Carradice Saddlebag Question

[Pirahna]

I'm just mulling over luggage for a long trip later this year. At points it looks like I'll need to carry a few days food and water and capacity of something like a Carradice Long Flap could be useful. I know there's plenty of experience of them on here, any reason why I wouldn't use one? The terrain will be pretty rough in places. It'll be going on the back of a Jones, so no rack mounts.

All thoughts appreciated.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I've got a Super C (and another but I forget which) - surprisingly roomy, I once rode the length of Wales with it as my only piece of luggage. They can be a bit prone to bouncing about depending on load / terrain, so I've always found the additional support to be worthwhile.

I like the facr that the machinist who made it signs the inside - nice touch and a bit like Aston Martin's engine builders

[Wilkyboy]

I rode WRT last year with a Super C Audax (Barley-esque in size) on a Bagman 2 support and it was very stable. However, the bag+support are over a kilo in weight — nearly 1.5kg for the Longflap + Expedition rack — whereas the equivalent bike-packing bags are about 500g. Given that I managed to pack a whopping 16kg of luggage (incl. water) then perhaps the extra weight's not too much of a concern

If the cotton duck is either new or well-maintained, the bag itself should be fine in all weathers. I just gave mine its annual Barbour wax cotton treatment over Easter — brush it on and use a hairdryer to melt it into the cloth and it's as waterproof as it needs to be, even in Wales.

ISTR you can only get the classic Bagman support now — the v2 was discontinued. For off-road riding, I think the v2 is the better support when properly fitted, even if you have to get the extra collar to fit on your seatpost to provide support (in lieu of eyelets). The classic Bagman should still be okay, but it has a lot more bounce and isn't any lighter in spite of its looks, as it's steel where the v2 is aluminium.

[bearlymoving]

I once phoned Carradice about the v2 Bagman (I have one). They said they discontinued it because people kept breaking them, having chosen not to use the supporting struts for aesthetic reasons. The fools! I know of 3 people who've broken the v2 off road even though they did use the struts. I mentioned this to the (very nice) man at Carradice, but he hadn't heard of similar stories.

I really like my v2 Bagman, but wouldn't use it off road. Partly because I don't want to break it, and it's irreplaceable. I wouldn't try a v1 either, as friends who have them have pointed out they can rotate a bit.

I've had a Camper Long Flap for about 15 years. It's brilliant, but I wouldn't pick it for bikepacking again if I could fit what I wanted to carry in more modern bikepacking bags. As has already been mentioned, they're heavy. Only if the Carradice saved me from having to add fork cages/small racks that weighed as much as the Carradice would I consider it, and even then I'd only use it if the terrain wasn't going to be quite rough.

I use mine for commuting and long rides on the road bikes.

[Dr Nick]

I use a Carradice super c and bagman expeditoon on my commuter and it's been fine on gentle-ish off road - the kind of off road that shouldn't really be ridden on a 23c tyred fixed wheel folder!- with a heavy load.

I recall that Bigdummysteve of this parish uses a barman expedition off road - but with a drybag.

I've used a Carradice sqr bag - a tour or slim - the biggest one - and that's been fine off road but it's even heavier than the saddlebags!
If you're anywhere near thame you're welcome to try it and use it for your trip.

I think I also have a very patinated camper long flap that was about 20 years old when I got it 15 years ago - which you're also very welcome to borrow....

[Pirahna]

If you're anywhere near thame you're welcome to try it and use it for your trip

Thanks for the offer, I'm over near Stansted Airport and don't get over that way too often. I'm thinking about water carrying capacity mainly, maybe I'll need to be a bit more creative.