Carradice Bagman QR Expedition

If you have a Carradice saddlebag then the chances are you'll already have a Bagman, or one of the assorted variants. Although Carradice bags are a joy and wonder, they can be a bit of a sod to fit to your bike. Unless you are tall enough to have enough space between saddle and rear wheel you'll end up with a saddlebag dragging on your back wheel, which is just rubbish.

One solution to the dreaded 'Carradice sag' is a Bagman support. It's nothing complex, just a bit of tubing bent into a support bracket that holds the bag off your wheel. They come in a variety of flavours, Sport or Expedition and each of these can be had in QR or standard. With the standard models your bag is strapped to the support and has to be undone for removal. The QR versions have spring loaded clips that attach to the bag and allow easy removal. Expedition is the deeper of the two, so if you are a tad stumpy, pick the Sport version. Fitting is simple, just clamp onto the rails of your saddle. I'm testing the QR Expedition here.

The QR comes with a neat fitting system, there's a plastic strip that sits outside the bag and attaches round the dowel that stiffens the back of the bag with a couple of heavy duty cable ties. The plastic strip has a couple of holes that the spring loaded clips on the bracket attach to. It's a very simple but effective system and means that you can easily remove the bag at stops.

At the end of the day it's a very effective way of maximising the use of a Carradice bag. It's a lot of cash for a bit of bent metal and a couple of spring clips but I'd be lost without one - if you don't mind foregoing the quick release function and just want to fight the sag then a standard version Bagman Expedition is getting on for £20 less.

Verdict

Neat and effective, but pricey, way of attaching a Carradice bag to your bike.