I find myself thinking I should upgrade my DrJon cradle thingy. Mainly cos itaybe looks cooler than what I already have
Obviously I could get the drybag from Revelate and get closer to that system but I probabaly will end up getting the Revate or Salsa at some point in future anyway.

So... the pros and cons that I can see already in the 3 systems I just mentioned.

Revate Harness.

£115 but comes without drybag.
Add a salty roll double ender for £40.
Can be used on the mtb with SaltyRoll bag but also can be used on the road bike with a fatter but narrower drybag.
The malleability of the rubber bar bungs means it might even wrap around the road-aero bars. Appears to be in stock at Backcountry Scot.

Salsa EXP cradle.


Price about £120 but doesn't seem to be in UK stock
Heavier than the other two systems.
With the adaptor that won't fit my aero bars.
Won't need to strap it with the 3rd tie at the headtube/forks crown.
Seems rock solid and won't bounce about on the bikes at all.
Similar to what I already have in the drJon plate which I could just get the saltyroll drybag for.
Will need an additional drybag at another cost of whatever I price I go for. Thinner, lighter ones are also flimsier.

Revate Pronghorn

Comes as a complete system with dyneema drybag.
Peice as a whole system seems to be £170.
The dyneema bag will probably wear out.
Comes in lovely blue which really brightens up my day.
When the dyneema weara out I'm still left with the 'friend for life' harness.
Can't see any uk stock.
Likely lighter than the other two systems by 100g or so...

Shaf, I've the Revelate Saltyroll bag and if you don't pack it well/properly it droops more than a German pornstar's moustache

I'd also look at the Wildcat Lion harness, similar to the Pronghorn but fits to the fork crown rather than the head tube so you don't get abrasion as the harness "sits off" the frame. £80 plus dry bag rather than the £170 that the Pronghorn is.

whitestone wrote: ↑Sun Jul 10, 2022 12:46 pm Shaf, I've the Revelate Saltyroll bag and if you don't pack it well/properly it droops more than a German pornstar's moustache

I'd also look at the Wildcat Lion harness, similar to the Pronghorn but fits to the fork crown rather than the head tube so you don't get abrasion as the harness "sits off" the frame. £80 plus dry bag rather than the £170 that the Pronghorn is.

didn't know that about german pornstars - might help if I'm ever the 'friend being phoned' for a million

Has this system of the Wildcat Lion been changed at all since its inception Bob. I remmeber it being really good but then always being a bit of a complex fuddle to get back on right (dyslexia). £80 plus drybag does sound really good and I think my Wildcat framebag is still going nicely (can't recall if I did sell it).

Pretty much the same I think. If you are swapping it between bikes then once you have it set up for one it's worth noting down the positions of the two lower sliders so you get it right first time next time.

OTOH I've not had any droop problems with my Revelate combo. Could just be down to packing differently. I guess that any heavy items jammed in the ends - further out than the harness supports - could weigh the end down a bit?

The only problem I've had is that the straps on the bars loosen off a bit over time. I tend to notice this most after an overnight stop. The current version has a slightly different strap arrangement that looks to solve the problem.

Also - I fit the lower strap on my Revelate Harness round the fork crown, not the headtube.


The thing that has always put me off about the Wildcat is that it looks difficult to fit a light to the bar without the beam being affected by the top of the bar. Is that not a problem in practice?

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Sun Jul 10, 2022 3:16 pm OTOH I've not had any droop problems with my Revelate combo. Could just be down to packing differently. I guess that any heavy items jammed in the ends - further out than the harness supports - could weigh the end down a bit?

The only problem I've had is that the straps on the bars loosen off a bit over time. I tend to notice this most after an overnight stop. The current version has a slightly different strap arrangement that looks to solve the problem.

Also - I fit the lower strap on my Revelate Harness round the fork crown, not the headtube.


The thing that has always put me off about the Wildcat is that it looks difficult to fit a light to the bar without the beam being affected by the top of the bar. Is that not a problem in practice?

When I fitted mine it looked like it would interfere so I erred on the side of caution and bought a bar extender to raise the light - the extender worked so well I've not gone back to see if I could have fixed it with better strap placement.

The only problem I've had is that the straps on the bars loosen off a bit over time. I tend to notice this most after an overnight stop. The current version has a slightly different strap arrangement that looks to solve the problem.

Also - I fit the lower strap on my Revelate Harness round the fork crown, not the headtube.


The thing that has always put me off about the Wildcat is that it looks difficult to fit a light to the bar without the beam being affected by the top of the bar. Is that not a problem in practice?

I think I'm getting from this that it's the harness that I want. Especially since I liked the Wildcat whilst I had it, but then sold it on due the faff (in my head) getting it on and off.. Can't remember how I had my light byt pretty certain I had it raised above the bars somehow (probably just the 2fish block with my Nitecore torch at that time.

Colin, yes according the bikepskcing.com they've managed to fix that problem which I too ysed to notice on my fully integrated Revelate bag. Also, do you have your carbon forks wrapped in something at the fork crown. Or does it all move together well enough to not worry?

Bob, that price you mentioned of £80. It's just the harness and the bag is another £40.. So £120 all in which is still slightly lower than the Revelate system...

Shaf, I did say £80 + dry bag Exped dry bags are £10 - £15

Also, do you have your carbon forks wrapped in something at the fork crown. Or does it all move together well enough to not worry?

Helicopter tape around the crown on mine - not worth risking it.

Colin - I use mine with Loop bars so the light goes on the front part of the loop and the bag to the back so not a problem. With straight/riser bars any bag will interfere with near field illumination unless the bag is set low down or you use some sort of bar/mount extender.

The Wildcat harness design is ten (or the best part thereof) years old so others have had time to adapt features. Until recently Revelate were integrated harness/bag only.

There's a piece on bikepacking.com about the various styles of bar bag - https://bikepacking.com/gear/handlebar- ... op-loader/ obviously US biased.

whitestone wrote: ↑Sun Jul 10, 2022 5:30 pm

The Wildcat harness design is ten (or the best part thereof) years old so others have had time to adapt features. Until recently Revelate were integrated harness/bag only.

I've had mine for eight years.

If you go for the Wildcat, remember that I'm happy for you to purchase and test fit on the bike. If for whatever reason, you don't think it's going to work for you, then I'm totally happy to take it back for a full refund. I offer this to everyone that wants to try out the Wildcat gear. Also if you do decide to go for it. Message Stu, he might have a sweetener for you to make it an even better deal.

Thanks Steven.

Message Stu, he might have a sweetener for you to make it an even better deal.

I sorted that this morning

Thanks Steven/Stu. I remembered that I'd held onto a Revelate harness pouch thingy for whenever I made the switch again. The Lion does sound tempting though so will see how I get on.

For the moment though I think my minds firmly set with a Revelate and I emailed Bikemonger to see when they'll be back in. On their way from Alska as we speak apparently (didn't know they're from Alaska). So watch this space as I reckon I might have saved up over the next couple of weeks

I'm pretty impressed with the Salsa cradle, used on this years Dales 300 and it didnt budge at all, very sturdy no squished cables. The only thing I had to get a hold of was a Exposure stem mount for my light as the bar bracket wouldn't fit on due to where the cradle mounts to the bars but the stem mount also centralises the light and works well so yeah happy indeed. Revelate is still a good option I just got sick of squished cables which isn't too bad really but that me