oneangrytoast

i have a thing for backpacks. i have always been particular about the bags i buy, whether it be the color or design (when i was younger we all just wore jansports, so color was the only differentiator) or the functionality of the bag (later in life, carrying phones ipods cameras ciggs etc - needed storage pockets). i bought a dakine a few years back after hearing what great bags they were and its still in great shape i just got sick of the faint camo print on it. i recently bought a new backpack a few months back with all the fixins, including an almost secret pocket (the description online made it sound way more discreet than it actually is).

soooo being that i have this backpack obsession, and a newly purchased backpack, im curious about the benefits and/or reasons for choosing the messenger bag.

seems like it would get uncomfortable to have the one strap on the same shoulder constantly pulling on the same muscles and joints. im sure there is something to be said for the "look". please note: i am not calling any of you posers, its just that i refuse to accept that its a coincidence that so many bicyclists (fixed especially) choose to go with messenger bags. if i am not being clear, im talking about the obvious connection between bike messengers and fixed/track bike culture.

so, bike forums, what are the benefits of the messenger bags? namely the benefits im not experiencing with my current backpack.

go forth and discuss.

mugatu

The reason you see them particularly among the fixed/ss crowd is because they're 99% more likely to be carrying something on a regular basis than other cyclists. Try commuting anywhere with a loaded backpack for a month then try it with a mess bag. You'll understand pretty quickly. Backpacks bounce as you pedal and destroy your spine if you're carrying anything flat or awkward. I've seen firsthand someone get into the drops with a backpack and have it slip forward and down over their head, cause them to endo, and have everyone within a mile laugh at them and their broken bike/face.

Patricky

I ride a back pack and gets very hot on my back it's terrible, also the messnger bags I've seen have so many more USEFUL pockets than backpacks I've seen. Also in an alley cat you want a messenger bag, it sucks with a backpack

bbattle

I use panniers or a bag on top of the rack; backpacks and messenger bags would get old really fast for me.

But plenty of people love their messenger bags and/or backpacks.

To each his own.

elTwitcho

You're comparing messenger bags (purpose built for carrying things while cycling) to backpacks which are not intended for cycling. A more appropriate comparison would be to compare a purse to a backpack, or a messenger bag to a cycling specific backpack.

The cycling specific backpacks are better in every respect other than being able to swing the bag around quickly to make deliveries. Beyond that they're far better ergonomically than a messenger bag is

pot holder

i ride with a backpack/bookbag and it's never failed me. i actually wish there was a place where you could get them customized.

LeCollectif

For me it's way they let you distribute weight across your back rather than having it hang deadweight in a backpack. It's more like they "wrap" around you than "hang" off you.

mugatu

they only cycling specific backpacks that I've found to be effective are ones Ergon makes
https://www.ergon-bike.com/us/backpacks/bc3.html

oneangrytoast

being laughed at sucks, not as bad as face planting though. point taken. i dont really have the bouncing issue, maybe because i wear it tight?

also a good point. i live in florida so this definitely pertains to me.

well, i consider all bags as being built for carrying things, regardless of whether your walking, or riding a bike. purses are kinda out of the question, as i am a dude (a straight dude). regardless though, you are only telling me that one is better than another, without really backing up your argument with any specific reasons or basis for such statements. im sure youre right, but tell my why youre right.

ilikebikes

Because messengers use them, so when all the hipsters saw the messengers with their cool ass bags they just had to have one!

Meepers

i have been using messenger bags for over 10 years. i have never been a messenger, but i can see why these bags would work great for them, and made by/for them. but to get on topic. The reason i first got a messenger bag is, well i am like you toast, i am addicted to bags. I bought my first one from thrasher magazine, probably close to 15 years ago at this point. then i rode bikes, but i was a skateboarder, the reason i bought a messenger bag from a skate magazine. i loved it. it made it super easy when i was in high school. i was always carrying CD's and tapes magazines, ect to give to friends. and it made it super easy to spin the bag around and grab stuff out (the reason these bags were made). i didn't really know about bike messengers back then. i knew they were around in cities, but nothing of their culture. i just liked bags. i have just as many back packs as i do messenger bags, in fact probably more. i went through stages with bags, going from messenger to back pack. kind of like moods. then i go into college and well the books were bigger, and you don't have a locker to store you stuff in, so i started using my messenger bag again all the time. it broke, i used a back pack, that broke, i bought another jansport, then saw a timbuk2 at an EMT store in state college, so i looked them up. liked what i read so i bought one and used that for a years (until it went MIA, and i bought a chrome to replace it. now i found it and have even more bags). but when i am hiking i use a back pack, when i use to have a motorcycle and i commuted, i would switch from messenger to back pack depending on what i was carrying. small stuff warranted a backpack, if i used a messenger bag i had a big sail on my back, going 80+ (my sport bike scared me, i only got it over 100 a few times, that was enough) mph on the highway with an almost empty messenger bag wasn't fun. now i carry a ton of crap with me all the time. stuff for work, my camera, lunch, tools, god know what else is in my bag (it actually pretty empty now, i just got a new bag and cleaned out a lot of junk). but it all comes down to a matter of personal preference, or mood.
i hope i gave my opinion and held answer your question instead of just rambling on. i stopped my self a few times. but what can i say? I'm a talker.

ilikebikes

Hear Hear!

kringle

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=messenger+bag
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=messenger+bag

j3ffr3y

I got one to replace my failing backpack for my birthday. I picked it for aesthetics mostly, I'm not going to lie. But I also wanted something cycling specific so that I wouldn't have a poorly distributed load while riding causing falls.

Geordi Laforge

backpacks > messenger bags

Guvna

Interesting post. Reminds me of something...

destikon

I like the messenger bag because I can rotate it a bit when I'm sweatin' gallons. Cools of the back. Oh yeah and it looks cool. Got a chrome metropolis and am very satisfied.

rarebird

well I almost recently got a messenger bag shopping for a bag for casual biking, not really because they are popular. I ordered a backpack instead but if you follow this link and shop through a bunch of those sites you will see what i found, it's fun shopping for them and geting something custom https://www.messengers.org/resources/bags.html

i dont have anything customized on the backpack i ordered but i might have gotten some art on a messenger bag if i had go one, it makes it more fun

Meepers

rarrebird, what did you end up going with?

passerby

for me, when i wear a jansport backpack and tighten it almost all the way for it to not jump around on me, the top part of the bag(its pretty sharp...) pushes against my neck and it is extremely uncomfortable.

ianjk

I have trouble finding a backpack that will fit me. I'm kinda tall and most waist-straps end up going across the middle of my chest... not comfy. I am stuck with one right now, took the waist strap off and only use the little sternum strap. Works ok, but would rather have a mess. bag again.

The nice thing about the backpack is that I can strap my 184cm skis plus boots and poles to it and still ride somewhat comfortably

skeletor3000

I don't understand messenger bags at all. You don't need a cycling specific backpack to get a good one, either. Most hiking bags work great. I've got this one:



The straps hold it firmly in place, it has a rigid frame that contours around my lower back, and the top pouch sits behind my head but is narrow enough that I can easily see over both my shoulders. With both straps clipped across my torso, the thing doesn't move an inch as I ride. It also works with most hydro systems and has a waterproof cover that zips up into the bottom of the bag.

A friend of mine has an Osprey bag that is just as good if not better. I don't see any possible advantages that a messenger bag would have except style points. Sure, Deuters and Ospreys cost more than Jansports, but compared to the 200+ you'd spend on most nice messenger bags, they're cheap. Got mine for 90 bucks at a local outdoor shop.

sp00ki

messenger bags are popular because a huge portion of the "fixie community" are sheep.
same reason that starter jackets were popular in the early nineties and high school girls all want macbooks...

i ride a bmx backpack with a sternum and rib strap. never shifts, stays dry (it's made for riding and has the airflow padding at the back), sits high and snug for sprints, distributes weight well for hours in saddle.
as a bonus, it doesn't make me look like a neon dorkbot with an embroidered cape.

Meepers

i must be ahead of the curve! i had a macbook about 7 or 8 years ago when about 1/4 of the communications Dept at school were using macs. It was funny as hell watching all these kids try to edit video and audio on a mac when they never touched one in their lives. some kids couldn't even turn them on, it was classic. especially because the filed they were getting into is/should be all mac. and i have been using mess bags on and off for almost 15 years now. man i am a trend setter! haha. but i did get a bulls pull over starter jacket in the 90's because the were cool. I mean come on, a kid like me, i needed to fit in! haha

sp00ki

apparently your "someone" wasn't riding a bicycle.
that, or you're making the story up and don't really understand how a bicycle works...