# Who makes this seat bag?



## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Rivendell has a photo of this seat bag as an illustration for one of the bike racks, but they apparently don't sell the bag. Anyone know who makes this bag?


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## brianmcg (Oct 12, 2002)

It looks like one made by Frost River for Rivendell. www.frostriver.com
Or it could be by Deluth Pack.

I have one of their smaller saddle bags (Frost River). I like it a lot.


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## FrontRanger (May 19, 2004)

Looks like a Frost River to me as well. I wonder how well those loops will connect to a seat without the tabs(just rails).


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

*Close but no cigar*

It's similar but not the same one.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

prob one of the designs that grant had commissioned, sold under the rivendell badge, and apparently sold out of... while their bags look great, good luck getting any kind of response from frost river


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## brianmcg (Oct 12, 2002)

tarwheel2 said:


> It's similar but not the same one.


That is the smaller one I have. 

Frost River made the bags for Rivendell as FatTire said. I think Ebay will be your best bet if you really want that bag. Deluth pack also made some bags for Rivendell. Now I think all of the bags Riv sells are from Nigel Smythe.


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## treebound (Oct 16, 2003)

It looks similar to the Carradice line of bags.


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## Eiron (Sep 9, 2006)

*It's Little Joe!*

I love it! It was made by Duluth Pack, but I don't see any bike luggage on their website any more. When I got mine (two years ago) it was $90. It's great for commuting. If I leave my shoes at work, I can carry lunch & an entire change of work clothes (as long as I'm allowed to wear shorts & a polo shirt) for the ride in. For the ride home, I can stuff in all my work clothes & all my extra morning wear (polypro tights, barrier socks, long sleeve wool top, wool headband, storm gloves, wool glove liners & windproof jacket). If I were going to get another commuter bag today, I'd probably pick up the Gunflint Trail. It's big enough to let me carry more clothing options on those season-transition days.

I think the closest thing you can find to the Little Joe today (for size & look) is the Carradice Barley. Here's a good comparison between the two. I think the Barley has about the same overall capacity, but the main compartment is smaller & they make it up with side pockets.

For about the same size as the Little Joe but with a touch more "high style" attitude, you can go with the Ostrich Saddle Bag. Two less expensive options with a bit more carrying capacity are the Carradice Junior & Pendle bags. I don't care for the black cotton duck, myself.


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## Gregory Taylor (Mar 29, 2002)

*No Loops? Get A Clamp.*



FrontRanger said:


> Looks like a Frost River to me as well. I wonder how well those loops will connect to a seat without the tabs(just rails).


Carradice makes a clamp for those with saddles that are sans loops:
http://www.wallbike.com/carradice/clamp.html

Wallingford Bike has a good selection of Carridice bags. Good shop -- excellent service.


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

With small bags like those, you can get away with looping the straps on the saddle rails. Both my Rivendell Banana and Carradice Barley bags hang from my saddle rails, no problem.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Eiron -- Thanks for all the info and links. That's what I love about this web site. The Barley looks pretty close to my needs, but it seems pretty wide (as do as lot of these bags). That's one reason why I like the one I orginally posted about, the Little Joe. Perhaps I send Duluth and email to see if they still have any of those around.

What I'm looking for is a commuting bag. Currently I'm using a rear rack and cheapo Performance rack bag. I've got an Brooks B-17 I could put on that bike, and it has attachments for loops at the rear for a large seatbag. So I was thinking about putting the Brooks on my commuter, removing the rack, and using a big seat bag. My frame isn't really designed for using a rack (no eyelets, racing geometry), so a large seat bag might be a better option.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

*Barley*

I have the Barley for my new commuter. I wasn't planning on using a saddlebag but ordered it on a whim. Once I saw it, I didn't want to use anything else. If you're worried about it being too wide, I never notice it's on the bike while I'm riding.
































I use a combination of hooks/washers to make the bag easier to get on and off. So far, it hasn't come loose. I also attached a strap. This way I can quickly take it off the bike when I lock it and carry it with me.


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## Eiron (Sep 9, 2006)

*I've got the same situation*

Like yours, my bike is also racing geometry & lacks eyelets. I put a B-17 on it about 3 or 4 yrs ago & could immediately ride much longer w/o getting the hot spots I got on my most comfortable "racing" saddle. I rode for 15 yrs with various backpacks before I got the Little Joe. After using a good saddle bag, I don't see ever using a backpack again unless I absolutely have to. (I'll probably still use my Mountainsmith lumbar pack, since I don't mind using that as much.) The load is also much closer to your own center of gravity than when it's on a rack. It's kind of a butt extension ("baggage butt"?) so the extra weight doesn't cantilever out & affect bike handling nearly as much. You might also contact Frost River to see if they have anything like the Little Joe in the works.

This past Christmas I got the Velo Orange Seatbag, which is yet another take-off of the Gilles Berthoud Seatbag. It's made for VO by Frost River. I put it on the stem/bars & it creates a much better place to keep my tube, repair kit, wallet, keys, cellphone, cleat covers & door badge. I can also stuff my arm warmers, glove liners & vest in it without having to stop & open up the Little Joe when I start to get too warm on my morning commute. It's a much better setup than just the Little Joe alone.

If you end up with any waxed cotton gear, be sure to get something like this to keep it conditioned. I re-proofed the Little Joe after about a year & a half. I also had to add some leather to the bottom to protect the area above the tire. It dragged once & quickly wore a hole in the cotton duck.

Let us know what your bag search turns up!


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

DrRoebuck, I like what you did there with the hooks on the Barley. Great idea!


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

roadfix said:


> DrRoebuck, I like what you did there with the hooks on the Barley. Great idea!


Thanks! It works great. I doubled up the washers to get the back as close to the saddle as possible. It has yet to come loose while riding (one side came loose when I was running only one washer).


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## brianmcg (Oct 12, 2002)

Those hooks are awesome. Can you give some instructions for that. I will have to do that.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

I'll post pictures later today when I'm back from work. Stay tuned ...


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

How much weight do you folks carry in those seat bags? Do they prevent you from using a small tool bag too?

I keep a small underseat toolbag with flat stuff and small tools on all of our bikes. We carry suff in butt packs (we ALWAYS wear our buttpacks) messenger bags or our BOB. But those large seat bags do look useful and I am thinking about revising my Rambouillet setup so..........tell all.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

Just posted a photo tutorial for the hooks here.

MB, I have a small tool bag that I port from bag to bag. It sits nicely at the bottom of most bags, or in the side pockets of my Chrome.

I'll stuff my saddlebag silly: arm/leg warmers, snacks, Nikon D70, tool bag, glasses case.

As for the tool bag, all my essentials are in it:

1) On-Guard skewer keys for two bikes
2) two CO2 cartridges
3) spare tube
4) small patch kit (not pictured)
5) Pedro's ratcheting 15mm socket for the fixte wheel (soooo nice)
6) small little wrench thing for the chain tensioners
7) CO2 nozzle
8) Topeak multi-tool (with tire levers on each side; the best one ever made)
9) asthma inhaler (hardly ever used)


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## Eiron (Sep 9, 2006)

*What kind of weight?*

Sorry, I've never measured my junk by weight. It's more a matter of volume for me. Clothing, food, repair accessories, etc. The Little Joe has a bigger main compartment than the Barley. This comparison kinda shows the difference in the side shot, but I really don't like the way he's stuffed the small wedge bag between the LJ & the saddle. You can see that it really takes a lot of volume out of it that way. I run mine right against the post & I can cram stuff into it way up under the saddle that way. I've never had any issues with the bag hitting the backs of my legs. And I run my B-17 all the way back on its rails, too.

The LJ has "slash" pockets inside the L/R ends for things like wallet, keys, change, etc, but I got tired of having to open it up whenever I wanted any of that stuff. Oh, & my change kept falling out every time I put the bike in the back of the Saab for my hybrid commute. Once I added the Velo Orange seat bag to the handlebars, that solved all my small items issues with the LJ. It also meant that I didn't have to stop any more if all I wanted to do was remove my vest or change my gloves. It's a fantastic setup for me. Obviously, the Barley has separate zippered side pockets, so you wouldn't lose/mix any small junk into the main compartment. But you'd still have to pull over to get at anything in those pockets. And as packed as my LJ is when I carry my morning gear back to the car in the afternoon, I think I'd still have to wear a lumbar pack after cramming my clothing roll into the smaller main compartment of the Barley. Of course, that's just my commute setup.

Like *tarwheel2* mentioned, I was also concerned with bag width when I first started looking at these transverse saddle bags. But as *DrRoebuck* pointed out, it quickly became obvious that width really wasn't an issue. That's why I'd probably get a Frost River Gunflint Trail bag if I were to buy another one today.


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