I bought this pannier over a year ago but I neglected to write about it at the time. It has quietly served its purpose every day since then. You might expect that a pannier which changes into a backpack is an obvious idea serving an obvious need, but this is the only bag on the market I have found which does this at an acceptable price.
The styling of the bag suggests it is aimed at the sporting end of the market. This worried me, as leisure cyclists are not likely to clip and unclip the bag from the rack several times each day. Luckily, other than a few scuffs and bruises, the bag seems to have held up reasonably well to daily use.
The Good:
- Fairly quick conversion between backpack and pannier
- Comfortable enough when used as backpack
- Includes rain-cover
- Includes clip-on helmet holder (which can also be used for more useful things)
- Side pockets
- Laptop compartment
- Includes two sets of clips to cover a range of rack tube diameters up to 20 mm (as on the V1 Yuba Mundo and the Kona Africa Bike)
- Clips adjustable to ensure a snug fit
The Bad:
- Main clips are not directly replaceable
- Lower clip is of minimal benefit, fiddly to use and prone to getting caught in spokes and snapping (mine is somewhere in the canal between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden)
Here is the back of mine after over a year of daily use.
The bag straps unzip from behind the pannier clips.
Laptop compartment (laptop not included).
Overall, I’d still recommend this bag, despite the loss of the lower clip. The upper clips are not directly replaceable, but like many things you could come up with your own solution if necessary. Wearing a backpack whilst cycling is uncomfortable, and carrying a pannier whilst walking is uncomfortable. The Cycle 25 is one of the only bags out there to solve this problem, at a reasonable price and with reasonable durability when used every day.
The bag looks similar to a bag I got from MEC a few years back:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442619352&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302693397
it seems to work fine as a convertible daypack/pannier, but to be honest, I barely use the thing.
What I want (and covet) are the handmade convertible backpacks/panniers of Curtis of North St. Bags, made here in Portland, Oregon:
http://northstbags.com/products/the_woodward/
http://northstbags.com/products/the_avenue_b/
They ain't cheap but they sure are beautiful and well made!
Looks handy.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever need to replace the top hooks I can recommend Ortlieb QL hooks. I modified some to fit my old panniers & they are simply the mutts nutts - locking around your rack tubing rather than just hooking over, with an easy quick release.
You can see them just about ***here***.
My favourite carryable bike bag is the Brompton C-Bag (a messenger style bag that fits to the front luggage block on the Brompton).
ReplyDelete@adventure!
ReplyDeleteLooks nice, never seen it in any UK shops/website though. Glad to see the basic idea has more than one taker. The handmade bags look nice too, it is always nice to buy those kinds of goods, but often the accompanying expense is a barrier.
@ian...
I did consider something like that for when they need replacing. the thing I like about the current clips is that I can swap them so I can use the bag on the Yuba. I have yet to find wrap-around clips which can handle the Yuba's girth.
@John,
I admire the range of accessories available for the Brompton, and their apparent quality. It seems to fit in with the modular, upgradeable approach of Brompton's business, which is most respectable.
Hi, Ive just bought one of these but can't figure out how you fit the lower clip to the bike. I note that you don't use it but doesn't the lower part of the bag rattle as a result?
ReplyDelete@bff49172-8c38-11e0-9215-000f20980440
ReplyDeleteThe lower clip is meant to be fed through the upper strap on the bag, around the "leg" of the rack (if your rack has one) and then through the lower strap, with the hook holding it in place. I don't use it anymore due to it snapping, but I have never had any trouble with the bag swaying on corners as long as the upper clips are adjusted so they grip the rack tubing sufficiently tightly.