Saddle Bags For Shorter Gravel/CX Rides

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Point
Posts: 255
Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2015 12:35 pm

by Point

As title really, I'm in need of a gravel bag ideally able to carry:

1, maybe 2 x large inner tube - 700x40
Multi tool
1-2 x Co2 cannister + nozzle
2x Tyre levers

Any thoughts and recommendations are much appreciated.
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Gravel - Carbonda CFR 696
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spdntrxi
Posts: 5794
Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:11 pm

by spdntrxi

I use the speedslev ranger.
---have not tried stuffing 2 tubes. That's might be tough, but all the rest no prob
Last edited by spdntrxi on Sat Nov 24, 2018 2:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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ALAN Carbon+
Posts: 294
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 9:21 am
Location: Canberra, Australia

by ALAN Carbon+

spdntrxi wrote:I use the speedslev ranger.
As do I on both my MTB and CX bikes.

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NickJHP
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2018 2:22 am
Location: Canberra, Australia

by NickJHP

I like the Rixen & Kaul 200 series. They'll swallow what you want to carry, have a good mounting system, and are expandable, so if you start on a cold morning wearing arm/leg warmers, they'll take those as well by undoing the expansion zipper.

jfranci3
Posts: 1572
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 5:21 pm

by jfranci3

I use a top tube bag upside down. The vinyl finish ones are easy to clean. Downside is that it blocks access to a water bottle so you need a side exit.

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mogwaiboi
Posts: 211
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 10:09 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

by mogwaiboi

I use the Lezyne Roll Caddy on the CX. I have a 700x40 tube in it, but it has room for 2 + levers, etc.
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xDOMx
Posts: 71
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2018 1:52 pm
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by xDOMx

I’ve used the Restrap (UK company, handmade bikepacking bags) expandable 4L saddle bag and it’s served me really well. The bag is light and it seems to have a pretty ideal capacity.

movemint
Posts: 59
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:53 pm

by movemint

I like the Evoc Race Saddle bag. I have one on my road bike loaded with stuff. Tube, 2 CO2s, levers, patch kit, link, some other little things. Also have it on my MTB with a 650B tubes, tools, and room to spare.

It does collect dirt a bit, since the material has some printing or texture on the outside.

But it's light, small, stays shut, and doesn't move around on the saddle.

https://www.evocsports.com/products/acc ... e-bag-race

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eliflap-scalpel
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by eliflap-scalpel

why not a top tube bag as revelate design one ?
http://eliflap.it/

froze
Posts: 430
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2010 3:47 am

by froze

First off if you're going gravel you need to carry a pump, it's fine that you carry the CO2 but you could exhaust your supply of carts then what? Personally I don't like CO2, I'm not racing either so the speed of the air delivery is not important to me, but the expense, the recycle hassle, buying hassle, limited air availability, the fact that CO2 air bleeds through the tube faster which means you have to go home drain the air all out and refill with pump air is more work for me and not something I would want to do if I can avoid it.

Secondly I noticed you didn't mention a flat repair kit, you should be carrying one in case you flat both tubes, though this won't do you much good if you don't carry enough air to inflate 3 times.

Anyways onto bags.

I've used many bags over the years and the one that lasted the longest is the Topeak Aero Wedge, these bags are expandable. Not sure how your stuff looks size wise but I would think the larger should be large enough, and you can expand the bag if you need to add something. I happen to have the largest size of this bag as well because I carry a lot of crap since I like to ride out into the country miles from home thus need to make sure I can fix whatever. But you carry two tubes which takes a lot of space, I only carry one, but I usually repair my tubes on the side of the road so I carry a flat repair kit instead of another tube. This bag comes in two flavors, clip on and strap on, I use the strap on.

There is another bag that I'm trying out to see how well it does is found on Amazon called the BV Bicycle Strap-On Bike Saddle Bag/Seat Bag/Cycling Bag, this darn thing only sells for $12 plus shipping, but so far I like it and it appears to be made out of the exact same tough material as the Topeak. It has two sizes that also expands, again I think the larger size should suit you fine from what I can tell from the stuff you carry. This one does not have the clip on option.

I spray my bags with a waterproofing spray at the beginning of every season to make sure things stay dry inside as much as possible. I use Kiwi Camp Dry Heavy Duty spray only because Walmart carries it, I've used others before as well and quite frankly I can't tell which one works better on the heavy duty end, they all seem to work the same. However if you carry something in your bag you don't want to get wet like a cell phone, put it into a small ziplock bag just to be extra careful because no spray is truly going to waterproof your bag even though the can says waterproof, also bags have zippers, you can't waterproof a zipper, all you can do is rub a black (if your zipper is black) crayon over it, but this has to be repeated frequently, and it will sort of work at blocking most water but not all of it.

There are lot of good bags on the market, I just happen to prefer those I mentioned, take a look at some and chose the one you like, you won't go wrong. Keep in mind that the lighter the material used in the bag the less likely it will last a long time.

Marin
Posts: 4035
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:48 am
Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

Outershell handlebar bag. I even bought a shorter Lezyne pump so I can drop this in there too.

frogtape777
Posts: 199
Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2018 9:35 pm

by frogtape777

Topeak Aeo Wedge, strap version in medium. Fits a High Pressure pump, inner tube, park tool chain splitter, fender spanner, split links, scab patches, nitrale gloves, pedros tyre levers, house keys, parktool multitool, money, everything but the phone basically!

dim
Posts: 596
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2017 11:25 am
Location: Cambridge UK

by dim

miss Grape:

you don't need need a saddle bag for what you wish to carry .... this is better as you can also use a powerbank to charge your Garmin/satnav and lights while you ride

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Frisco
Posts: 147
Joined: Sat May 09, 2009 6:23 pm
Location: Bay Area, CA

by Frisco

I am using an Ortlieb saddle bag on my tubeless gravel bike. It's big enough to fit tools, emergency supplies, plus a small pet. As a wise friend once said, the bigger the gravel bag the bigger the adventure.

TheRich
Posts: 1037
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2019 1:36 am

by TheRich

I use a smaller bag that'll hold two (individually wrapped) tubes, and then use an Backcountry Research strap to hold two Co2s and levers outside of the bag. The double secured bag does not move or rattle, at all. Frame mounted pump, mini-tool plus patch kit and a couple small things in a BR Tulbag in the jersey pocket.

That's to prevent rattling and things in the bag from wearing a hole in a tube.

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