Saddlebag Supports

A Carradice bag is a wonderful thing. It holds lots of stuff, even on a racing bike, doesn't cost a lot, and looks kinda funky. But it can flop around back there, and on smaller frames it can rub on your rear tire. It can also interfere with your cantilever brakes. And if it's strapped to the seatpost, it can rub on your thighs. So what's a fella or gal to do?

The Bagman saddlebag supports are made of stainless steel or titanium, with an aluminum clamp to attach to the saddle rails. It attaches to the same section of your saddle rails as the seatpost, so you'll need a little space on your saddle rails behind your seatpost for the bag support to clamp onto. The clamp requires 5/8". At no point does the support touch your frame. The paint on your seat stays is safe!

When saddlebags like the Carradice were first introduced, long before any of us were born, seat tube angles on bikes were far more relaxed, and the saddles were mounted well forward on the seat posts. So the relative positions of the rear bag loops on the saddle and the seat post were quite different. In the old days, with the saddle forward on the post, the bag would be in a more upright alignment, and the forward bottom part of the bag would be far enough back that your thighs wouldn't touch it on the down stroke. The Bagman puts the saddlebag more into the position it was originally intended to be in.

All Bagman models are out of stock! We hope to have more here by June, 2007.

And there are two new models, with built in loops with quick release that eliminate the need for a saddle with loops, or the Carradice clamp. However, the QR version of the Bagman is prone to having the fittings for the bag's leather straps come loose. If you want the quick release feature, you must be prepared to frequently check the rack for any loose bolts. Also, you should use some type of thread locking compound on the bolt threads. Loctite 242, (Blue Loctite) works quite well.

My advice is, if you absolutely must have the quick release capability, fine, just be attentive to the rack. If the rack comes loose, the bag can drop down onto your tire and possibly lock the rear wheel, which usually isn't the high point of one's day. So make a habit of checking the QR Bagman along with the rest of your standard safety check before every ride. Otherwise, if you prefer to take a more casual approach to bike maintenance, get the old style Bagman without the quick release feature.

Even the non QR Bagman supports have screws that can unthread and result in the rack falling apart. So, as with all things mechanical, check all bolts for tightness on a regular basis. Never assume that because something hasn't fallen apart so far, it never will.

Pictures soon, but for now, the Expedition size is available for $ 76.00 and the sport size for $ 72.50 .

Click here for my selection of Carradice bags.

This is the Expedition Saddlebag Support. This will hold a Carradice Nelson/Nelson Longflap.

$ 43.00 in Stainless

$ 90.00 in Titanium

The 7.75" vertical section, steel and 7.5" titanium, gives you plenty of space for the mid sized Carradice bags. The stainless tubing is 7mm diameter titanium is 8mm. The clamp is 5/8" long, so you'll need at least 5/8" of clear rail from the back of your seatpost clamp to the rear corner of the saddle rails for mounting the support. The wide base of the support eliminates the dreaded flopping bag syndrome. See the installation instructions.

Now in stock, the Super Expedition size saddlebag support. It's the same as the Large but the vertical section is longer. It's a better fit for the Carradice Camper and Super C saddlebags.

$ 46.00 in Stainless

$ 95.00 in Titanium

It's safe to bend the support to better fit your bag. On my bike, I've made the bottom shelf flatter, by making the lower bends a bit over 90 degrees. That prevents the support from compressing the volume of the bag.

This shows the clamp. The fore/aft dimension is 5/8".

The Sport Support is better for the smaller bags such as the Lowsaddle Longflap, Pendle and Junior models. It will work with the Nelson and Nelson Longflap but it pushes up the bottom a bit.

Don't be afraid to bend the Bagman a bit. With my saddle and Nelson Longflap, I bent the bottom of the Large support down a bit to allow the bag to open fully.

Bagman Sport Supports are strong enough to hold a goose. $ 41.00

For all you lightweight fiends, there's a titanium version too. The Titanium Sport is a bit taller than the Stainless Sport, so it is really best for use with the Carradice Junior, Pendle and Lowsaddle Longflap, but can also be used with the Nelson. In Stock. $ 86.00

Specifications

There are now six different Bagman supports. Three made with stainless steel rod, and three with titanium rod.

Stainless Sport: Height: 6.5" Weight: 11.6 oz $ 41.00

Stainless Expedition: Height: 7.7" Weight 12.75 oz $ 43.00

Stainless Super Expedition: Height: 8.5" Weight 13.2 oz $ 46.00

Titanium Sport: Height: 7.5" Weight 9.5 oz $ 86.00

Titanium Expedition: Height: 8" Weight 10 oz $ 90.00

Titanium Super Expedition: Height: 8.5" Weight: 10.5 oz $ 95.00

Carradice bags, bikes and hands are available separately.

Installing the bag:

If your saddle has bag loops, such as a Brooks B17, attach the top straps of the bag to the loops as normal.

If not, you'll need the Carradice Clamp to attach the dowel. $ 28.00

The lower forward strap that would normally wrap around the seatpost, wraps around the neck instead.

Then the flap straps wrap under and around the bottom support.

For another solution for holding your Carradice bag, see the SQR from Carradice.

This page was last updated: Monday, February 4, 2008

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This page updated: Monday, February 4, 2008

Peter White Cycles
24 Hall Rd.
Hillsborough, NH 03244
USA
603 478 0900 Phone
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