Best bag for the front of a Brommie?

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Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
"Best bag" is tricky, because the best one is the one that does what you need in a given situation. For me, it's a dead heat between the C-bag, which is large enough for work trips and A4 papers but small enough to be slung over my shoulder when I walk down the aisle of a train, and my custom front rack (since refined and productionised by Kinetics) that carries my Carradice Super C front panniers, which don't do A4 but also don't need waterproof covers when it rains. I once adapted my old Halfords handlebar bag to fit the Brompton luggage block; practically speaking it worked fine, but it was too small and too low down.

The UPSO bags are neat, though. They're made in the Carradice factory, which is why they use their fixing system.

The best front bag might actually be one you already own, hooked onto a Brompton bag frame. I've used a touring saddle bag in that way before, and would really rather like Carradice to make a Super C version of their Stockport bag.
I use a Carradice Longflap Camper on an S-bag frame. Works really well ... in fact fits perfectly!

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Decided to use the same rig fopr my 2 week tour in the Outer Hebrides but without the tent* and beam-rack, just the 2 Saddlebags.

* Mix of Hostels and wild camping with bivvy bag and tarp. Heavy stuff in the front, bulky light stuff on the rear
 

Kell

Veteran
I've just bought (well, got for my birthday) a 'C' bag.

It's big enough for my daily commute and then some. I used to use a 25 litre (may have been 30) rucksack and it's probably as good, but in a different way.

Still not entirely used to that extra front weight yet and also something I never considered - you can't see the front wheel. So threading between stationary traffic and the kerb when space is tight has been interesting.

Finally, when rushing for a train, I've found it was a lot easier to hop off the bike with the rucksack on rather than having to faff about taking the bag off.
 
Hubby uses (old) Touring Pannier for his, I use C-bag for mine, we have a folding basket for shopping / unusual loads (before we got The Tank, weekly shop was on the Brompton too, front basket, rear bag, overflow in backpack).
If you have M bars I'd get the C bag before the S.
 

Kell

Veteran
My bike is (was) an H type, but I put low riser bars on so the height of the bars is somewhere between an S and an M.

Clearance is tight on the C bag, but not a problem.
 

Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
@Melvil

Here some pics I just took test-packing the Carradice Camper Longflap to the S-bag frame ....
The total height with the roll-matt may be too high for the S-bars, I'll check tomorrow .... I have a plan B :-)

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