af895

Howdy!

Call me nostalgic, I have a thing for cargo bags that attach to saddle-bag-loops.

When I was biking in Germany in the 1980's, every bike we got seemed to have a saddle with loops and came with a small, plastic bag to put a few tools in - similar size to a Brooks Challenge bag but not as snazzy.

I'm looking for something larger than that.

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I've seen:

Rivendell's "Baggins" line ranging from the "Candy" handlebar and "Banana" bags to the bigger "Baggins" stuff. Gorgeous but WOW - pricey.

Gilles Berthoud - ditto the above comment.

Brooks' Glenbrook and Millbrook. Too fancy I think but we'll see.

Carradice various offerings. Nice. Any Carradice owners unstitch the sewn on logo patch?

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Are there ANY other makers of saddle-bag-loop type cargo bags? (non-synthetic materials only)

Any lucking finding anything at an army surplus store or the neighborhood Goodwill shop?

Thanks,
Chris

roadfix

Hello, my name is George. I love, collect, and use canvas bags of all sorts. I'm seriously thinking about adding the Banana bag to my collection......I have extra saddles to hang these from....

af895

Hey George! You don't need any introductions - you've become a minor celeb in the online Brooks Saddle community with your great chop jobs.

Know what you mean about collecting! While I'm riding a new B67 right now, I can't bring myself to get rid of the trash-can find 1976 Brooks Competition, even though it's WAY too narrow for my riding. That one's going on the mantle...

Do you have photos of your saddle bags as well as your chop projects?

michaelnel

I have a banana bag that I bought from Rivendell when they first came out (in fact, mine has a large leather patch that says "Duluth Pack, Duluth Minn." on it). This is before they started calling them Baggins, but it's the same bag, except it's dark green with brown leather trim instead of the olive drab with honey trim they use nowadays.

I don't like it much. It doesn't hold enough for my needs (I use a Carridice Barley bag daily). I should put it up on E-Bay, since I have only used it a couple times and probably never will again.

roadfix

Yes I've seen those dark green Duluth made banana bags. Unlike the Carradice green, they're a bit too dark for my taste. Like you, I use my Barley bag quite often now, sometimes moving it from bike to bike but that can be a bit of a hassle sometimes. I'm always looking for new bags....

af895

Hey! Thanks for the info guys. I found "Duluth Pack" online here: https://www.duluthpack.com/

I'll have to look around their site - maybe they still make bags that'll fit saddle-bag-loops.

I really like the olive cotton of the Baggins and Barley bags.

michaelnel

The hot setup for moving Carradice bags from bike to bike is to use the SQR system and get extra seatpost mounts for the other bikes. Then it's really easy to move the bag from bike to bike.

KrisPistofferson

I have never had any trouble finding pannier and handlebar -style bags at the Army surplus store. The British military uses a khaki canvas that lends itself to cycling applications perfectly. I love the Baggins and Carradice stuff, but can't abide the price.

late

I'd love to get that Barley bag. Maybe Xmas.

af895

With you on all of that krispistoferson. $140 for a 22litre, cotton bag seems like extortion to me considering a similar sized back-pack made from the same materials is $10.

There are a bunch of military surplus stores around town. Do you sew on new straps to fit the bag-loops on the saddle? I've got an Easy-Stitch awl I've used to do leather work. Maybe that'll be my new off-time project - putting straps on surplus backpacks for bike use.

KrisPistofferson

I usually just keep looking until I find a bag that has the right amount of straps to attach to a rack. One thing about surplus, it generally has a sometimes baffling amount of straps, loops and such. My current set is I believe Swiss military surplus-green canvas bags with some brass buckles right where they attach to the rack. They look pretty spiffy in a working-mans Rivendell sort of way.

roadfix

Yes, big time..... I frequently lurk through surplus stores looking for that right bag to modify that might work for whatever application I have in mind.

michaelnel

Got mine cheap from Saint John Street Cycles in England (https://www.sjscycles.com).

af895

Wow. Horseshoe stuck to my butt yesterday.
Found a cotton under-saddle bag that's a perfect fit for day trips!

.

.

$15 at "Irving Rivers" - a local shop here in Ottawa that sells army surplus bags and some touristy stuff.


This bag fit so well it was either designed to go on saddle-bag-loops or it's just a remarkable coincidence.

Holds everything for day trips previously stowed in a seat-post bag and a pannier pocket including:
- wallet/palm pilot/ID
- digital camera
- toolkit with spare tire, patch kit, zip-ties, chain tool, wrenches, multi-tool +++
- snack food/energy gels/bars, gorp etc
...I'm sure I've missed some stuff. Anyway - it's the foshizzle and I'm stoked.

Going to mix up a batch of wax-based waterproofer and give it a treatment.
I'm so stoked!

roadfix

Good job!.....sure looks good...

af895

Thanks!

I'm sure it's some kind of NATO standard military bag but I'll be darned if I know what it'd be used for other than a bike bag!

Picked up some naptha today (Zippo fluid) dissolved some candles and rubbed it into the canvas. Sheds water like a duck now.

OH! I LOST the bag today too! I was hammering it and had a bit of a bounce going - mustn't have had the straps cinched correctly and it slid off. *whump...sliiiiide.*

No damage to the digital camera or Palm Pilot!