Hey sorry, i’ve been crazy busy the past few days. Lots of assignments as part of my master degree and also moved from Budapest to Greece on Saturday. But as it happens I did the trip with my bike in my bag. So I just shot a quick video trying to show some of the features and vaguely how it packs to give you an idea to replicate it if you want. I think the key with a soft bag versus a hard case is to have 360 degree padding to reduce the likelihood of stuff getting damaged. I made my own detachable panels that contain three layers of different density foam just recycled from various things. The odd shape of the bag is the same idea as the Orucase I mentioned in that it tricks the eye slightly as the bag is slightly over the ‘standard’ size limit that most airlines use. Although almost every other similar design is as well especially if you have anything other than a small sized frame. The overall size of the bag i based on accommodating my size medium Specialized AWOL which due to the geometry is probably closer to 56cm or bigger road bike. If you want a smaller overall pack size you have to be prepared to really break the bike down, I remove the forks, seat post and even the crankset to get it in this bag. On this basis it makes sense to a) have a good idea how to do all these things and b) select components which need the minimal amounts of tools to do so, so that you can carry less I.e sram GXP crankset just needs one allen key for removal. I also added three pockets o the inside of my bag to store pedals, chain and tools etc. In hindsight If i was to make it again I would avoid using a zip closure as I just don’t trust them at this length plus it was a second hand zip to begin with. Another plus of this bag is that you can sneak in a bunch of other stuff for example D lock and spd shoes etc. Last year I actually put everything I needed for a month long bikepacking trip to Japan in this bag including sleeping bag and bivvy etc.
Send me a pm with your email address and i’ll Send you over the video I mentioned otherwise I guess this information may come in handy to someone else here! As for making your own I would say if you have time and access to a sewing machine then give it a go otherwise there are several people on the forum making bags who might be up for a challenge. Good luck!
Hey sorry, i’ve been crazy busy the past few days. Lots of assignments as part of my master degree and also moved from Budapest to Greece on Saturday. But as it happens I did the trip with my bike in my bag. So I just shot a quick video trying to show some of the features and vaguely how it packs to give you an idea to replicate it if you want. I think the key with a soft bag versus a hard case is to have 360 degree padding to reduce the likelihood of stuff getting damaged. I made my own detachable panels that contain three layers of different density foam just recycled from various things. The odd shape of the bag is the same idea as the Orucase I mentioned in that it tricks the eye slightly as the bag is slightly over the ‘standard’ size limit that most airlines use. Although almost every other similar design is as well especially if you have anything other than a small sized frame. The overall size of the bag i based on accommodating my size medium Specialized AWOL which due to the geometry is probably closer to 56cm or bigger road bike. If you want a smaller overall pack size you have to be prepared to really break the bike down, I remove the forks, seat post and even the crankset to get it in this bag. On this basis it makes sense to a) have a good idea how to do all these things and b) select components which need the minimal amounts of tools to do so, so that you can carry less I.e sram GXP crankset just needs one allen key for removal. I also added three pockets o the inside of my bag to store pedals, chain and tools etc. In hindsight If i was to make it again I would avoid using a zip closure as I just don’t trust them at this length plus it was a second hand zip to begin with. Another plus of this bag is that you can sneak in a bunch of other stuff for example D lock and spd shoes etc. Last year I actually put everything I needed for a month long bikepacking trip to Japan in this bag including sleeping bag and bivvy etc.
Send me a pm with your email address and i’ll Send you over the video I mentioned otherwise I guess this information may come in handy to someone else here! As for making your own I would say if you have time and access to a sewing machine then give it a go otherwise there are several people on the forum making bags who might be up for a challenge. Good luck!