TimmyT 

Hi, I've been looking for a front bag, and I'd like to keep it off my bars. There's a lot of stuff on the bars already. Plus, I've got brifters and don't want to obstruct them.

I was thinking of getting the Nashbar front rack and putting a bag on top of it -- randonneur-style. The bag would be a little lower and out of my immediate sight line.

What recommendations do you guys have based on experience? If you've got a pic or a link, posting it would be great.

Many thanks.......

frankieN

TimmyT: I just got the Nashbar rack and bag that you mentioned. Be forewarned that the bag is tiny!

TimmyT 

Thanks. Which bag is that?

That's really my question: is there a decent bag that I can mount on a small front rack that isn't too expensive?

clasher

There was a thread in C&V last week about modding the nashbar front rack to make it more rando-style... there are lots of small bags in the surplus stores around here that would be easy to adapt to front bags for a bike with some stiffeners.

Oh I forgot, this lovely looking canvas bag is my inspiration, I saw a few models of bag I will try adapting and making some mods should be easy enough but the OYB bag seems like a fair price.

TimmyT 

Thanks, Clasher... the picks when I scroll down are really interesting, and yes even inspiring. Wow. The mods people do to the Nashbar rack are amazing, in a franken-bike sorta way. The front rack options in that thread are pretty neat.

FrankieN ... I did a search on the Nashbar bag, and it seems that they've stopped selling it (quite recently).

kuan

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...nt-rack-kludge

sam.g

I've also been searching for a front bag that doesn't hang off the handle bars and to be frank, there's not much out there. I already have the Small Arkel Bar bag which is a great handlebar bag, but even with a second lower stem, it rides too high and forward for my taste. The same is true for every other handle bar mounted bag that I've seen.

It seems that "rando" style front bags which mount directly to a front rack are the best option. They are usually lighter weight, have larger volume and mount lower and closer to the head tube for better handling. The finest are made by Gilles Berthoud and can be found at Wallbike or Rene Herse however these are seriously expensive!

Also check out Velo Orange, they carry their house brand "Campagne Bag", and a Japanese bag by "Ostrich". By far the nicest for the money is made by a small husband and wife shop in California named "Acorn". Their 'Boxy Rando Bag" is the best bang for the buck IMHO. they are extremely hard to purchase as they only make a small batch every month or so and sell out within seconds of being posted. Send Ron an e-mail to get on the list for a notice when they come up for sale.

See the attached article on the Acorn bag:

https://epicureancyclist.blogspot.com...arison-to.html

Sam in Cincy

himespau 

or you could go with the dashboard genie sooper deluxe angle that down below your bars and attach the bag to that. That way you could just drop it a little bit and/or adjust height as needed. I have two of the smaller dashboard genies to raise my lights above my bag, but have been thinking about using them to lower my bag height instead.

I have a Jannd Extreme front rack that I really enjoy, but it's a bit pricey.

kuan

Holy crap! A CF decalleur!

himespau 

not its intended use, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. plus, the guy who sells them is a member here.