Decauler mounted handlebar bags

[Mike]

I've got a new bike on the way, a Rivendell AHH, that I'll eventually
be using with a handlebar bag, most likely a Jitensha, Berthoud, or
Ostrich. I know there are different types of decaulers, stem and fork
spacer style, and even front rack style now. I'm also aware that the
bags come in different heights. I'm curious how to go about picking
the right bag and decauler. Is it best to have the top of the bag even
with the top of the handlebar or a little below it? What else should I
be considering. Also, do holes need to be punched in these bags for
the decaulers?

The frame is a 63cm so the head tube will be tall. I noticed that the
Ostrich bag is only 220mm tall which seems like it will put it well
below the top of the bars. A large Berthoud seems to be the best way
to go. I have the front rack already and will definitely go with one
of these bags I'm just not sure which. The Ostrich is the most
attractive as I like the design and price.

Are there any web pages that explain the process? How did others go
about choosing and setting up their bags.

thanks,
mike

[Dave Cramer]

I've moved away from using decaleurs. I use a trick that was in an old
Riv Reader, and put a bolt through the front rack into the bottom of
the bag. This works really well with the shorter Berthoud Bags (GB 22
and 25), and I think it's more stable than a decaleur.

The Berthoud decaleur does require that you punch some small holes in
the bag. I have a custom decaleur that has vertical prongs that fit
through the spaces in the leather band at the top of Berthoud bags.

Dave

[DrCodfish]

Mike said:
“I've got a new bike on the way, a Rivendell AHH, that I'll
eventually
be using with a handlebar bag, …”

As with so many things there are lots of options (and opinions) for
front bags and many plusses and minuses. When I had my bike built I
specified that I wanted it to be designed for a front bag. The bike
designer fabricated the rack and decalier. He also added front light
mounts to the rack.

I ride with a Berthoud, it’s a big bag, maybe the biggest they make.
I had a decalier made that slips onto vertical prongs that extend up
from the rack. No modification to the bag was needed.

What I like about it:
First off, let me say I’m very happy with the set up, it’s a keeper,
especially with wider tires mounted. My ride is stable and plush and
stuff does not ‘dance’ in the bag much. There is very little tendency
for the wheel to flop. The bag is very handy for all the obvious
reasons. As I mentioned, I had my bike/fork designed to allow for a
weighted front bag. The ride is much more stable than any other bike
I have had. The rack/decalier arrangement I have makes removing and
replacing the bag very easy: just lift up and it’s off the rack. I
chose the large bag so that the top of the bag would be about level
with the bars. I’m not very flexible so my bars are up about at seat
height. I use the map case on the top of the bag for cue sheets and
thus I thought it would be important to have the h-bag top up near the
bars. This set up has worked great.
The Berthoud is extremely well made, but with such a tall bag I
decided to construct a bag stiffener/liner out of coroplast. If you
cut and measure very carefully (I did) you can make this from one
piece of coroplast that sits down inside the bag. One piece adds to
the stiffening greatly, and what rando steed in the NW would be
complete without some little custom coroplast detail? (tip of the hat
to Kent P). The Berthoud has interior flaps that fold down over the
sides of the liner which helps with the stability and keeps the liner
in place. Having the fork and bike geometry designed for a front bag
makes this a great way to carry the things you know you will want to
get at frequently (camera, snacks, brevet card, chap stick
endurolites, anything you use repeatedly The coroplast bag stiffener
is great, I would not change it. I also have a short nylon
‘leash’ (1/4” wide strap w/delrin snap) holding the bottom of the bag
to the rack. If I take a tumble this ought to keep the bag from
rolling over the hill side. It also offers a slight deterrence to
anyone who might want to grab it while I am lolling inside the
convenience store. Keeps the honest people honest I guess. I never
lock my bike so the easiest way to steal the bag would be to just get
on and ride.

What I would change:
I have learned a little thing about me. On board carrying capacity is
like closet space: The more room I have the more stuff I carry
along. Knowing that, I would have preferred a smaller front bag.
However, that would have meant a lower bag top or some sort of rack
design that puts the bottom of the bag up from the fender. My
compromise was to go with the bigger bag. Obviously less weight in
the bag offers better handling, but I think people tend not to realize
that the higher and farther out front the bag is mounted the more it
effect handing. Try to keep your load lower and closer to the heard
tube. I rode handlebar mounted bags that were like having a weight
mounted way out in front of the H-bar radius. They were harder to
ride and hell to park or hang onto when you were off the bike. No big
deal when you are fresh, but when you are bonked in the middle of the
night, who wants to wrestle with a python?

Many of my friends here have had a local craftsman build a bracket for
their decalier that mounts to the stem bolts (two bolt threadless
type) I have found that his makes the bag much more stable. I think
it is a better set up than mine and I might go to that set up some day
in the future.

Finally, I’ll say this was the result of lots of trial and error,
(more error than trial?) and a fair amount of thought. When you’re
slow there’s lots of thinking time on a 1000K brevet. I’ve always
said it’s good to learn from your mistakes, but it’s great to learn
from the mistakes of others. But mostly I learned by looking at
other’s set ups and talking with them, and I got a lot of good
information from Jan Heine’s writing and reporting in BQ, thanks Jan
and crew.
Hope this helps;

Yr Pal Dr Codfish

[jimg]

Earlier this year I built up a low-trail bike to experiment with a
front rack and bag. Since this was an experiment and I wasn't sure of
the results -- whether I'd actually LIKE having a front bag -- I
decided on a DIY approach so I could keep things cheap. I bought a
$30 handlebar bag from Performance, and a $10 front rack from Nashbar,
and modified/fabricated my own "decaleur" bag-support/quick-release.
See http://flickr.com/photos/jimg/2620194638/

I'm happy to report that this sub-$50 setup works great!

-Jim G

[WillemJ]

I like modern waterproof bags such as made by Ortlieb and Vaude. Their
otherwise highly practical handlebar bag mounting systems have two
disadvantages, however. The first is that it is hard to mount the bag
as low and and close to the headtube as possible (you need an
accessory bar to get the bag precisely where you want it), and the
second is that the adapters (Ortlieb or Klickfix) look big and clumsy
because of all the plastic (and using an accessory bar makes the whole
thing even bigger). So I wondered if anyone has ever made a decaleur
style adapter for such bar bags. Klickfix would be enough since it
will also fit modern Ortliebs.
Willem

[WillemJ]

In the meantime I found a solution for one half of the problem: a
Klickfix adapter that mounts to the stem (threaded forks only):
http://www.klickfix.de/index.php?lang=en (go to handlebar adaptor for
stem). You can flip it around, and then the bag will sit really low. I
don't think it looks nice, ít prevents you from mounting a light on
the fork crown, and it is not for heavy front bags. Within those
limitations, however, it could be a useful way to better locate a
Klickfix or Ortlieb bag. I keep looking for a nice solution, however.
Willem

[littlecircles :: mikeb]

I've used a second stem under my primary.
Mount a short bit of handlebar (dumpster dive at your LBS) and leave
the plastic block mounted.


Works well enough to get the bag lower. Certainly not sitting right
above the tire...

And if I remember correctly - isnt' the Ortlieb attachment point
bolted or rivented to the bag somehow? Seems you could easily unbolt
or unrivet and mount a small piece of aluminum that could attach to a
rack...

-Mike

[jimg]

I bet you could use the Klickfix "Handlebar adapter Caddy", modified
slightly, to clamp to the backstop of a Nitto M-12 front rack, or
similar. Or bolt it to a custom fabricated "decaleur" similar to what
I did on my bike.

-Jim G

[Randon Nerd]

On Sat, Sep 20, 2008 at 10:53 AM, Jan Heine <hei...@earthlink.net> wrote:

...  I don't think you can have too much. I often
start a brevet with my bag half-empty. Then it gets warm, I take off
clothes, and the bag is full. In fact, a problem during a 600, where
I carry all the food for the entire ride, is that the bag is full at
the start. If it gets warm before I have eaten much, the bag is
overflowing with long-sleeve jersey, leg warmers, etc.

When I pack, I do not look at the volume of my bag, but I lay out the
things I need, calculate the food, etc. For a single person, it
always fits in the bag, usually with room to spare.

Jan -

You must eat like a bird!!! 

Even with the largest Berthold front bag I can't even begin to think of carrying all of the food I need for a 200K, let alone a 600K or a 1200K!!! (Which is why I supplement my diet off "good old diner food - when available, hopefully 2X or 3X per day with extra large strawberry shakes from Mickey D's.)

RN

[George Swain]

12-15 Clif bars?!? Wow, consider yourself lucky, Jan. For some
reason, after 200-300K I cannot really tolerate the taste nor
consistency of the sweet, gummy energy bars I normally enjoy. I am
experimenting with more robust liquid nutrition for this reason. I
have a tub of Perpetuem I'm hoping might do the trick.

Has anyone tried the new Kinesis Top Tube bag avaiable from B&B Gear?
It's not a replacement for a full front bag, but I ordered one to
suppliment my rear bag (Detours High Tail Exp UL) since I have STI
shifters, tend to travel light, and wanted just a few things up front.

George



On Sep 20, 8:08 pm, Jan Heine <hein...@earthlink.net> wrote:

> At 3:57 PM -0400 9/20/08, Randon Nerd wrote:
>
> >Even with the largest Berthold front bag I can't even begin to think
> >of carrying all of the food I need for a 200K, let alone a 600K or a
> >1200K!!! (Which is why I supplement my diet off "good old diner food
> >- when available, hopefully 2X or 3X per day with extra large
> >strawberry shakes from Mickey D's.)
>

> I eat about 190-230 calories per hour, less toward the end of a long
> ride. Mostly energy bars, with an Ensure Plus drink every 4 hours or
> so. Bananas if I can find ripe ones. It depends a bit on the course,
> too. During the pre-ride for the SIR Fall 600 km course, I ate more
> than usual and had to buy some extra food along the way.
>
> For a 600 km brevet, that means about 12-15 Clif Bars and perhaps 6-7
> cans of Ensure Plus. Those easily fit in a medium-size Berthoud bag
> together with a small rainjacket, two spare tubes and perhaps some
> thin booties, plus overgloves.
>
> At high efforts, my stomach does not tolerate hard-to-digest foods,
> so diners and milk shakes are out of the question. Everybody's
> dietary approach probably differs.
>
> When I am cyclotouring, I eat much less, and usually eat real meals 3
> times a day. But I don't expect to cover many miles after lunch, much
> less after dinner!
>
> Jan Heine
> Editor
> Bicycle Quarterly
> 140 Lakeside Ave #C
> Seattle WA 98122www.bikequarterly.com

[George Evans]

I have a Kinesis Top Tube bag and it's pretty well thought out and nicely constructed..  It's larger than the typical Bento Box though perhaps not quite as accessible since it has a zippered top.  The control card pocket is a nice touch as is the movable divider.