Mini Alex Singer bag details

[Carlos Pinto]

A few people have asked me to elaborate on this bag so here is a photo
set.
As they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24424213@N06/sets/72157627083869378/

Enjoy and pass it along

cheers
Carlos

[WMdeR]

Dear Carlos,

Thank you for the photos. I've always liked that bag.

Best Regards,

Will

[Chris Lowe]

Is that bag a one-off or a production item? 

Chris Lowe

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[Chris Lowe]

Interesting, never seen it at any of the usual Berthound sellers. The size is very appealing to me. I  have the Velo Orange copy of the TA bag and find it to be a bit much for almost all my rides. My rain jacket compresses to the size of a Clif Bar and most of the rest of what I carry is also pretty small and light. I don't have any multi-day ride plans in my foreseeable future so a bag the size of the classic TA is overkill.

Chris Lowe

On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 10:20 AM, Jan Heine <hei...@earthlink.net> wrote:

It's a production item. It used to be sold only by Cycles Alex Singer, but it appears you now can get them elsewhere.

The bag fits over the backstop of the rack. It's designed as a snug fit on Alex Singer racks, so it may not fit every rack...

It's a neat bag if you carry only a few small things. A small raincoat, spare tube, Mafac tools and wallet will fit nicely.

Since it's so small and since it's firmly attached to the rack backstop, there is no need for a connection to the handlebars or a decaleur.

Jan Heine
Editor

Bicycle Quarterly

http://www.bikequarterly.com

Follow our blog at http://janheine.wordpress.com/

At 10:13 AM -0700 6/30/11, Chris Lowe wrote:

Is that bag a one-off or a production item?

Chris Lowe

On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 6:37 AM, Carlos Pinto <cpl...@sympatico.ca> wrote:

A few people have asked me to elaborate on this bag so here is a photo set.
 As they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24424213@N06/sets/72157627083869378/

Enjoy and pass it along

cheers
Carlos

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[james black]

On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 11:39, Chris Lowe <cyclocros...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Interesting, never seen it at any of the usual Berthound sellers. The size
> is very appealing to me.

Anybody know how this compares to the Berthoud Mini 86 bag in size?

James Black
Los Angeles, CA

[Chris Lowe]

It's more about having things not rattle around and not needing a decaleur. I have a small knapsack that folds up to the size of an inner tube for unexpected stops.

Chris Lowe

On Jun 30, 2011, at 13:19, Jan Heine <hei...@earthlink.net> wrote:

> At 11:39 AM -0700 6/30/11, Chris Lowe wrote:
>> Interesting, never seen it at any of the usual Berthound sellers. The size is very appealing to me. I have the Velo Orange copy of the TA bag and find it to be a bit much for almost all my rides. My rain jacket compresses to the size of a Clif Bar and most of the rest of what I carry is also pretty small and light. I don't have any multi-day ride plans in my foreseeable future so a bag the size of the classic TA is overkill.
>

> It's a nice size if you know you won't pick up anything.
>
> I often return from a ride with friends and buy vegetables at the farmers' market on the way home. The extra capacity comes in handy. The larger bag doesn't weigh much more, it's more aero, so the drawbacks are few.
>
> My "Singer Special" bag sees very little use.

>
> Jan Heine
> Editor
> Bicycle Quarterly

> 2116 Western Ave.
> Seattle WA 98121

> http://www.bikequarterly.com
>
> Follow our blog at http://janheine.wordpress.com/

> --

[Ronald Lau]

James,

Mini 86 is little larger than this Singer bag. I and Gabe found the
side pockets on the 86 not very useful, I have not use them once on mine.

Ron

[Harold Bielstein]

So is that the GB 2086 bag?

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>

Hal Bielstein
hkbie...@rap.midco.net

[Robert Markwardt]

So where can I buy one of these little jewels?



On Jun 30, 8:38 pm, Jan Heine <hein...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> One thing that should be stressed is that the lack of top support
> works for the Alex Singer bag, because:
>
> 1. The entire back of the bag is supported on the backstop, as the
> backstop slides into the stiff leather pouch on the rear of the rack.
> This means that the bag cannot flop from side to side.
>
> 2. The bag is very small. It doesn't carry a lot of weight, and the
> weight has little leverage, because it doesn't sit very high. This
> means it cannot flex the backstop very much.
>
> Trying to support a full-size handlebar bag from the rack platform
> only results in a lot of swaying. You can see that when you follow a
> rider with a rack trunk... which is why most serious riders prefer
> saddlebags, which are supported at the top.
>
> Jan Heine
> Editor
> Bicycle Quarterlyhttp://www.bikequarterly.com
>
> Follow our blog athttp://janheine.wordpress.com/

[Nick Payne]

Gilles Berthoud sells online: http://www.gillesberthoud.fr/anglais.

Nick

[Chris Lowe]

Except they don't seem to list the bag in question.

Chris Lowe

[Renold Yip]

No decaleur required here.  And bag size can be big or small as you would prefer. I do not like the whole decaleur idea at all.

Renold Yip

YiPsan Bicycles

www.yipsanbicycles.com
www.yipsanbicycles.blogspot.com

www.flickr.com/photo/renold_y/

970.672.0168

[kirojira]

I apologize to those that are now tempted by this little jewel, And
your welcome to those who just enjoyed looking at another detail of
something that is out there.
I agree with allot of what Jan has pointed out about the limitations
of this bag. I'd like to add that the back panel that the two outside
pouches are attached to is double layered and between the material is
some sort of reinforcement(possibly plastic) this further prevents
rocking as the snug fitting leather patch that attaches to the rack
seems to be stitched to the reinforcement. Very well thought out. I've
seen these little bags on sportif racing bikes in Europe. They where
almost always attached to a Mafac "Racer" brake with the TA rack
atached. That is what tempted me. In other words...
I use this bag instead of a saddle bag to carry the bare minimum on
my go fast short ride sportif. No fenders !!! Just my racing bike. Or
I'll use it on a bike with a sadle bag as well for a longer ride. As
most women will point out... You can never have to many bags... Just
too much baggage.

I've thought about attaching a toe strap to the bottom (like the mini
86) to solve some rack compatibility problems and making it rock solid
performer on really rough roads.
Cheers
Carlos

[Alex Wetmore]

I use Ortlieb hooks around the front of the rack instead of a decaleur too.  It scales nicely with bag size, my handlebar height and headtube length don't matter, and the bag is very secure.

This is a small rack setup for this style of mounting:
http://alexandchristine.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Racks/Ivy-T-Rack/16026658_UWf2c#1202588929_VLAfJ

That rack weighs around 150 grams, including the headlight mount that has since been added.

Here is a similar rack (although not as elegant) showing how the Ortlieb hooks attach:
http://alexandchristine.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Racks/Curvy-Handlebar-Bag-Rack/6871929_gh4sR#447255745_qqS9p

I get my Ortlieb hooks as spare parts from Ortlieb USA:
http://www.ortliebusa.com/CartGenie/prod-126.htm
http://www.ortliebusa.com/CartGenie/prod-181.htm

I even make my porteur racks have a crossbar at the right location for use with my handlebar bags:
http://alexandchristine.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Bicycles/Gifford/11070915_KrDJC#775041160_FzNCV
http://alexandchristine.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Bicycles/Gifford/11070915_KrDJC#775041082_aR7fL

The rack usually carries a much larger bag (the brown one in the same set), but I like being able to bring along this small Acorn bag if I'm going for a ride where I don't need to carry much.

I like the simple elegance of your solution though Renold.  I may have to try it myself on another bike.

alex

---

From: 65...@googlegroups.com [65...@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Renold Yip [lugs...@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 6:43 PM
To: Chris Lowe
Cc: Jan Heine; Carlos Pinto; 65...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [650B] Mini Alex Singer bag details

[kirojira]

I forgot to mention that you can get it without the map window. Just a
plain top
One of my friends uses this style. I like to have the option of a map
as I'm new
to the area I now live in.

Cheers

On Jun 30, 9:37 am, Carlos Pinto <cpl...@sympatico.ca> wrote:

[Ely Rodriguez]

Hey Carlos, if you are in the bay area, give me a call, I'll put a toe strap loop on the bottom of the bag for you.

I have a free arm sewing sewing machine for leather/canvas.

I'm planning to do the same for a friends bag. 

Does anyone have suggestions as to modifications to this bag if they were to make one?

I know the size is very limiting and not practical for every day use or carrying a lot of gear.

Ron mentioned the lack of use for the side pockets.

Carlos mentions the toe strap underneath.

Any other suggestions?

Colors, size, or construction?

-Ely

[Renold Yip]

Thanks Alex, but as Carlos has pointed out and noted on my own little clip, it was Singer's idea. The drawing that Carlos attached was half of what I saw and got me wondering why no one was doing it today.

The platform is wider than most front rack in production today, but it gives better support to the bag, and with the front hooked to the bottom of the bag, they is no sway or bounce at all. I need to find a way to ride on some rough road and shoot a clip to show this.

The bag is made by Watanabe, with the leather feature custom added, and rack made to match. This one is based on their Samurai model, which is quite close in capacity to Berthoud 22, and I find it just right in aesthetic and capacity. 

Have a nice day.

Renold Yip

YiPsan Bicycles

www.yipsanbicycles.com
www.yipsanbicycles.blogspot.com

www.flickr.com/photo/renold_y/

970.672.0168

[Ronald Lau]

Ely,

I have an older bag (could be TA, but the color is like TA) that is
close to the size of Mini 86. However, it does not has side pockets,
has two rear pockets BUT it uses press lock. I found a press lock is
easier to work with one hand opening or closing it. Also, the size is
just right for my lunch box too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19694929@N00/3279269776/in/set-72157608715925613
http://kingcamry.en.busytrade.com/selling_leads/info/1039487/Handbag-Lock-bag-Lock-turn-Lock-press-Lock-case-Lock-luggage.html

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[Ely Rodriguez]

Ronald,

I have a set of those locks, I'll try them on a bag. I like the size of that one, on your Bilenky. 

I need to come over and check out all of your bikes, and perhaps test ride your wifes bike too!

-Ely

[Ronald Lau]

Ely,

Out of town till next Thursday, otherwise, anytime you want is good.

r

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