’t speak to how high you are, but I do think the camera angle makes the bag seem bigger than it actually is. FWIW, it did not make Dave Cain’s top four biggest bags he’s ever made: https://www.waxwingbagco.com/blog

Couple things I've read that might be relevant. The Black Mountain Monstercross is a mid trail bike that runs to high trail with large diameter tires. I run a large Jandd bar bag on a a second lower faux handle bar mount on a high trail bike. Its not great with any kind of load. I have it as low as possible with out cutting into my headlights beam, which is mounted on the fork crown. Moving down to a front rack would probably be an improvement and let the light be mount off the rack. On the Jandd racks, there are two versions, the standard and I think the "extreme". The standard might not have clearance to go over fat 700c tires and fenders, and the extreme might raise your bag unnecessarily.

I have an old Acorn "Boxy Rando Bag" from before they had different sizes. If you would have asked me back then, I would have chosen a bigger bag. However, having this bag for several years, I can get what I need in it- I have a tendency to pack way too much stuff- the size keeps it down some. I also have a larger saddle bag and panniers- so if I do need to bring big stuff- I can bring a whole change of clothes- which wouldn't fit in a front bag anyway. My bag is secured by the strings to the bars and velcro straps on the bottom- the 'tombstone' on my racks don't work with this bag. While I think I'd like something a little more stable and secure and less kludge-y- it's really been fine.

https://live.staticflickr.com/4734/3...f71accbb_h.jpgIMG_2377 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/4731/2...a4372641_h.jpgIMG_1703 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d5691ee9_h.jpgNew Hat by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

I have 63mm of mechanical trail based on my size's geometry and tire. It isnt low for sure, but I've frequently carried 2 rear panniers on the front fork with some assorted junk on the platform and I dont think twice about the handling so it's good enough for me.
The rack is the extreme version. It clears large tires and fenders fine.
Having weight so high up is a possible concern I've thought about, but figure it's an experience worth trying.

Thank you all for sharing your options here! In my opinion, you guys didn't mention the most important part, you need sections inside, as many as possible, so I recommend you get a bag with multiple sections inside, so you will be able to group up your food and other items at the proper area, and they didn't shuffle between eachother during your cycling.

Neal, that has to be the biggest handlebar bag I've ever seen. Less like commuting and more like running away from home. Care to share what typically goes in the box for commuting?
Love that build, though!
And, what in the heck is that contraption behind the bike?

Hah! As I point out above, something about the camera angle makes the bag look bigger than it actually is, but it's very big. It fits my laptop, inserted diagonally, plus whatever else might fill in the gaps: lunch, rain pants, coffee cup.

The object in the background is some funky sculpture my mother-in-law bought many years back. It's sort of fallen apart and just lives against the fence there. Keeps the riff-raff away, i suppose.

The top of a handlebar bag used to attach to the handlebars, one attachment on each side of the bag. Not only would this provide lateral stability to the bag (which were quite heavy when on camping trips), this attachment method also prevented the bag from falling/sagging downward.

In picking a bag, be sure it can hold a full-sized notebook, a laptop maybe even a loose leaf binder. If any of those need to be carried and have to be put in the bag spanning the diagonal of the bag, it really limits the utility of the bag. If you cannot close the bag with those inside, it really limits the utility of the bag. If they don't fit at all, you have the wrong bag.

...I also prefer this option. I use a front bag just about all the time now, but I prefer the smaller ones. If I really want to carry a bunch of stuff, like outerwear for changing weather conditions, or extra shoes, I go with a rear rack and regular rear bags. The easiest on and off by far is with the quick release attachments made by either Klickfix or by Topeak with their bags, called the Fixer 8. If you buy extra mounts, you can switch one bag between all the bikes you ride. Klickfix, by Rixen and Kaul, was used by several front bag makers, but seems to be disappearing now.

The old Cannondale QR bar bags are great, but you can only find them used now. They came in a couple of sizes, in the QR attachment models, but they are usually overpriced on e-bay.

But I much prefer these bags with some sort of internal stiffening to the ones that require a separate wire support, which often necessitates some kind of additional lower support to keep them from bounding around. None of them are as big as those honking old style front bags, that you see resting on front racks.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5aeb84503e.jpg
Cznnondale bar bag
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5d3f45987e.jpg
Topeak bar bag
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...301d76d6cf.jpg
Same Topeak bar bag, different mount.

I went with a bit of a different method than nlerner, I wanted to keep some stuff away from fluids or food. I wanted a bag to keep some stuff in like my camera or first aid kit. Tools and flat repair stuff is in the tool roll.

The bags are Acorn; compact rando, tool roll and a now discontinued trunk bag. Racks are part of the gugieficatizion I had done earlier.https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2c3ce73229.jpg

Tool roll, love these as they are quite sturdy and hold a lot of stuff.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...94da7e79d4.jpg
Side load trunk bag. Great bag holds the right amount on the back.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5c69ed5194.jpg
The compact rando baghttps://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4f520bec63.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...52ee38a8ac.jpg

I ended up just getting a Wald 139 basket, zipping it to my front rack, and using a Swift Motherloaf bag that was on deep discount. Overall- pretty inexpensive solution that works.
I love the setup, the steering is fine even though its a large bag, and its really simple. The bag's versatility is great as we have used it for grocery runs and library books, in addition to carrying my stuff for work.
The Wald 139 rack is huge, but the 137 isnt large enough as I need to fit a 15" laptop. If Wald made a 138 basket that'd be super.

... novelty phone ...

:D