Alternatives to Carradice?
 

Since I've tried panniers and backpacks (with pros/cons of each), i figure I might give a rather large saddlebag (not seat wedge) a shot. Perusing wallbike.com and peter white's site, inventory on hand domestically in the U.S. can be hit or miss.

That got me thinking that like everything else, there should be some "knock-off" brands out there that offer similar products.

Any ideas?

Zimbale (Harris's) is an equivalent bag, and Minnehaha and Origin-8 (seen both on the V-O site) both have lower-cost bags.

Those mentioned above or you can look for carradice bags from sjscyclery.com.A company in England,they will charge you shipping but they don't charge you tax if shipped outside England.The exchange rate is good right now so you can probably get them cheaper there than at wallbike.

I'll have to look up the Zimbale and Origin-8 stuff. Already looked at the Minnehaha stuff...

I totally forgot to check out the UK sites for Carradice. The one's I've perused before IIRC were like wiggle, PBK, and I think sjs. Wonder if they have the same issues with keeping inventory on hand...

Look at the prices over at Wiggle.co.uk too. They're about 50% of what WallBike and PWC charge, and an $87 order gets you free shipping. I got my Pendle and Bagman from them and still had to throw in a tub of chamois creme to make the $87 minimum for free shipping. The Pendle alone goes for over $110 at WallBike and PWC.

There are some US made bags at Rivendell & Acorn as well. Rivendell has a LARGE saddle bag that is nicely made and works very well. Expensive though......