What's the best shape for a handlebar bag?

[doomridesout]

Re Outershell: had one, the cinch closure inside is not 100% secure. My phone went flying out on a wash boarded road. Sold.

Re: partial frame bags- both/and. I’ve made myself frame bags and they’re great for ease of access, just looking for more space for the long days with a space blanket, Spot beacon and first aid kit in addition.

[dbnm]

After trying many bags, I've settled on this Rickshaw mini stretch.
1. made in america
2. plastic insert keeps it round
3. long enough to hold a Silca pocket impero
4. straps do not rest on the bar tape
5. just big enough to hold a wallet, pump, and a few bars
6. can still run my out front computer mount

[bicycletricycle]

I think more info is needed, Different bag layouts come into their own at different volumes IMHO

How big of a bag are you looking for?
What kind of stuff do you want to put in it?
What terrain are you riding on?
Do you want to use all of your handlebar?
What kind of handlebar are you using?

[sg8357]

Semi French style front bag, shorter bag so you can use the tops.
Rack is Nitto/Compass UD-1, with stays curved to fit Paul rack adapters.
I've the Wahoo on stem mount, Acorn bag doesn't use a decaleur.
The Simwork stem has cable stop for the canti brakes.

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

At the risk of a tangent or derail, have people tried and compared handlebar bags versus a frame bag at the top near the head tube? Like this:


.

I would like to find a half frame bag solution that works. The placement of the weight and the ease of access is a benefit. Though I haven’t found one that fits nicely in my bikes’ frames. This would be a great alternative to handlebar bag. Recent Apidura stuff looks promising.

Or...the large Rockgeist bolt on top tube bag works well. It is stable and big enough for snacks, tools and a large phone.

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by palincss

Definitely not "always." Consider this bag setup:


Caveat: this works best when you are all in on the solution: front-loading geometry; a correctly designed rack; a decaleur to support the bag at the top; a bag designed to fill the space available. You don't just plop this on any old frame, and there are front end geometries where this won't work right at all.

Right this needs a dedicated bike. I used to agree that this was the perfect solution especially when I was navigating with maps and cue sheets and fixed lights for long brevets. I get it. I like how it works.

These days I instead prefer a modular solution that can be arranged to suit the specific day with this bag or that bag. Maybe a light maybe not. Nav is now a mounted Wahoo GPS. A front rack is handy, but I wouldn’t necessarily use a boxy bag on it anymore.t

[palincss]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

These statements are at odds with each other. Regardless, the OP is obviously not talking about those kinds of bags. Handlebar bags that require a rack have proven to be a dead end for fast road riders, despite Jan's machinations.

And you don't think Jan qualifies as a "fast road rider"?

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by palincss

And you don't think Jan qualifies as a "fast road rider"?

I bet Jan is faster than a lot here but not as fast as some. Regardless, with his ridding the big bag and rack makes sense. Also ridding some of the passes you need a lot of different layers. Doing 150 miles and on that picture is from Paris-Brest-Paris where you have to carry a lot of crap.

However, on a 50-100 mile ride on most places, carrying a bag that big with a rack is unnecessary and you are carrying weight for no reason. Those bags are not light and pair it with a rack and even more weight that again why carry if you don't have to. What Sparky said is exactly my thoughts, a modular solution is much better. A smaller bag for shorter rides, a bigger bag or frame bag for longer rides.

[NHAero]

One advantage of a bag that moves easily from bike to bike is that it can hold the items you want common to each bike. My Rixen&Kaul has a minipump, tube, tire irons, spare link, multitool, zip ties, nitrile gloves, a few bucks. It goes onto my two all rounders, the monster cross (which carries its own tube) and the fixie. That leaves the Firefly and the Casati, either of which aesthetically I can't bear to put a bag like this on. So at the moment I carry that stuff in my Camelback, which I wear from any ride of over 20 miles. I'd normally opt for a seat bag for the bare bones stuff, but it would interfere with the Fly6. So this is unresolved still, I'm always grabbing the Camelback even for the 20 mile rides where one water bottle is enough.

[El Chaba]

Many people think that canvas/ leather trim bags are heavier than their nylon counterparts, but they are usually lighter. Just to give you an idea, the larger (tan) bag weighs 510 grams...The rack shown to allow it to be used on a bike without a dedicated rack weighs 210 grams...compare that with a similar nylon bag with some sort of a mounting system and you may be surprised. The dedicated rack mostly obscured but in the photo with the blue/gray bag weighs about 160 grams and is incredibly stiff and strong with three rigid mounting points. One huge advantage of these traditional bags is the system of overlapping flaps and elastic closures....They are really easy to overstuff, and that is a great feature this time of the year i.e last Saturday for me when I shel leg warmers, arm warmers, a vest, fingered gloves, a cycling hat, etc....The canvas bags are also more waterproof than any other material as shocking as that may be. The larger bag is about 6.25 liters and the smaller bag is about 4 liters. Both have lots of small pockets for organizing small things for quick access and as you can see the mounting is such that they don’t interfere with your hands in any position on the bars. Smart people had this stuff figured out a long time ago. Note...having raced most of my cycling life, I still try very hard to only carry the minimum and avoid using a bag...but at some point a bag of some kind becomes preferable to overstuffed jersey pockets or the point at which you just can’t carry anything else.

[coffeecherrypie]

Originally Posted by sg8357

Semi French style front bag, shorter bag so you can use the tops.
Rack is Nitto/Compass UD-1, with stays curved to fit Paul rack adapters.
I've the Wahoo on stem mount, Acorn bag doesn't use a decaleur.
The Simwork stem has cable stop for the canti brakes.

Pardon the off-topic question, but what bars are those?

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by El Chaba

Many people think that canvas/ leather trim bags are heavier than their nylon counterparts, but they are usually lighter. Just to give you an idea, the larger (tan) bag weighs 510 grams...The rack shown to allow it to be used on a bike without a dedicated rack weighs 210 grams...compare that with a similar nylon bag with some sort of a mounting system and you may be surprised. The dedicated rack mostly obscured but in the photo with the blue/gray bag weighs about 160 grams and is incredibly stiff and strong with three rigid mounting points. One huge advantage of these traditional bags is the system of overlapping flaps and elastic closures....They are really easy to overstuff, and that is a great feature this time of the year i.e last Saturday for me when I shel leg warmers, arm warmers, a vest, fingered gloves, a cycling hat, etc....The canvas bags are also more waterproof than any other material as shocking as that may be. The larger bag is about 6.25 liters and the smaller bag is about 4 liters. Both have lots of small pockets for organizing small things for quick access and as you can see the mounting is such that they don’t interfere with your hands in any position on the bars. Smart people had this stuff figured out a long time ago. Note...having raced most of my cycling life, I still try very hard to only carry the minimum and avoid using a bag...but at some point a bag of some kind becomes preferable to overstuffed jersey pockets or the point at which you just can’t carry anything else.

you probably also want a decaleur if you are using a traditional rando rack which adds to the weight.

for example the bag I posted (outershell) weights 270g and is 2.6L but can be expanded and fit almost 5L. So pretty much you have a bag that weights about what a rack weights.

[Germany_chris]

Originally Posted by NHAero

Mine is from Rixen & Kaul. It opens towards the rider, mounts with the KlickFix system so easily detachable (I have mounts on 4 bikes, but one bag), holds a lot, has a shoulder strap and raincover, made really well. Amazing bargain at Chain Reaction Cycles at $40, usually over $90.

My issue with them if if you get anywhere close to their maximum stated weight they bounce around to much. I took my bag and drilled holes in the bottom and zip tied it to my rack and am much happier with it.

[sg8357]

Originally Posted by coffeecherrypie

Pardon the off-topic question, but what bars are those?

Rene Herse Maes Parallel.

[junpgwu]

Apidura has been making some nice bags now. Can't go wrong with the regular cylinder-shaped handlebar bag depending on what and how much you're carrying.

I find that frame bags are more accessible when you're riding at speed vs handlebar bags. Otherwise, handlebar bags are still really nice to have.