I recently ordered an 11 liter saddle bag and am thinking about buying a bag support to keep it from swaying. So far the only supports I can find are the Carradice bagman, the SQR and the viva support from Velo-orange.

Can anyone give input about the pros and cons of those supports? Are there any others out there?

i have a barley with a bagman support. it is brilliant, no swing, no sway. if you can find one get one, you won't be sorry.

I like the quick-release on the Bagman, too... but you can't use it on a double rail or triple rail Brooks. Another option for a support that mounts to the frame rather than the seat or post is the "Silver Hupe"(sic) from Rivendell.

I have a Carradice Nelson Long Flap with the Bagman support.

Pros: Keeps bag from swinging.

Cons: I dunno. It costs money? No lugs?

Order from one of the UK sites to get a reasonable price. I got mine from Wiggle for like $25.

I've heard about that thing gouging the hell out of frames.

I use a Pendle with the Bagman standard support. Can't say enough good things about it, really.

There are many guys in my rando club who use large saddlebags w/o supports, and I don't know how. The constant bump-bump-bump of my thighs against the leading edge of the bag would drive me nuts after 5 miles.

There is one downside to the Bagman support: Bag Sag!
Over time, your canvas bag will sink in around the support hoop base and you'll have 3 distinct sagging pouches.
There's 3 ways around this:
1) Always stuff enough crap in your bag to keep it fully formed. (not a good option)
2) Make an internal stiffener from paperboard (like a Berthoud) or coroplast. (Can be directly riveted to the base of the bag, or you can rivet in board-backed velcro strips to affix a removeable stiffener plate)
3) Make a shelf which attaches via zip-ties to the Bagman support (easiest option)

Yeah, I saw the siver hupe from Riv but did not like the contact with the frame. I also found a nitto support but it seemed to work the same way. Thanks for the advice on the bagman, I ordered one directly from Carradice for 18 pounds which is not bad at all. The receipt they sent shows free shipping but I will wait and see on that. I got the non QR sport bagman to hold a bag roughly as big as the Pendle.

I bought a Novara Fusion to replace my beloved Milano. In removing the rack I discovered these 2 supports that are attached to the frame. The make a perfect bag support. I'll bet you can buy them as spare parts from REI.

I've attached a couple of pictures...sorry for the quality, I used by camera phone.

I have the bagman that I use with a carradice pendle on a touring bike. I also have a carradice SQR slim that I use on a road bike. Both bag supports are fine. However, I think I prefer the SQR because the bag is not "permanently" attached to the bike. I put the SQR on the road bike so that I could remove the bag quickly and use the road bike for club rides. I'm considering purchasing a second SQR support for the touring bike and using the "slim" bag interchangeably between the two bikes.

+1

I also use the SQR Slim. I have a smaller Minnehaha saddlebag, that I mounted to an SQR uplift, so i can switch them from one bike to another.

The SQR Uplift moves the bag up and back and out of the leg zone. It wouldn't do quite as much for a swaying bag as the Bagman, though.