Sorry for the late response; I'm still in the market for a handlebar bag. Could you make some suggestions?

Thanks

Yeah, no problem. Mind you, these aren't really "commuter" suggestions so much as rando/fast touring bags. Sure, they're strong enough for daily commuting use; but price-wise they're not all the most economical solutions.

Gilles Berthoud front bags are awesome. Classic canvas/leather construction, available with either elastic loop or buckle closures, lots of pockets and sizes 9/10/12 liter capacity, clear map case on top, and with a decaleur they're solid connecting and easy to remove when you're off the bike; some models available with Klik Flix (sp?) mounting. They're pricey, though, at $225 and up.

Velo Orange makes a 9L equivalent to the classic Berthoud. Similar construction and design, high quality and half the cost. I've seen them on a couple of the local rando bikes, and the riders haven't got any complaints with them. If you only need the 9L capacity, it's a good buy at around $110.

Guu Watanabe bags are superfly. Buckles, clasps, all hand-sewn custom construction, colour and pattern choices, no-holds-barred. Of course, you'll have to drop $460 for a basic model, and custom features can skyrocket that cost to nearly $600.

For the econo-jam version of any of these: My first frontbag was a Nashbar Elite cordura model that I bought for under $25 on sale. I modified it with $5.00 worth of parts from Home Depot, and turned it from an unstable bag that clipped to a handlebar mount, into a solid bag which sat on the infamous $7.00 Nashbar front rack. Under $40.00 total, and it worked well for my first brevet season and many, many commuting miles. Drawback is that it's a zipper closure which is tough to work when you drop it onto a front rack, and the capacity is only 6.8L

Great, thanks!

I just ordered this, http://xrl.in/66dz and a google search turned up a 10% off coupon code, so after shipping and tax the price was $39. On the Nashbar site there were many complaints about the Elite handlebar bag so I decided against it. A clear map holder on top would have been nice but the bag isn't for touring so I can get by without it. We shall see how the Louis Garneau Box Handlebar Bag turns out.

If you really want the map holder, get a waterproof map case at a hiking store and use binder clips to snap it onto that cargo web on the LG bag.

PS - nice find for that price!

I've been using a handlebar bag that opens towards the rider for about a year now (home-made version) and while it's not ideal, I haven't really found it to be much of a problem to use while riding. Even with the bag sitting several inches below the handlebar, I can still reach in and pull out just about anything I need without to much trouble.

If I were designing a bag from scratch (again) I would do it differently, but the hassle is not nearly enough to make me go through the effort again, or even to dismiss an otherwise well built bag.