Carradice Barley

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Redlight

Senior Member
I prefer the SQR block system - nice and solid and holds the bag well clear of the rear wheel even when full to bursting, as here packed up for PBP
IMG_0892.jpg
. I Find it very easy to clip on and off and have spare blocks on some of my other bikes so it's easy to swap from one to another.
 

jongooligan

Legendary Member
Location
Behind bars
I use a carradice audax bag. You'll be thankful of the clips rather than buckles when you are tired, cold and wet.

This ^^^ Pretty much same as the Barley but much easier to use. Mine's on a SQR frame thingy. Dead easy to take off and carry into the caff also easy to swap to a bigger bag when needed.
 

Redlight

Senior Member
Any thoughts on the Barley for touring? I'm doing the Grand Traverse of the Alps next year and am hoping to travel as light as possible (i.e. no panniers). I'm using hotels so won't be carrying much other than a change of clothes for the evenings and cycling kit.
 

geocycle

Legendary Member
Any thoughts on the Barley for touring? I'm doing the Grand Traverse of the Alps next year and am hoping to travel as light as possible (i.e. no panniers). I'm using hotels so won't be carrying much other than a change of clothes for the evenings and cycling kit.

Personally I’d find it too small. It might just be possible to strap things to the flap and perhaps carry tools elsewhere on the bike.
 

mcshroom

Bionic Subsonic
I'd find it a bit small at 9 litres. When I rode from Carlisle to Caithness last year I got a week's packing down to about 19 litres (Super C rack bag, Carradura bar bag and a wedge for tools). I probably had a couple litres more than I absolutely needed, but I wouldn't have wanted to go much smaller, as I would have lost space for food etc.

A Nelson might be big enough
 

Heltor Chasca

Out-riding the Black Dog
I’m not sure what your frame size is but mine is small. I also think the Barley is small for multi day tours.

Coincidentally I needed to upgrade my Barley (which is my most used bag) The Nelson would have been ideal but as the space wasn’t quite enough I went for the Lowsaddle Longflap. It fits perfectly and I now have 2/3rds more capacity. Love it.

As an aside: Am I the only one who thinks the quality and attention to detail from Carradice has gone down? (Comparing my old Barley to my new purchase)
 

Redlight

Senior Member
Thanks. I think I was getting my product names muddled and thought the Barley was one of the larger bags. I did PBP with a Nelson and small bar bag, which was fine as I wasn't carrying any off-the-bike clothes, but I suspect I may be looking at the Camper for the tour.
 

Nick Saddlesore

Über Member
Location
London
I've used my Audax Super C, tightly packed, for minimal.one.week tours. My Pendle is less of a squash if I've got more.kit. For B&B touring that's all I need. For a 200 I use my pockets.
 

contadino

Veteran
Location
Chesterfield
A Pendle would be a better option than a Barley, but for more than a couple of nights, you'd want a handlebar bag too. The Alps requires layers and you need somewhere to put them. I think mine is a Pendle, and I really wouldn't want it to be any smaller.

If I were to buy another it would be a few litres bigger. The bike packing bags nowadays have a neat design that you can roll down unused space - seems more versatile than buying a fixed size bag.
 
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