Saddle bag or frame bag

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Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
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Tribansman

Veteran
Great set up that, really wish I had a third bottle cage. I use a bottle for my tools but could really do with the extra water bottle on long rides, especially that start really early when no shops are open for ages.

May have to get creative with a bungee and a bit of spare inner tube!
 

T4tomo

Guru
I use a saddle bag but, as si_c mentioned, the larger ones can interfere with rear lights.

My little wedge saddle bag as a strap thing to clip your light into. I di have a frame bag that is occasionally pressed into action if the GF thinks she needs lots of things carrying for her on a longer ride! Its best use was on holiday where it was perfect for carrying a couple of bottles of wine home at the end of the ride....
 
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Tripster

Guest
I currently use all of the above!

I have an Ortleib Saddle bag, which is really robust and rolls shut like a drybag. The mounting bracket can also be bought separately, so I have one on my Bamboo bike as well. It's just a matter of minutes then to put the bag on which ever bike I'm using. It's a really nice saddle bag which can fit a surprising amount in.

In the frame I have a 6 litre Topeak frame bag, which I use for a spare fleece, food or waterproofs. On top of the frame I have a 1½ litre fuel tank, in which I place keys, wallet etc. It's quite tiny, so not a lot will go in there. One problem I have, is because I have a steel framed bike, the tubes are round and so the fuel tank is always slipping off to one side or another as I ride. The flatter profile of top tubes more commonly found on Aluminium and Carbon bikes, would stop this.

Because of the frame bag, I have to use 500ml water bottles in the frame and one cage has been relocated further down the frame using the topeak alt-position bottle mounts. I'm lucky to have bottle mounts on the fork legs, so in the summer, I'll carry an extra litre sized bottle on a fork leg. Under the down tube, I also have a bottle cage mount under the downtube in which I store a tool caddy for all of my tools, this stays on the bike permanently and frees up room in my bags.

To be honest it's all a little overkill and most of the time the bags are half empty, but they weigh very little and it's no hassle to have it all on there.

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Like that, oh and like the bike too 👍
 

wajc

Veteran
I have a Topeak Backloader (10litre) and Topeak Midloader (6 litre)

Topeak Backloader

Topeak Midloader

I find that on my 56cm frame size bike that it's a bit of a struggle to get the bottles (750ml) out of their cages when using the Midloader. I've a smaller 600ml bottle that I use sometimes in one cage because of this. I have also considered side entry bottle cages however some of the reviews I've read suggest that these can require a bit of effort to get bottles in and out as well.

I have one of these bags on another bike and find this style of bag to be easier and quicker to get things out of compared with the backloader style of bag.

Vaude Saddle Bag

Great set up that, really wish I had a third bottle cage. I use a bottle for my tools but could really do with the extra water bottle on long rides, especially that start really early when no shops are open for ages.

May have to get creative with a bungee and a bit of spare inner tube!

There are other options for you but not so cheap. In fact I've got one of these on the way to try on longer Audax rides myself. There are lots of other similar products on the market.

SKS Anywhere Topcage
 
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