GROUPTEST
Up-front storage solutions
While touring cyclists have long known the advantages of the handlebar bag, it’s the far newer gravel scene that’s primarily responsible for its rebirth. The bar bag is an obvious choice for off-road adventurers and has also allowed gravel riders to eschew the traditional jersey and its rear pockets, boosting its popularity.
Some of these gravel-specific designs still resemble the traditional touring bag, with adaptations made to the lid for ease of access. Others adopt elements of a dry bag, where a sleeping bag or down jacket could be easily stored, with the foldable ends of the bag allowing it to morph in size.
Smaller versions of both designs was an obvious next step, making them fit more comfortably with modern drop bars, which in turn brought them to the attention of road cyclists who were tired of bulging jersey pockets and rattling tool rolls. Now many a road bike is adorned with a bar bag containing a gilet, a spare tube and a few snacks.
We’ve covered a few bases in our test. The Ortlieb and Restrap bags, both offering over 10 litres of space, are large enough for multi-day trips. At the other end of the scale is the three-litre Brooks pouch, which could replace the need for jersey pockets and a seat roll. In between sit the Topeak, Chrome and Altura bags – large enough to work alongside a frame bag for longer trips but svelte enough to adapt comfortably to day rides or city commutes.
Ortlieb Handlebar Pack QR £135
Ortlieb’s Handlebar Pack QR features a distinctive mounting mechanism. The attachment system employs a hard plastic bracket to mitigate problems with rubbing, but fixes to the bike using just a couple of cords, making it toolless and quite quick to do – once you’ve learnt how the system works. By pulling the cords through to the right length, the pack became just as quick and easy to mount and dismount as a typical strap-based system, and far more solid – great when riding over rocky bridleways and fire roads.
The material is fully waterproof and the seams are taped. There are two mesh pockets on each side, which are suitable for low-bulk items. Inside the bag there are another couple of straps for keeping everything organised. With the generous 11-litre volume, we found it to be a brilliant alternative to a giant saddle bag on longer single-day rides. It easily accommodates jackets and extra layers, along with all the other bits and pieces – such as food, wallets and phones – that normally clutter up jersey pockets.
Part of what gives the Handlebar Pack QR its copious volume is its width. However, this doesn’t work well with narrow road bars. We tried it with 40cm wide handlebars and it was too cramped to be comfortable. A 44cm bar, or wider, will give you the best from this bag. Stefan Abram ortlieb.c
