IMO you're trying to cover two ideas that have different answers, BagBoy for around town and HappiSack for overnighters. So my answer is get the biggest one you can fit, you won't care if it's mostly empty sometimes.
Joe Bernard On Friday, April 15, 2022 at 3:45:19 PM UTC-7 Patrick Moore wrote: > The Wald Newsboy basket was the biggest single bike luggage carrier I ever > used, tho' a full Newsboy load in front might mess up your handling. > > I've used dozens of saddlebags, and I think that the Medium Saddlesack or > whatever they call it now is the best all-round for capacity and for > fitting normal bikes. I've still got one for occasional use. I've carried > 30 lb grocery loads in them. > > For less money and less but still ample capacity in currently produced > bags, the Carradice Camper Longflap. For ditto and smaller commuting loads > (I've carried pair size 10 loafers, thick tweed jacket, pants, lunch, the > usual repair kit with 2 tubes), the Nelson Longflap. (The RIv Baggins Hoss > and Adam respectively were even better, but haven't been made for a decade > or 2.) > > For smaller loads, day rides when you need to remove and carry a jacket > with your kit, the Carradice Junior, or similar Cadet which has the side > pockets. I still have a Junior for the gofast in winter. The Jr will even > carry small grocery loads, as I proved just yesterday. > > Me, after trying all of these, most of them several times, I've always > gone back to a stiff rack and Ortlieb panniers because I can mix and match > according to loads, or remove entirely. > > Bikepacking seat bags from Revelate and others, the sort that stretch out > behind. These work well when saddle-to-tire clearance is small. The > Revelate Tangle carried groceries for dinner for 2 including steak, veg, > pint ice cream, bot wine; and the Ortlieb I have now is almost comically > big; it will carry a 6-pack and still have 1/2 the vol left over for other > things. Problem is that it's not as well supported as a transverse bag and, > #2, you have to pack strategically: the bag widens from the bottom, so the > 6 pack would have to be placed about halfway up, where it would probably > wag the bag as you rode. Still, the cinch-up mechanism is sturdy and the > bag works well for occasional loads, even large and heavy ones, on my > Matthews 1:1 with wheels ~30" tall. > > > > > On Fri, Apr 15, 2022 at 4:20 PM Chris K <cmka...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Hi all - I'm new to the group and figured you all would have opinions on >> "the best all-around useful saddle bag," if you could only own one. >> >> For context, I ride a Bridgestone CB-0 set up with a front rack and Wald >> basket. This is great, but I sometimes wish for a little more capacity in >> the form of a bag. Based on Rivendell's site, the Bagboy or the Happisack >> seem to fit this "all-around useful" purpose and size. I mostly ride around >> town but want to do some overnights this summer as well. >> >> Would you recommend definitely getting one over the other? I'm also >> looking at the Swift Zeitgeist or Catalyst. >> >> Thanks! >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ae48c969-35aa-4570-82fd-ce95024aa83an%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ae48c969-35aa-4570-82fd-ce95024aa83an%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > > > -- > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/7507150d-bf4b-4558-b41a-3edf614a265dn%40googlegroups.com.
