Bar harnesses - recommendation

[renMike]

Hello,

I like the idea of bar harnesses in that they remain on the bike when taking the bag off, that they're perhaps a bit more rigid for off road riding and that they'll (probably) reduce the wear and tear on the paintwork. However they do seem to be a bit on the heavy side. My interest is ultimately (after a few practice runs) for a 5+ day trip in the UK covering moorland, track and road on a CX bike (rigged as a gravel bike). Are any brands/models thought to be any better than the rest? Been looking at the likes of Restrap, AlpKit, Decathlon, Aeroe, etc but don't know what to look for.

Cheers,

Mike

[Bearbonesnorm]

Wildcat harness is one of the most stable. They're also very light. Some people do find them a bit fiddly to fit initially (they're not really) but that's the great thing about a harness, once it's on, it can be left on

[renMike]

Would that be their "Lion handlebar harness"? I've not seen these before so will go do some research.

[Bearbonesnorm]

"Lion handlebar harness"

That's the one. 'Tis also the 'original' bar harness as Wildcat were the first to produce harness type luggage. There's plenty of folk here who're longterm users.

[RIP]

Did someone mention cableties and gaffertape just then? Could've sworn I heard some whispering at the back .

[Alpinum]

Wildcat harness is one of the most stable. They're also very light. Some people do find them a bit fiddly to fit initially (they're not really) but that's the great thing about a harness, once it's on, it can be left on

I made a total of three close copies of the Lion harness myself and they indeed do a great job of holding stuff in place, also high volume winter gear (~ 2 kg).

If you prefer a lightweight & compact bar bag, up to about 1 kg, the
GFunk bar clamps and DeWidget strap deck should do a good job. I just picked some up from the post office today and looking forward to putting them to good use. First impression is

Mentioned stuff can be ordered here:
https://wildcat.cc/collections/handlebar-solutions

[ScotRoutes]

I use a Revelate Harness. I can't recommend it highly enough. Stable, fits a variety of bags, good spacers for cable routing, robust.

[robsmuddygloves]

I really like the Acepac ones you pick up from this very site. Rock solid and very reasonable price.

[Jurassic]

I really like the Acepac ones you pick up from this very site. Rock solid and very reasonable price.

I've used Alpkit ones in the past and last year upgraded and bought an Acepac one from Stu. I wouldn't say it's the lightest thing in the world but in terms of function it's absolutely bloody brilliant.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I really like the Acepac ones you pick up from this very site. Rock solid and very reasonable price.

They are indeed very good but there's no stocks at present. Waiting on an update.

[techno]

I use a Revelate Harness. I can't recommend it highly enough. Stable, fits a variety of bags, good spacers for cable routing, robust.

Me too, fantastic bit of kit.

https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.c ... barharness

[whitestone]

Long time Wildcat Lion user here. Can fit anything from a 5 litre bag to a 20 litre so very adaptable. Back in 2016 or whenever I bought it there was only really Wildcat and Alpkit doing bikepacking kit here in the UK. Not sure if Revelate was being imported at the time.

I can't remember now but one of the newer companies doing bikepacking kit has a direct clone of the Lion - close enough that when I looked at their website I thought they'd bought the pattern from Beth and Ian when Wildcat closed temporarily. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery or something.

Gian - I've the GFunk clamp and DeWidget Strapdeck on the Spearfish. You need Voile Straps or similar and I try and keep the load to well under 1kg.

[Tomwoodbury]

+1 for Revelate. I’ve had the harness and now use the sweetroll. Sold to me by Scotroutes, I seem to believe.

[belugabob]

Another Wildcat Lion user, here, and can't speak of them highly enough.
Rock solid, light, easy to access your dry bag.

Used in conjunction with a tiger seatpack and a home made Frame bag, to make a very useable and secure setup.

Also have the lioness add-on pack, too. Haven't had chance to use that yet, but it's a quality item, as per their other kit.

[gairym]

+1 for Wildcat/Lion.

I've now got three (including the larger fatbike/winter version) and not a single complaint in almost ten years of use.

[renMike]

Thanks for all the replies team! Sounds like the wildcat or revelate get good real life reviews so I'll go and look at those.
Cheers,
Mike

[ootini]

I have two handlebar harnesses, one for each bike.
On my fat bike I use a Blackburn Outpost, the one that uses the R&K clamp. Yes it's heavier and over engineered than other options, but the clamp is great at clearing brake hoses etc. It's also mega easy to fit, remove and refit.
On my gravel bike I use a bikepack.pl harness which is basically a Wildcat clone (but dare i say, cheaper). It's lightweight, reliable, grips well and super simple to use.

[slarge]

Wildcat Lion user here- top piece of kit but as my bikes have a very short headtube and suspension forks I have to be careful with bag size and mounting height or I get front wheel rub on the bag. Very light and secure, but not much room for cables behind it.

I also have a Salsa cradle - really solid but heavy (400grams). Plus I find that as it is so far in front of the bars it does affect steering and the bars have mind of their own when trying to manoeuvre through gates etc. I have just shortened the bar brackets by 25mm so will see how that improves handling etc.

[lune ranger]

My favourite is a Restrap one that I modified with a R&K Klickfix mount.
As much as I like soft luggage I find all the strapping stuff on and off the bike pretty tedious and prefer not to have the bar harness mounted permanently.
The Klickfix mod is a great remedy for this.
I have brackets on both my main bikes and also the ability to mount a much smaller Alpkit 3L barbag using the same system.

[stevenshand]

Some good chat on this thread. We always try and do something for the BB crew and so if anyone wants to jump on a Wildcat harness (Lion-front or Tiger-rear) then use the code 'tenten' at the checkout and get 10% off.

Steven

[metalheart]

I also have a Revelate harness.

I like the way the mount blocks gives a bit of space for the cables and brake hoses can thread through (mostly through the middle between the bar blocks). And the headtube strap easy to fix too (but use frame protection). This also stands stuff off both the bars and headtube minimising frame rub. I find it easy to put on and take off (it doesn’t life on a bike).

Easy to attach a front pouch (although it’s not brilliant at not melting chocolate peanuts etc in summer as it’s black...

The salty roll I really like too, it’s pretty bomb proof.

Not cheap, but a definitely a significant improvement over the non-harness Ortlieb I had before it.

Never tried a Wildcat one. A mate has one and seems to not have any problems (although he has struggled a wee bit since he put on Jones bars (I’ll need to send him a link to the website as it looks neat enough on there).

[AndreR]

Following this with great interest, I have an Alpkit front harness and drybag that I use on a suspension fork MTB and a CycloGravel drop bar bike. It works fine and the only real issue I have is the height of it and I can't mount a GPS or a light on the bars and its a bit wobbly on rough ground. GPS goes on a stem mount for bike packing but no way to mount a light unless I go for a bar extension thing of some sort. Also then need to fit a GPS mount for normal night riding as the Exposure light mount needs to be right next to the stem and is then in the way of the stem mounted GPS.

Would the Wildcat or Revelate that appear to be the top choices have the same issue please?

[Lazarus]

Would the Wildcat or Revelate that appear to be the top choices have the same issue please?

Not as severe as the alpkit kamga but yes
However they do curve ( soft / normal material) as they are not rigid so it's much less ( still need a bat extender thingy IME.)
Personally I love the alpkit but the height is a major pain to deal with .

[ScotRoutes]

I use my Revelate with light and GPS attached to the bars without any issues.

[stevenshand]

Can use bar mounted GPS and lights with the Wildcat harness too. I suspect in the same way as the Revelate works fine.