Carradice Saddlebags

Worth considering whether you'll be taking it off regularly. I lock up outside at work so got an SQR one that's easy to clip on and off.

If you need to take a laptop the audax won’t cut it. For that the SQR slim is simply excellent. Great proportions, I would put clothes and stuff in a packing cube to make it really easy. And as Aggi says goes on and comes off pretty easily.

I don’t think a full set of clothes inc. shoes will go in the audax. If you’re in north london you can borrow mine for day for a test pack.

I used to leave shoes at work - though I could get them in the Slim - they were adidas knit trainers mind.

Thanks for all the replies, really helpful. The SQR slim looks good but from the photos it looks fairly large. @stelfox it's very kind of you to offer a lend of yours but I'm very south! I don't need to take a laptop in with me and it's easy enough to leave a pair of shoes and even some trousers at work. One of the factors is that my commute is about 35km each way and fairly hilly so the less I can get away with carrying the more enjoyable it'll be.
I think I basically just need to think about what I want to be able to carry a bit more before I buy anything!

I've frequently packed mine with everything i needed to work in a garage over winter, with no issue. I've even strapped my laptop to the top on a couple of occasions. The side pockets are useful too. It's a good size but small enough so you can't end up lugging the kitchen sink around with you.

I have one available for testing South of the river

Amazing, I'll shoot you a message!

I think you’ll be laughing with the audax then

IMO: Barley/Super C Audax for day rides/lightweight commute, Nelson Longflap for lunch-and-change-of-clothes commuting/CC touring, Camper Longflap/Super C for all-of-the-commuting-things and long CC tours/lightweight camping.

I use an ancient Nelson (no longflap; possibly marginally smaller than a modern one) for my commute/gym trips, and I wouldn't want anything smaller - a Barley's ok if only taking lunch and maybe a shirt. I use my Camper if I know I'm going to be picking up shopping etc. on the way home. If I had to pick just one for commuting, I'd take a Nelson Longflap; it's usefully bigger than a Barley/Audax, and doesn't weigh much more when empty. I use a QR clamp for easy removal and rest the bag on my rear rack; without a rack I'd use a Bagman QR.

Any Carradice owners in need of some replacement leather straps? Found an unused set while clearing out a few bits and pieces. They're black, so probably from a Super C bag, about 19cm long. I have no use for them and happy to pop them in the post.

Any Carradice owners in need of some replacement leather straps?

I would like these please, if they have not been taken.

All yours. PM me your address and I'll get them in the post Monday morning.

All yours. PM me your address and I'll get them in the post Monday morning.

Great. PM now sent.

How awkward are Audax/Nelson saddlebags to carry around with a strap? Looking for something I could easily bring with me for long walks inside the shops/museums (etc.), as I find my Vaude Aquaback too impractical for that.

Also, is there a legitimate or bodgy way to mount them on the front of the bike, resting on a rando rack but still having some sort of QR similar to the Bagman's?
I've seen the hacks involving Ortlieb hooks and a strut attached to the handlebars via some clamps, but said clamps always seem hard to find.

(First post on this forum btw, didn't find an "Introduce yourself" topic, hope that's cool.)

Depending on your bike, you could bodge a decaleur mount for a rando bag onto the Carradice using the existing straps, and simply have that slot into the stem mounted section?

If you don’t need utmost speed, pedal straps are quicker than the leather straps provided and just strap it to the bars or an extension if you need the handlebar space.

Sjs/Thorn sell an accessory bar that takes the place is a spacer that you could mount under the bars and just slide the straps off the ends when needed, especially if it’s resting on a rack

this would work well with a saddlebag on the front. It's pretty much a bagman that fits on your steerer.

How awkward are Audax/Nelson saddlebags to carry around with a strap? Looking for something I could easily bring with me for long walks inside the shops/museums (etc.)
...
Also, is there a legitimate or bodgy way to mount them on the front of the bike, resting on a rando rack but still having some sort of QR similar to the Bagman's?

A CarraDry handlebar bag or Ortlieb Ultimate 6 Plus (large size) both offer similar capacity to the Super C Audax saddle bag (9l and 8.5l vs 9l) and they use a Klikfix mount for easy removal with no rack required. These handlebar bags have the advantage of their lids hinging away from the rider so there is no need to dismount to access the contents, unlike the case of a saddlebag mounted up front.

All good ideas, though that thorn accessory bar is a bit of an eyesore and probably lacks adjustability.

I definitely want utmost speed because each extra step that I have to do when locking up my bike tends to grind my gears easily.
I was hoping there was an easy solution I might have missed to mount a bagman on the front, as I was hoping to switch the Carradice between two bikes (and it would be mounted on the back of the other one). But if I end up mounting it on the front, I will probably buy 2, and put some Ortlieb hooks on one, and build a makeshift decaleur like so.

@Föhn : thanks, but I'm not looking for a platform, as I'll probably be using a Nitto M18. It was the QR part of the Bagman I was interested in mounting to the front of the bike.

@Nick_S : Thanks, but let me be perfectly honest here : this is 70% about fashion, and I hate Klickfix bags in that regard, with the Ortlieb Ultimate being the worst offender. The remaining 30% is about functionality, and once again these don't cut it, they're too boxy and rigid and will be a pain to carry on a shoulder strap (I hated my rando bag in that regard). That's why I was gravitating towards Carradice-style saddlebags :)

I’ve made multiple of this style decaleurs.

Why not just run a carradice with bagman QR on the back of both? Super C works well as a shoulder bag, bagman QR quick and easy on and off.

I have two brand new unused Camper Long Flap (black) + Bagman QR supports for sale. Total's worth £292 (equalling €335). Anyone in this thread interested for €300 posted, before I advertise them?

I use a super c + bagman on the back of one bike, and then on a front porteur rack on the other. I did experiment with more inventive ways like you've linked, but to be honest I've found it works best just strapped down on the rack with 2 cam buckle straps or similar

Super c and audax bags are definitely both very easy with shoulder strap for commuting etc, I clip one onto the d buckles on the top and tuck it under the lid when riding

Thanks, I'll take some inspiration from yours if I ever end up doing that! From what I've seen you've made some decaleurs for Ortlieb hooks, but none for the Bagman QR, right?

@TM : I want to keep running a rear rack, for the occasional big thing that'll fit in nothing but my Vaude Aquaback, and I wasn't happy with the Bagman + Rear rack look, especially on my very industrial looking aluminium bike, hence the quest for a front mounted QR bodge.

In the end that's what I'm going for (for now at least), as I found a Cube rear rack without a platform that hopefully won't clash to much with the Bagman. Will post a picture of how it looks once everything is finished. Expected wait time for the non-Carradice saddlebag I'm hoping to order is 6 weeks though... If anybody knows of a shop selling Lightweight Audax saddlebags in mainland Europe I might buy that instead.

By the way, when you say the super C works well as a shoulder bag, you're talking about the actual Super C (23L), not the Audax one? Good to know that even the larger models aren't too bulky to carry around, even though I was thinking of trying a small one first.

@.ben : thanks for your suggestion, but I'm stubborn and a bit fussy, I know I won't like using straps on a daily basis.

The RSF kickstarter seems to have finished... Is there a way to still back it + the carradice bag?

No but I'll sell you mine for double
/kidding

Might be worth tagging @maxl in case TheBonk is busy scanning a mountain of slides as we speak