Small Handlebar Bag

[oldfatslow]

My wife and I are about to embark on a six-day inn to inn tour and I'm looking for a handlebar bag. The bike's fork doesn't have any pannier mounts, has a disc brake, and is oddly shaped so adding a front rack appears out.

Pictures of stock bike below (I am converting it to a gravel grinder tandem with drop bars, road levers, etc.). I will have a rear rack with top bag and panniers.

I want a bag as large as I can get but don't one so large it interferes with with Shimano Ultegra brifters I'm installing.

The Topeak Compact bag looks pretty good. Any other ideas I should consider?

http://topeak.com/products/bags/Compact_Handlebar_Bag

[weisan]

old pal, looking at your bike, you might consider Revelate Designs, they have the different bags that may fit nicely on your frame, super high quality products, well-made, nice people, individual business.

http://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm

I have one of their tangle frame bags recently, haven't tried it out on the field yet but seems like a fine piece of equipment.
I also got the Topeak handlebar bag, not the one you are showing but the previous generous and it works fine on my touring rig Surly Trucker. I also have an older version of the Ortlieb Ultimate 6 classic that I put on my Merlin road/cross bike used for light touring. They both worked fine. You have to get used to riding with some load on the front cockpit, no big deal, but it does change your steering control to a certain degree.

[marciero]

I've used Ortlieb handlebar bags extensively, but only on drop bars. I like the Revelate saddle packs, but have not used. Have used Carradice saddlebags extensively also. They are good but bulkier, heavier.

[gone]

The Arkel bags are very nice. I have both a handlebar and trunk bag made by them. Well made, sturdy mount, easy access, reasonable size.

[sjbraun]

Paloma handlebar bag

[zennmotion]

Consider a Bob trailer and bag for touring with the tandem. It would not be my choice for a single bike (I'd rather do the traditional panniers there) but when we tour with our Bob trailer on our tandem it pretty much disappears unnoticed behind the bike, handling is a non- issue, even on the rough gravel roads that we seek out where we can, no issues even when we found ourselves on the severely rutted C&O canal towpath (DC-Pittsburgh) in several inches of thick mud climbing in and out of doubletrack grooves with the trailer that was problematic for mountain bike noobs we passed. We have the basic Yak Plus model, I don't think the more expensive model with suspension is necessary unless you're really going offroad/singletrack, and it's probably not what you're doing with a tandem. The wag-the-bike feel that a trailer has on a single bike is a non-issue with a tandem. There is a bit of a freight train feel to the whole rig when you stop and park the bike- it's loooooong- we have a two-legged kickstand on the tandem which makes parking much easier with or without the trailer. It might feel like overkill for inn-to-inn touring, and maybe it is, but stuff for two people who don't necessarily want to be dressed like stinky bike riders all day adds up, you might feel the panniers a bit limited for two. And in any case it's very easy to unpack and unload the trailer, just unhitch and you can ride unemcumbered, and repacking each morning is a breeze. On the flip side, if you have not already checked this out, you may have a clearance issue for panniers with your stoker- the rear cockpit is often pretty tight on some tandem models. As for the original question, a handlebar bag, in general these affect tandem handling less than they would on a single bike, so just choose one- I like my Vaude road 1 (very similar to the Paloma posted above),it's the right size, mounts away from the handlebar for clearance with cables, easy to get into while riding and has a nice map case on the top, with a quick-release mounting system.

Oh, one more thing- I dispensed with brifters for the tandem long ago. Obviously many (most) people use them, but the long cable lengths make brifters fussy to set up and adjust, there's lots more potential for cable friction and cable stretch. My rear derailleur in particular always seemed a little out of adjustment. I'm very happy to have bar end shifters, especially since you can just flip to friction shifting if anything seems out of adjustment- my stoker very much appreciates not having to sit around watching me try to adjust a skipping drivetrain when we really just want to get on with the ride. Also- watch the pad wear on those discs! They wear out fast on a tandem- and working brakes are a good thing when you're hauling precious cargo-

[henrypretz]

Banjo Bros (http://banjobrothers.com/products/current/handlebar-bags/) has a varied selection of handlebar bags along with other options.

Henry

[p nut]

Axiom Barkeep bag as seen on the bike that won Oregon Outback race last year:

http://cx.cxmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/12.jpg

PDW makes a rack that clamps on, if that works better.

http://blog.sellwoodcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/takeout_basket_6.jpg

[guido]

The Dill Pickle Handle Bar Bag is a fine choice that works great, is very light weight and doesn't require a rack or extra frame...

http://www.dillpicklegear.com/store/index.php?route=product/category&path=76_74

It's made in the USA by a cyclist/randonneur/paceline member owned company...

No connection to the company just a happy product owner...

[commonguy001]

I've used an Ortlib Ultimate 6M bar bag quite a bit on my LHT. It has a really nice mount, holds lots of stuff.
Mostly I don't care to have the extra weight on the bars but for a touring type ride it's no big deal and the easy access is nice.

The wife likes it as I can carry her camera and binoculars so she can do some spur of the moment birding.

[Mzilliox]

Paloma handlebar bag

these are sweet bags, their website leaves a bit to be desired, but cool stuff, thanks for sharing this.

[Ken Robb]

If you can use clamps on the fork and use a Nitto rack for support that might help maximize the bag you can use. OTOH I have a pretty big bag that attaches with two loops around the handlebars and is stabilized by small elasticized lines that loop over the quick releases.

[foon]

The roadrunner burrito supreme is a really nice bag. Simple and stable, very well made.


http://roadrunnerbags.us/shop/burritosupreme/

[rccardr]

I have a very nice older Arkel bag with the aluminum mounts. Not heavy, nice size, doesn't interfere with STI's, has the clear map pocket on top. In prettty close to new condition.

If that sounds interesting, shoot me a PM and I'll reply with a few pics and a price.

[weisan]

Axiom Barkeep bag as seen on the bike that won Oregon Outback race last year:

http://cx.cxmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/12.jpg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mFSdYu92mg

[NHAero]

I have a Klickfix mount on three bikes and move the bag as needed.

[ptourkin]

One of our forum members makes these. I used mine this weekend on my brevet. Best one I've found to mount temporarily on a road bike with brifters without permanent fixtures.

http://www.dillpicklegear.com/store/index.php?route=product/category&path=76_74