Sackville Medium capacity

[Patrick Moore]

The usual poor photo, but not for lack of trying. Point is that I am once again surprised and pleased at the Medium's capacity. I just carried home 3 bottles of a surprisingly good but cheap ($8 on sale) Aregentinian Malbec, a half-gallon of milk, a quart of vegan mayo, toothpaste, and 2 pint packages of ready-made salad. I could have easily fit, instead of the half-gallon, a gallon of milk and a half-gallon of real mayo and had some room in the main compartment to spare. The side pockets are 1/2 to 3/4 filled with bulky tube with sealant and generous ride kit. (Vegan mayo and half-gal milk limit because Orthodox Christmas fast begins in a week.) This easily expands to the full volume, 23 liter of the Camper Longflap, and the expanded volume is usable, while the Camper Longflap's is far less so, at least without slow and careful packing. The Camper LF might carry a bulky jacket inside the expanded flap more easily than strapping it to the Sackville's loops, but all-in-all, the Sackville is a better, that is more useful for carrying. Of course, it's a higher-market product, too. Another perspective: The Medium can carry as much as or even a bit more than a single Ortlieb Rollerback pannier with neck extended. And it leaves at least a generous inch of clearance over the 50 mm fenders, which are themselves generously situated above the 40 mm tires. The disadvantage of this , at least for my bike, is that they interfere with and deflect the rear brake cable, so that the rear brake does not perform as well (it works well enough nonetheless) and that the cable will eventually wear the contact area (but I daresay only after a long while).  Still and all, once I get my rack, I will as always over 30 years, go back to panniers.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Patrick Moore]

And I mean to add this: Will someone with better metal fabrication skills than mine consider making quick release saddlebag brackets for sale? I have in mind a modification of the Nitto one, but designed for modern saddles with rails far more slanted at the rear, that will hold a bag at least level with the saddle, or, even better, higher than the saddle. I made one or 2 myself out of plate aluminum: cut and bent a plate to clamp sturdily to the rear of the Flite's rails using small U clamps, with the bracket's arms bent and cut so that when mounted they extended horizontally rearward to hold a QR made from a piece of narrow tube with a front wheel QR slide through it. The Nitto ones have arms that point downward when mounted to modern saddles. A competent metal fabricator could make arms that point up when mounted on such saddles, for even more clearance.

I used aluminum plate just short of too thick to bend by hand and bench vise, but someone who can cut and weld or braze could use really sturdy metal. (The Nitto ones look bended, but from much thicker aluminum.) I daresay mine would not have stood up indefinitely to the sort of load pictured below.

My brother has brazed a few that work like my idea, but using scavenged front-fork dropouts. But I think that using sturdy (thicker) steel or aluminum plate would make a better product.

Anyone?

Here's the usual less-than-best photo of my last one; this from 2012 when I had that earlier Medium Saddlesack.

[Mike Godwin]

I'm impressed, but I recognize your priorities:  3 bottles of wine over other goods. :)) And what will one do with a quart of mayo?  I bought a 10-12 oz squeeze bottle of organic mayo from whole foods for car camping trips 5 months ago. Just tossed it Sunday after a trip to Death Valley this weekend because my ice ran out and ice chest items seemed warm. 

Mike SLO CA, enjoying a tall bottle of Figueroa Mountain Lizard Mouth Imperial India Pale Ale.