My saddlebag, or not.

[adenough]

   

    On my last tour I took a large Carradry/Carradice saddlebag. It was voluminous and carried all my gear with ease. It was also a pest. A nightmare to take on and off the bike as undoing the straps meant shifting the gear in the bag to get at them. Got to be a better way. I resorted in the end putting my regularly used gear in a swim rucksack and just lifting that out of the bag each night and leaving some stuff on the bike. This resulted in my Kindle being nicked one night.
    So I've been sorting out a quick release system and think it's done. But I also got to fancying one of those Carradice SQR Tours. They are £80 though and heavy with the SQR. Hmm.. Now then. I've got a set of those cheap panniers that SJS sell on e-bay. I've found them reasonably light and very tough material. They are also the Tour sort of shape. I paid £10 for two posted so they are cheap enough. I set to and this is the result. It's very stable, takes all my gear and unclips in seconds. Even comes with a carrying handle. Used a copper pipe, rear wheel QR skewer,zip ties and I think thats it. I may fit a bracket in case it touchs my thighs when riding but works for me at the moment. I could also sew some straps on top for a jacket but there is space inside for that. You don't need the QR as a threaded bar would do but this way I can also use the system for my saddlebag. The ex pannier just drops over the bar as it would on a rack. May be useful idea for someone.
   


     

[tatanab]

2 thoughts

  nightmare to take on and off the bike as undoing the straps meant shifting the gear in the bag to get at them.

Fit the straps with the buckles on the outside.  It can be awkward to get at with the bag loops in the way, depends how tightly you do up the straps.

The cable ties in your set up will break or pull through.  I have a home made q/r system that fits to the saddle rails (using old Bagman clamp) and then comes up behind the saddle.  Because there is a fair bit of leverage I also fit cable ties (which are larger than yours) to the bag loops.  The weight of the bag is supported by a carrier.  Generally this works fine and is a set up I only use when on tour.  However, this year one of the cable ties let go.  It did not matter much because the bag was supported, and of course I had spare tie with me.  So I am not convinced that your set up will endure for long, but bonus points for trying something different.

[adenough]

Tried the straps outside. Still a pain. Carradice straps are so thick!
There are a few cable ties there. You can't see them all, some of the bigger ones are run through the pipe and I guess they all won't go at once, so may chance it as I always carry a few extra on tour. Plus I can replace them with a wired setup [brake cable?] or a hoseclip over the copper pipe. I did two tours with cable ties securing my rack after the welds gave way. They are still on it actually. It's a first try of course so early days with the design. Will be fun tweaking it.

[MikeFromLFE]

Splendid bodge - one I would be proud to have!
Have you considered old skool toestraps instead of the original Carradice leather straps? They are much more QR-ish, but still quite secure.
Another approach I might have considered is to use a bag uplift support, and attatch the bag to that, although there might be too much strain on the bag loops on the saddle for that?

[adenough]

Splendid bodge - one I would be proud to have!
Have you considered old skool toestraps instead of the original Carradice leather straps? They are much more QR-ish, but still quite secure.
Another approach I might have considered is to use a bag uplift support, and attatch the bag to that, although there might be too much strain on the bag loops on the saddle for that?

Yes I tried the toestraps but they need cutting down as they are too long. The carradice bag [see my blog for pics] I took on tour has a built in uplift support. I want to be able to just dump the bag/saddlebag, so to speak, rather than faff tying it. I like the way you can just dump and click with a pannier and want to do this with a saddlebag. The above setup works like that. I may just use this.
          Often on tour I had a proprieter or receptionist stood dangling my room keys whilst I struggled to offload my baggage whilst my companion just unclicked his pannier and waited for me. The same thing happened in the mornings as the bike was always stored behind a locked door with somebody waiting to lock up behind me while I attached luggage. I think the setup above sits better than the Carradice Tour as it is closer to the saddle and rider. I have a 200gram uplift that attaches to the frame and will add that for more support though it feels very secure as it is.

I need to add this conversation to my blog. Thanks for comments.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Ingenious adaptation! Not only is it probably lighter and cheaper than the various QR systems Carradice offer, you have the satisfaction of knowing it's all yours.

I foresee only one problem: your bike has no pedals!

[jsabine]

Wanting a QR system for my saddlebag that didn't leave scaffolding on the bike and was easy to transfer between different ones without having to buy extra mounts, I spent ages faffing around with lengths of bent steel rod, bungee cords, zip ties and heaven knows what. It worked - I got round LEL with it - but was never quite satisfactory.

Then I bought a Classic rack. Some find it rises too far behind the saddle, but I've never found it intrusive. AFAIAC, it just works, and if you're otherwise happy with a saddlebag, I'd recommend it.

Releasing it and lifting the bag off is practically instant (unclip strap; lift); putting the bag back is a little more hassle (support bike from rear; clip rack into saddle loops; clip and tighten securing strap) but still only a few seconds and far, far less than feeding leather straps through saddle loops and back into the back of the bag.

[zigzag]

i hope it's strong/secure enough in the long run. xootr bikes use similar pannier mounting system.

[Ian H]

This is what I use. One part bolts to the saddle rails and has the sprung release levers; it will work with straps. The other replaces the straps on the bag with a rigid plastic bracket. You can get a version with a support underneath (click Previous Product x3 to see).

[mrcharly-YHT]

It's a great idea. Might need some tweaking for long-term durability, and I'd be worried about the pannier bouncing off with your current arrangement.

Wish I was tall enough to use a similar bodge. My short-arse legs mean that even a bagman need bending to avoid wheel-rub.

[adenough]

It's a great idea. Might need some tweaking for long-term durability, and I'd be worried about the pannier bouncing off with your current arrangement.

Wish I was tall enough to use a similar bodge. My short-arse legs mean that even a bagman need bending to avoid wheel-rub.

It's a very tough material so durability is IMO not a problem. I don't tour for more than two weeks at a time anyway. It can't bounce off as the metal hooks, which are attched to a metal plate on the bag, lie under the saddle and once the strap is utised it can't move. There are two d rings attached to the bag that I can use to strap it but only one used for the pics. One could be strapped to the seatpost and a longer one to the frame.
If it falls apart I can probably stretch to anothe tenner for two but can't see it happening.