I was gifted this handlebar bag; it was mildewy, dusty, and generally filthy, so I cleaned it as best I could; there are still some mildew stains and whatever was lining the inside of the bag is flaking off, but otherwise it's clean. Thing is, I tried it on my bike, and the bottom of the bag rested firmly on the brake cable. Is it supposed to, was it designed for a different brake setup (most likely), or is something missing? Any ideas about when it was made and what originally lined the inside? TIA for any info.




I assume this was some sort of waterproofing.

Cool bag.

We need a pic of it on the bike, they are not always "one size fits all".

I would expect to carefully bend the back supports outward, forward to tilt the bag away from the brake, cables.

I would scrub off the flaking coating, best I could and maybe wax the inside with paraffin and mild heat or try some other DWR, maybe.

To keep your contents from sagging into the front wheel, you could consider putting a thin, but stiff plastic liner inside of the bag for the contents to sit on top of. The bag looks small enough that you could clean and cut up the flat side of a 1 gallon milk container for this purpose.

Korina

Maybe even find a Tupperware or storage like container that closely matches the bag inside at the bottom or more and have rigid storage inside the bag that will probably keep it from slumping on the brake and or cable?

We can see from the side pic that the whole thing slumps back and down so I would expect to need to bend/tweak the hangar bracket to get it up and off the brake.

Lovely little bag, but I agree — they are not one size fits all, so a pic of it on your bike would help us suggest what you could do. Even without a photo though, I can make a couple of suggestions. First, the metal frame can be bent so that it holds the bag away from the brake cable . (You may note that the frame currently has a slight bend in it.) Second, you may need to add a small Porte-paquet to support the bottom of the bag. Let’s see if I have a decent pic of an old Cannondale bag on my Grand Jubilé.


1973-4 Grand Jubile along the canal outside Reims



You should be able to see the little rack under the bag. Without it, this bag sags onto the tire ifself. Hope the pics suggest a solution for you.

Your fourth picture makes me think the bracket is bent. Should be “squared up”. A straight line across the top and then 90deg angle going down. I agree that the vertical rods should be bent back outwards (towards the front of the bike) - 90deg angles. The center portion looks spread too wide. I’m also wondering about those two bolts at the ends of the black webbing sleeves. Why are they there and could they be used to install a metal or plastic plate in the bottom of the bag to keep its shape?

Now for mad scientist stuff. Try a test piece of corduroy nylon first but how about turn the bag inside out, scrub all the flaking off and recoat with a water based polyurethane? I’ve used water based polyurethane (Minwax)on fabric before and had no complaints. No idea about long term durability though.

I had a Cannondale handlebar bag with a flaking waterproofing coating of some kind. I used a brush on it which didn't help much. It kept flaking and making a mess. I ended up replacing it with a different bag in better condition.

I agree, it looks like the bracket was bent to accommodate a different stem angle. Those brackets were made when almost everyone had the traditional "7" stem, so they had the correct geometry to hold the bag level, but if someone used it on a hybrid or mountain bike with a 90 degree or a riser stem, the bag would tilt upwards. It shouldn't be too difficult to bend it back so the bag sits level.

I have been successful with washing my nylon bags in the washing machine. I've washed bike bags, camera bags, and backpacks and had them come out looking like new. First I remove any hardware and stiffeners that aren't sewn in. Also remove as much of the loose waterproof coating as you can, although more of it will come off when you wash the bag. I put smaller bags, straps, and dividers in mesh bags so they don't get tangled up with the other items. Press any Velcro straps together so they don't snag. When the wash cycle is done, hang the bag to air dry. If the bag has internal foam stiffeners, I'll give it a few days for all the moisture to come out.

I typically cut up and re-tape a cardboard box so it just fits the inside of the bag. That way the bag sits nice and spiffy.
To be fair, this Kangaroo bag seems to have some kind of internal supports like those Cannondale bags, so it already holds its shape very well.

Kangaroo Baggs was a brand owned by Don Douglas. It was part of the well-regarded manufacturer of packs, sleeping bags, tents and more, Alpenlite. The Alpenlite factory was in Ventura, California. Don was a climber, ultra trail runner, world sailor, and mountain bike pioneer. He was a contemporary of Yvonne Chouinard, and their companies-- Alpenlite and Patagonia - were very popular with climbers and outdoorspeople through the '80s. The Kangaroo Baggs line started in the early '80s to address the new mountain biking market. Don and I met through bike industry in the late '80s. I have some of his great prototype and production gear, including a couple sets of Kangaroo Baggs panniers.

I can only add to the excellent information provided by drpaddle that I bought a set of small Kangaroo Baggs panniers for my MTB in the early eighties which their second owner is still using as part of his bikepacking gear.
Brent

The bolts are for the D rings (the left one's under the bag, duh) and for the steel stiffener that goes around the sides and back. When it warms up I'll get a pic of it on the bike.

I gave up waiting for it to be mostly sunny and 58° as forecast. Sorry for my usual terrible pics. I keep meaning to shorten the cables (leftover from handlebar experiments)...

You for sure need to remove and reshape the support bracket, I've done this many a time. They are pretty stiff to bend though.

I agree with John E. Bend it to fit.

Thanks John D and Aubergine, I might do that. It doesn't show any signs of having been bent before, but maybe they were just very good. Now I have to decide if I want to keep the bagg.

That bag may have lived on a taller bike and or longer stem, side pull brakes, been loaded a lot and slowly got bent down from load and vibration, etc.

You might be able to flip the support over on the stem to use weight and force to bend it, 2 people,1 on the bike, lock the brakes and hold steady the other person with good gloves and maybe a pipe bending down standing in front of the bike one side of the support at a time while holding the other side steady, maybe.

Did someone say, "panniers?" I was working at a shop about 45 years ago and was standing out back one day when the owner came out and threw these into the dumpster. Can you believe it? Me neither and neither did the second guy to get to them. They've mostly lived on my 3-speed but sometimes on my beater MTB, fitting perfectly on a Pletscher.