I liked it better than panniers too. I've been waiting for a day with a lighter load to try this out and today was the day. I managed to stuff my small backpack in there in case something happened and I needed to give up on the messenger bag but I arrived at work a little cooler than I expected - I'm going to try this again.

Exactly what kind of messenger bag? Did you just swing it around to your back and ride? Sounds like a good idea. I don't like panniers. I recently bought a triangular frame bag.

Did the messenger bag require much adjustment while riding?

or something like this?

yay i'm a fan of the messenger bag. i save it for winter tho since i have more to haul. but it's awesome



i have something that looks like this. it has two clips that support it at the ribcage/waist area to stabilize with one padded strap coming over one shoulder. i love it!

in the spring i have been going ultra light on bags.

I use a Timbuk2 messenger bag for my commute and it is awesome. Can pack a load and the fuller it is the better it sits on my back.

I like my messenger bag (the smallest on that Jandd makes) a lot. I use it for my paperwork. I have a rack and one pannier as well. The pannier holds my rain jacket, lunch, tools, lock, etc.

Good combo that works well for me.

I have a messenger bag I use for cycling that has an extra strap to keep it tucked to my body and prevents it from ending up on my side. It's nice to commute with.

I only use panniers for touring or shopping because they really detract from bike handling.

It's like the one pictured in your post. Mine is an older model made by LL Bean I've had for over 15 years, and I usually use it as a brief case when I use it. But it came with straps to go around your waist to keep it in place, and these allowed me to keep it located behind my back while riding and while stopped. There's enough room in there for my work clothes and lunch plus a few extras, this could replace the pannier when it's too hot to use a backpack.

Just curious...why not a backpack?

Manny

Normal backpacks turn your back into a swamp when you sweat, since it all gets stuck under the bag and can't evaporate.

My gazelle has a rack and folding baskets that work wonderful, without any negative impact on handling even with a heavy load. For my path racer and road bike I have been wanting to give a messenger bag a try as I don't like back packs. Just waiting for one to show up at a thrift store as they're too expensive for a try.

I prefer a backpack if I carry anything that won't fit in the rack trunk, but wanted to try a messenger bag to see if it was cooler and more comfortable. I switch from a backpack to a pannier when it gets warmer, but don't like the drag from the pannier. If I can be cooler using the messenger bag and not have the drag from the pannier I'll be happy.

the wind footprint is definitely what I notice most about riding with one full pannier and nothing else. ...i finally understand the messenger bag.

i use a messenger bag for my books and computer when i go to my college classes, my only complaint is that it makes my shoulder hurt. rather have a sore muscle than a swamp for a back though (ewwww) i get sweaty enough on the 10 mile ride...

Are you riding with a flat back and or down in the drops? Upright riding with a heavy load will do that with a messenger bag.

It took me a couple years of trying a shoulder bag (messenger bag has more straps?) before I decided it wasn't going to work. First I put a rack on, and panniers kind of ruined that bike, so I took the rack off and have been exploring backpacks ever since. My original intent was to get a new backpack that would work as a daypack/overnight bag and bike bag, but I found a daypack I love that cannot work on the bike, so I am trying out another backpack that does work on the bike, but I don't need another backpack maybe I should turn this backpack back (thank you REI) and try a messenger bag that will be more stabilized than I could get my shoulder bag to be.

Although the bike backpack I am using right now has a cool mesh back and channels that do some kind of ventilating. I still have a sweaty back but I think I would have that sweaty back no matter what.

Because no respectable hipster would wear a backpack...

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Im new to this stuff, and i don't really understand the question, what does "Down in the Drops" mean... from what i know i gather that it has something to do with hand position on the handle bars?

Anyway going from that assumption, i don't stay in one position for long on my bike i switch back and forth. i live in portland oregon so it really depends where in portland i am, if there are a lot of stop lights and stop signs, mostly upright but still switch back and forth.

having the bag stay behind you as you ride is good 2nd waist strap helps ..

I use my messenger bags off the bikes, since my Front bag (Brompton) is on the bike itself, until I stop , then It goes on My shoulder .

I have been riding on and off with a messenger back for years. they are better than backpacks. So far my favorite is a handlbar bag, just a small one for essentials. no loss of handling, nothing on my back. I dislike things on my back

"In the drops" refers to having a handlebar and hand position as seen in any of the first few pictures in this Google Search:

https://www.google.com/search?q=imag...=2560&bih=1537

Riding upright (or heck walking) naturally causes shoulder discomfort with a messenger bag, because ALL that load is hanging vertically off one side of your spinal column. Riding in the drops (or as close as a position as you can get), the load is perpendicular to your back like a book shelf (the straps therefore serve only to hold the load on top of you)-and therefore you're not giving yourself scoliosis. All this is why all those stupid students looking trendy walking around a campus with messenger bags loaded with books are being stupid-they're wrecking their backs.

I used a messenger bag for a long time before a snow boarding incident made it uncomfortable. Now I use a backpack. I've long since healed and I'd be probably be fine to go back to a messenger bag now, I just haven't

Anyway, the big advantage of a messenger bag over a backpack is that you have easier access to your stuff. You don't need to take a messenger bag off to get something out of it. Since it is wider than it is deep where backpacks tend to be the opposite, everything is more accessible.

So why am I using a backpack instead? Because my old messenger bag is showing its age and not as waterproof as it once was. I'm not happy with the way the buckle is set up on it anyway. So I if went back to a messenger bag I'd want to invest in a good one and I have a slight fear that the pain in my shoulder might come back and that I would have made that investment for nothing.

In other words, the backpack I have is comfortable and I've learned to live without the extra convenience a messenger bag provides. Personally I don't remember a messenger bag being any cooler but it has been awhile. I guess it doesn't make much sense to me that it would be.

I wore a messenger bag yesterday mainly because a bp wasn't readily available.

I can definitely see the easy to access and keeping back cooler.

What I don't like is the moving around on the back and slipping to the side or front.

Manny

You need one with a cross strap in addition to the shoulder strap. It also helps a lot if you have adjusted so that the messenger bad is riding high on your back rather than hanging low.

I could be wrong on this one but it seems to me a messenger bag works better with a more aggressive riding style rather than sitting upright. Not sure if that applies to you or not.