TheReal Houdini

I hate handlebar bags. They get in the way of my (big) hands. They carry the weight too high, hurting handling and stability. But I love having a map and lots of food readily accessible while pedaling. Decaleur bags look to be the solution. The ones I know about are expensive leather and canvas affairs. Is there something more modern on the market? Are there nice handlebar bags that can easily be strapped to the top of a rack instead of attached to handle bars?

antokelly

what about a sat nav on the stem do away with the map entirely and a cycling jersey for all your food, simples.

sam.g

Check out Acorn's "Boxy Rando Bag". I have the same feeling about bar bags that attach to the handle bars, this one must sit on a front rack and doesn't need a decaleur. Excellent quality and American made.

https://www.acornbags.com/boxybag.html

Sam in Cincy

zoltani

It seems a lot of these type bags are pricey as hell.

Here's another one:
https://www.builtbyswift.com/products/5/order

Also american (Seattle) made, but more customizable than acorn, and likely easier to get your hands on.

Six jours

If "modern" is the only criteria, then there are all sorts of options. None work as well as the Berthoud bags and the knock-offs thereof, though. The "canvas" (cotton duck) lasts forever and will always be waterproof. Synthetic bags rely on coatings for waterproofing, and those coatings eventually deteriorate. And high tech solutions like the carbon fiber boxes rattle like crazy - the jury is still out on whether that will lead to cracking and failure, but I personally couldn't put up with the racket while waiting to find out.

Personally, I hated spending the money, but that was so long ago that I've forgotten the pain. The bag, of course, still performs flawlessly and has needed absolutely nothing in the way of maintenance. Compared to some of the other ways I've spent money on bicycles, the bag is starting to look like a bargain.

aroundoz

Here is another option that kind of splits the difference and allows you to use a modern handlebar bag and having the map close enough to view.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/thorn-acc...1331a3291d1fea

I am not knocking cotton duck because I am a big fan of Carradice. It's just most of those retro bags usually don't have the option for map holder and a rack top bag places the map too far away to view at least for my aging eyes. The above obviously wouldn't work if you didn't have enough space between your head tube and stem. I have seen someone using a homemade setup where he used a stem and part of a mtb bar to accomplish the same thing. It is supposed to improve handling although I doubt it would be noticeable. I have never found a handlebar bag to be that much of a detriment to handling especially on a loaded touring bike. Perhaps if you are riding unloaded and have a full handlebar bag.

aroundoz

Beautiful bag. Guess I was wrong about the map case but yeah, pricey as hell, especially with a with front rack but maybe the right rack could handle the bag and panniers. But that's a pretty big bag especially if you are worried about handling.

fuzz2050

Cotton duck is only sort of waterproof. It's pretty good in use, but I'm not sure I'd trust my electronics to it. I've never seen the waterproofing on a nice impregnated fabric wear off, except where the fabric was worn thin through abrasion, but that would do just about anything in.

Berthoud was not the first to make handlebar bags with a decaleur either. They go back for quite a long time, Berthoud was just one of the first companies to start making them again. Everyone today is just knocking off Rene Herse.

Don't get me wrong, they are perfectly viable solutions, but just because they are old doesn't mean they are perfect. Remember, Herse himself was an innovator, and constantly trying new techniques and materials; don't tell me he wouldn't dabble in carbon fiber, cordura and titanium if he had the chance .

Six jours

Well, I've used a cotton duck bag through hours of riding in heavy rain, and the contents stayed perfectly dry. I've also seen and experienced "waterproof" gear that stopped being waterproof after the coating deteriorated, sometimes within just a few years of use.

At any rate, I think you're mistaking my admiration for function as admiration for old. I select things for best function regardless of price or date of development, and so use quite a bit of modern equipment on my bike. Nothing, in my experience, works as well for a handlebar bag as a Berthoud or one of the knock-offs.

TheReal Houdini

Don't get me wrong - I would love to have a cotton duck and leather bag, it's just the price. I was hoping something less hand crafted and more manufactured would be less expensive.

I don't like to carry much in my jersey pockets and I eat a lot while I ride.

Six jours

Velo Orange has one for about $100. My experience with VO stuff has been hit or miss, but it might be worth looking into.

Bekologist

The bag from Velo Orange is great, but ideally needs a decaleur type attachment in addition to a front platform rack for maximum stability and attaching versus being strapped to the handlebar.

pdlamb

If you're mostly worried about hand space on the bars, Ortlieb or any of the Klik-Fix mounted bags should help. They hold the bag an inch or two in front of the bar, so you can get your fingers between bar and bag. My experience is that they don't affect the handling much as long as you don't overload the bag. And the Ortlieb costs about as much as a rack to hold a bag with a decaleur.

fietsbob

I have my HB bag on its own stem, and short bar/tube in it.
easily done with enough threadless steerer space to stack stems.

staehpj1

I found that putting a regular handlebar bag on a little rack worked really well for me on a couple tours where I used it. I have used the little Nashbar rack for that. I hold a regular handlebar bag there with the shoulder strap wrapped around the stem. It worked great IMO.
https://media.nashbar.com/images/nash...-NCL-ANGLE.jpg

LeeG

assuming you have drop bars and a long stem would this take up too much room on the tops?

https://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FMBHP

I'm using this bag on a 56cm 26" wheeled LHT, it would take a 60cm or so sized road bike to fit the head tube well. Plenty of volume for snacks and stuff.

https://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FFP

After that it's a crap shoot but I agree something mounted to a small front rack is preferable to a handlebar mounted one.

zeppinger

Im in the same camp as you. I ride a 50c LHT and have lots of head tube showing so went with a double stem setup because its cheaper. One day I will invest in a nice rack bag or someone will sell one that doesn't cost a fortune, until then..... Check out my site for pictures of how I did my second stem. Its harder than you might think with canti brakes.
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/p...id=164233&v=8x

tashi

I use a Velo-Orange bag and front rack with integrated decaleur. It's a slick setup, and I like it quite a bit.

I modified the bag to be ultra-still, even when riding hard. I did break the decaleur support on the rack, but that was on the roads of India which can be harsher than many mountain bike trails. I would use a regular decaleur if I wanted maximum strength from this setup, and have no qualms using the rack on BC roads, rail trails and dirt roads.

LeeG

I've mentioned this before. I've got a 56cm 26" wheeled LHT with an OMM Sherpa front rack that normally mounts on the front axle with special wide spaced fittings and long quick release. With the axle fittings removed the rack fits straight down on the top eyelet with spacers. With the rack level the rear strut can be secured with p-clamps at the cantilever bosses and at the midfork eyelets using the regular OMM strap attachment. The rack sits about 1" above a 2.0 tire or about an inch lower than the rack on zeppingers rack. Very solid.

fietsbob

Velo Orange seeks out Asian sources , so cheaper.

Jim Kukula

Here's my Carradice SuperC handlebar bag, on a Thorn accessory bar, leaving the handlebars unobstructed. Things would be a little more challenging with drop bars, but that seems to work for people too.