Cycling UK Forum

Hi
I finally bought myself a Carradice Barley bag and invested in an SQR bracket. Now trying to fit the bag to the SQR system and am scratching my head. The photocopied instructions provided by CArrdice aren't exactly hi-res, so not that easy to figure out.
Understand the bit at the bottom, leather strap loops around the bottom part of the bracket. The top I am struggling with. The two leather straps are meant to loop around the wooden pole/stick inside the bag and as far as I can tell, if used with the SQR bracket also loop (on the outside of the bag) around the top bit of the bracket. However, I would have expected the top of the bracket to be aligned to the width of the holes in the bag (where the leather straps go through (or vice versa). Or am I getting this wrong? Anyone can post a photo of their fitting, please.

thanks

Martin

You are on the right track with the straps that would normally attach to saddle loops.

The strap goes from inside the bag, under the wooden rod, out of the hole in the bag, through the metal loop on the SQR frame, back through the hole in the bag, over the wooden rod and buckles to the other end (inside the bag) ... BUT you are probably finding as I have that the distance between the holes in the bag isn't the same as the width of the SQR frame?? (I also found this with Cadet and Nelson Longflap bags when using the SQR or a Bagman ... and the loops on a Brooks saddle))

The trick it seems is to thread the straps as I've described - but leave the first one very loose while you thread the second one - and then pull the two straps up tight, together, and the bag then fits the frame ... albeit with a bit of strain on the bag holes as the straps are not in perfect alignment.

That's the best I can do to describe the fitting! - the real problem is the handmade nature of the bags and slightly imprecise position/width of the strap holes.

Rob

+1.....with both a very old (1960s) Nelson Longflap and a modern Barley (well, the Super C Audax actually). No ill effects to date.

Ok, that works BUT ... I cannot fit the SQR on the seat post in such a way that I can then fit the metal bit that's attached to the bag onto the SQR on the seat post. There isn't enough room under the saddle, top hits bottom of rear end of saddle. I looked at all the pics on the web and I know I've got it fitted the right way 'round but it seems that the angle of the bit that fits onto the bag is too small (i.e. it comes too close to the saddle???)

Any ideas?

Martin

malverncyclist wrote:Ok, that works BUT ... I cannot fit the SQR on the seat post in such a way that I can then fit the metal bit that's attached to the bag onto the SQR on the seat post. There isn't enough room under the saddle, top hits bottom of rear end of saddle. I looked at all the pics on the web and I know I've got it fitted the right way 'round but it seems that the angle of the bit that fits onto the bag is too small (i.e. it comes too close to the saddle???)

Any ideas?

Martin

If I'm understanding what you mean you can bend the frame a bit so the bag is further back from the saddle .... but it may just be that you don't have enough seatpost sticking out of the frame?

Rob

Have a look at this, it really seems as if the upper bit is angled much more tightly than what I've seen on the web?!

Martin

Compared to mine that does look a tad bent.

sorted. Rang Carradice and they told me that they bend these things by hand (steel) and that's obviously not always 100% the same. I now bent it to just about fit with a bag on it but will go to my bike shop later who has a vice and carefully bend it a bit more.

Martin

malverncyclist wrote:sorted. Rang Carradice and they told me that they bend these things by hand (steel) and that's obviously not always 100% the same. I now bent it to just about fit with a bag on it but will go to my bike shop later who has a vice and carefully bend it a bit more.

Martin

Indeed - the downside of lovingly hand-crafted products - variations in the hole distance and frame shape!

The next thing to watch out for with an SQR is the "angle of swing downwards" as you connect it to the block. I have one machine where the SQR Tour bag will not mount to the block as it fouls the rear wheel when it's swung down and you can't get the top section into the block. (You'll need to be there to understand!)

I also have a Barley on an SQR ... to support the bag I found and old-style "saddle bag support" (the type that clamped to the top of the rear stay) and clamped that to the pair of bars under the bag. Works a treat.

Rob