Winfried

Hello,

As an alternative to the €150 Brompton T-Bag, I'm thinking of adding a regular, non-waterproof* ~30 liter bag to the Brompton front carrier frame.



https://brilliantbikes.co.uk/luggage...rame-only.html

Has someone tried this and could offer some feeback?

Thank you.

* Considering it's not that common (over here, at least) to ride just when it's raining, a waterproof cover eg. plastic bag will do for less weight + money

ladi

I'm not sure what you mean by "regular bag"?

I used a selfmade bag one my Brompton which is not waterproof. This certainly works and in many situations it is possible to compromise on things like rain cover.

Besides that, I think there are two important things to note:
1) The Brompton T Bag is NOT waterproof. There is a cover that helps to keep water away from the bag. But this is in no way comparable to for example Ortlieb panniers.
2) I don't think there is significant potential for saving money without serious drawbacks. A T Bag is 115GBP including frame. If you subtract the price of the frame it's 85GBP. Assuming you get some other bag for 40 but have to pay 10 for extras to attach it to the frame. Then you've only saved 30% but have something that might be heavier and more cumbersome to use than the "official" solution.

Winfried

Thanks.

Yes, I meant making one's own selfmade bag.


https://www.bikeforums.net/folding-b...ront-bags.html

2_i 

T-bag is not a bad deal given what you get and the size of the market it is made for. I would only recommend adapting it to work as a backpack. Otherwise, your options include:

Vincita

Cyclodonia

Valeria's Bikes

Vlerick Fietsen

The last ships only to Benelux and offers bags that ar more expensive than T-bag, but that are bulkier. There might be a possibility to convince them to ship farther away by email. To go below the price of the T-bag in the market you will need to resign yourself to getting less, maybe significantly less.

ttakata73

You can sew velcro straps onto any bag so they strap onto the Brompton rack, but it will be a pain to undo the straps all the time or walk around with a bag with a hard alloy rack rubbing your body.
See post 17 here.
https://www.bikeforums.net/folding-b...-brompton.html

I modded a Dahon with Ortlieb spare parts. Mounted their struts to the brake levers then added hooks and bracket to a waterproof Vaude bag. Much quicker lock mechanism and nicer walking around since 2 small hooks are not as annoying as a full rack.
https://www.pedalroom.com/bike/dahon...-16-2012-40901
https://www.ortlieb.com/us/products/..._list_limit=84

Or skip all this and just hang backpack straps over the handlebars.

Winfried

Thanks much for the links.

I would leave the bag onto the frame at all times, so it doesn't matter if it takes a bit of work to put the bag on.

I don't want to put any weight on the handlebar, since Brompton's frame-mounted solution is much better. I just want a cheaper solution than getting a €150 T-Bag.

Thanks for the link. It's exactly what I had in mind.


https://www.bikeforums.net/20395762-post17.html

Incidently, alternative frames are available on AliExpress, and Valeria came up with her own.

mlau

Yup. Works great

mlau

Frame slides right through, and weight is supported underneath. Add extra stitches to avoid the bag slumping forward.


Looks normal from the front
Sorry for short reply.

I had a bag with a sleeve for business carry luggage handles. I ordered a frame for the messenger bag. I slid in the frame, and tied a few stitches to keep the bag from bouncing.

By now the stitches all broke, but the bag has shaped itself around the frame.

I like the resulting bag better than any official brompton bag.