Cycling UK Forum

On the Carradice site,do the dimensions mentioned for bags with side pockets refer to the overall width including the side pockets, or just the central bit?

Silly question I know, but deciding which one to go for, and will my 35cm long pump fit inside or will I just need to strap it to the top!

the wooden dowel in my (ancient) Nelson is a gnats over 35cm long

cheers

My Pendle is 30cm inside so that's no good to you. The Barley is even smaller.

The dimensions given seem to be without pockets for example those for a Nelson and a Cadet which is a Nelson without side pockets are identical.


Model Volume (litres) Dimensions (cms) Pockets Weight (g)
Barley 9 h15 x d15 x w28 2 550
Junior 9 h18 x d15 x w30 0 440
Super C Audax 9 h16 x d15 x w28 2 610
Pendle 11 h18 x d15 x w30 2 610
Cadet 13 h21 x d20 x w35 0 630
College 15 h21 x d20 x w40 0 700
Nelson 15 h21 x d20 x w35 2 800
Nelson Longflap 18 h21 x d20 x w35 2 850
Super C 23 h28 x d17 x w48 2 880
Camper Longflap 24 h24 x d23 x w35 2 920

The Super C is wider than the LongFlap (48 vs 35)
whereas
the Super C is less deep than the LongFlap (17 vs 23):
whereas
the Super C is taller than the LongFlap (28 vs 24):

what about a bigger capacity variant of each?
eg deeper Super C or wider(&taller?) long flap?

I measured my husband's Barley carefully last year and it was spot on the measurements quoted - so actually 28cms wide. Even if the 35cm one is exactly that you will get extra from the diagonal.

I made my own modelled on his as I wanted to change the dimensions a bit:

https://www.facebook.com/54558419887521 ... =3&theater

Nicely done

I easily put pumps that are a bit "too long" inside bags by placing them diagonally, gaining and extra few cm.

There is a price to pay though Vantage, I am now tasked with making two for my husband, a Camper long flap sized affair and something else he has drawn up.

I am very busy with work right now though but the pressure is on, the demand for the Camper is now very urgent, he has to kill a night every other night in a B&B when he is at work.

Me not making the bag is cramping his style, he would be riding to B&Bs rather than driving to them if I had made it already .... we have got about 7 pairs of panniers in the barn.

I keep my Topeak Road Morph in the saddlebags
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/tope ... lsrc=aw.ds
It claims to be 35cm and is a perfect fit when I hang it from the wooden dowel with a pair of quick release cable ties.
It doesnt get in my way at all when filling and emptying the bag and I have quick easy access to it when I need it.
A perfect pairing, is that proof of "intelligent design"?

Thanks for all the replies - especially impressed by the self-made one!

Meic - that's the very pump! - and that's the very scenario I'm looking for - which saddlebag do you have?

Excellent analysis Pete75 - I might copy it! Your Cadet v Nelson comparison is what got me puzzled and made me think the dimensions excluded the pockets,which would be ideal.

What I'm looking to do if I go down that route is to have the pump always in/on the saddlebag in a way that lets me use the bag without having to mess around with the pump and, of course, with the bag on its handy carrier (oh for the Karrimor one I had years ago!) it's one less thing to remove from the bike when popping into the shop/library etc. So the pump would have to go in the bag as per Meic's scenario, or be permanently strapped on the top.

As ever, in the old days I could wander into the bike shop with pump in hand, and look at a selection of saddle bags. Not easy in South Birmingham! Maybe I should move to Harrogate or Bridgwater!

rmurphy195 wrote:Thanks for all the replies - especially impressed by the self-made one!

Meic - that's the very pump! - and that's the very scenario I'm looking for - which saddlebag do you have?

Excellent analysis Pete75 - I might copy it! Your Cadet v Nelson comparison is what got me puzzled and made me think the dimensions excluded the pockets,which would be ideal.

What I'm looking to do if I go down that route is to have the pump always in/on the saddlebag in a way that lets me use the bag without having to mess around with the pump and, of course, with the bag on its handy carrier (oh for the Karrimor one I had years ago!) it's one less thing to remove from the bike when popping into the shop/library etc. So the pump would have to go in the bag as per Meic's scenario, or be permanently strapped on the top.

As ever, in the old days I could wander into the bike shop with pump in hand, and look at a selection of saddle bags. Not easy in South Birmingham! Maybe I should move to Harrogate or Bridgwater!

Yep, that's my approach, and the main reason I no longer use a frame-fit pump. As soon as you stop you take out your lock and secure the bike, then remove the bag and walk into the shop / cafe. All your kit, including the pump, is already in the bag, along with your wallet. And a kit of pump, tubes, levers, multitool and chain link in each of your bags so you don't have to faff around packing it all before you go out. It works for me and although the initial outlay is greater the long term cost of having more than one pump or multitool is no more because you use each less and they wear out slower.

The pump is in my Carradura. The dowel is the same length as in my other which was sold to me as a Camper Longflap but has the weight and dimensions of a Nelson Longflap.

I've just bought a cadet as I'm not a huge fan of the pockets. I have a barley and the pockets are not really secure enough for the small items I'd like to use them for. The bigger ones might be better.

Those saddlebag pockets are quite useful for storing nibbles that can be reached while you are riding and if you lose a biscuit or two that could be very upsetting but not so expensive.