With my new job my commute is about to increase quite a bit and I was thinking about getting one of these:

https://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/...nier-messenger

It might work for your needs too. I have one of the "medium" size messenger bags and you would be surprised by how much you can fit in a 'medium'.

You could always just strap your current backpack onto your rack. I did that for quite some time with just an elastic mesh net I found at the hardware store.

Disregard my last post. I should really scroll all the way down before I post. Looks very nice.I like it.

Love your Dew. I'm trying to talk my wife into getting one just like yours. She has a hard time understanding how a bike can be a bargain if it costs more than her $100 clunker, but maybe that great color will win her over.

You later posted regret about this one, but I'm glad you put the link to the Timbuk2 bag - i was curious about it after having read what others had to say. I have a Tb2 medium messenger bag as well, which I LOVE (my man-purse) and i'm impressed with the quality on these Tb2 products - thanks for sharing.

Ready to rock and roll! Nice job - have fun!

While I agree the bag is very well made and has its uses, for my needs it was just too awkward to be wearing while commuting; I prefer a backpack. Though I think that my commute style is more aggressive than other commuters which could be a reason I like to have the backpack instead of the bag. I hope I'm not opening the whole "backpack vs messenger bag" debate, just wanted to share my opinion.

Just to say again, the Timbuk bags are fantastic bags. I use mine for school and my general "go to" bag. Though it isn't my first choice when jumping on a bike.

I posted some pics and an out of the box review of the shift here, and I will update the thread after I use it for a couple of weeks.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...yawn).../page5 Check out post #116

It's smaller than it looks. How's your experience with the Arkel so far? If it's bigger, I might return the shift and go with the Bug.

So it turns out the Arkel didnt work out. i had heel strike issues, and had to return the bag. Instead, I ordered a Chrome Metro Mini. Hopefully its good to my back.

https://www.chromebagsstore.com/media...ow_Enlarge.jpg