vja4Him

What would be a good handlebar bag for carrying the maximum safe weight on the handlebars? I would like to get a large handlebar bag that has a nice map holder.

I'd like to put my food for the day in the bag (I have hypoglycemia really bad, so I need lots of extra food, and healthy drinks), along with other miscelaneous stuff I need (pencils, pens, writing pad, small book, maps, camera, keys (lots of them!), small binoculars, wallet, CD player, CDs, small speakers (so I can listen to my music during breaks).

I need to still have space for my headlamp, so I'm thinking that I need a handlebar bag that is below the handlebars, or only slightly above (maybe two inches?).

JeffS

the map readers reside in the touring forum.

CliftonGK1

Helpful!


So, there are some of us who use a h'bar bag for our commute, and I happen to be one of them. My commuting bike is also my randonneuring bike so I've got it set up with a platform mounted handlebar bag, which is the method I'd suggest for carrying any reasonable amount of weight up front.

Just about every true handlebar bag has a terrible mounting system (IMO.) The bag is left free to bounce around on rough terrain, or it sits way up high and blocks you from mounting anything on your bars, all the while throwing off your steering and balance.
The best way to carry a handlebar-type bag is to keep it low to wheel. A small platform rack (Nitto M12, Nashbar canti-mount, V-O Randonneur) is the way to go. You can then get either a bag designed for such a rack, like Berthoud or Ostrich handlebar bags which use a decaleur (a metal support rod) to hold the bag in place on the rack, or you can go the cheap route and cobble together your own method for mounting the bag to the rack. (I built a mounting bracket for my Nashbar h'bar bag out of $5 worth of parts from Home Depot.)

Any randonneur-style h'bar bag will have a map holder on top of the flap, but they tend to be expensive. A bag/decaleur/rack setup will start at $150, and you could spend upwards of $400 for the really fancy stuff.
I went the other direction: $7 rack from Nashbar, $25 bag, $5 of parts, and 15 minutes of creativity. It's worked fine for me for the past 2 years.

MrCjolsen

Why in the on earth would somebody need binoculars in Modesto? Just what exactly do you do for a living?

(or do we really want to know?)

CliftonGK1

I was really hoping to see "road flare" show up in that list of stuff...

surfrider

I use this handlebar bag from Nashbar for day-long rides:

https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...ndlebar%20Bags

Handlebar bags are great for a few items, but don't overload them; I use the big one above just so I don't have to carefully pack stuff in it, but I still keep the weight down as low as possible. Look over the stuff you've listed in your original post and see what you can do without (do you REALLY need to carry a CD player & speakers, binoculars, camera, a small book and all that writing stuff?). If you have to bring all of that stuff, you'd be better off with a front (or rear) rack and mount a pannier-type bag on it. It'll be much more stable and convienient.

Hot Potato

Go to REI. I saw some monstrous handlebar bags drastically reduces in price for the January clearance sale. Fortunately for me, there were some small handlebar bags with map cases also drastically reduced, I got one for 8 bucks! I intend to use it for my next century. No reason to have all that food and rain gear crammed into my back pockets anymore.

I have one bike with a rack, the others I use small handlebar bags with a seat wedge bag. It is surprising what you can get into this unobtrusive combo.

vja4Him

I need binoculars for when I go birding at the local parks, or along the river.

vja4Him

That looks like a good choice for a handlebar bag. Will it fit below the handlebars, so it won't block my headlamp?

vja4Him

Yes, it is amazing what you can bring along, if you pack ultra-light! I have a good size fanny pack (not huge though). Sometimes just for fun I'll head out for work ultra-light. Just my fanny pack, handlebar bag (small), and bag on center bar, and two bottles of water on my bike.

I'm really looking forward to saving up enough to buy a very light bicycle, with extra short fenders, and invest in everything I can that is ultra-light. I can really tell the difference when I travel lighter .... And if I can get my weight down to around 180-185, that will hopefully help even more ...

adaminlc

+1 for REI. They have some really nice handlebar bags that have large map windows for under 15 bucks.

CliftonGK1

It's the same bag I use, and no, on its stock mount it sits a good two inches above the top of the handlebar. That's a big part of why I moved it down to the platform rack up front. Mounted on the canti rack, the top of the bag is barely lower than the top edge of my bars.