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Arundel Dual Seat BagArundel Dual Seat Bag

Arundel Dual Seat Bag

8
by Stu Kerton
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published May 21, 2012

2
£15.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Well priced, hard wearing minimalist saddle bag that you can look at as an extra jersey pocket
Weight: 
58g
Contact: 
www.saddleback.co.uk
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Arundel's 'The Dual' seat bag is so called as it's designed to carry two of each essential, two innertubes, two CO2 cartridges and the inflater. It's a tight fit but it all fits none the less. My preferred selection was one tube, CO2 inflator and canister plus a small multi tool.

Lookswise it's got a bit of retro-ness about it but the Dual doesn't look out of place on a fully tricked up carbon race steed either. The piping comes in a range of colours; grey, blue, red, yellow, black and pink - so that all-important handlebar, frame, shoes match shouldn't be an issue.

As Arundel are happy to explain on their website, the Dual isn't constructed from super duper space age materials but the nylon used is hardwearing and easily cleaned. With the current monsoon conditions that most of the UK is seeing the Dual has taken a battering from road spray and spent more of its time drenched than dry. Water does eventually get into the bag so if you have got to carry anything that isn't waterproof I'd stick it in a sandwich bag.

There are some clever little design ideas too: the leather patch showing Arundel's logo is positioned to fit against the seatpost clamp to protect the bag from wear. Thanks to all the grit getting hosed up from the tyre ours was looking pretty scuffed and scratched so it clearly does its job.

The Velcro section of the strap is positioned away from your shorts as you're riding to avoid any snagging of lycra. The strap is double-stitched and keeps things tight, though there is the odd bit of swaying about on the more spirited sections of your ride.

The zip showed no issues after all the soakings and a handy tab means undoing it with full gloves on is easy.

Priced online at around the £12 mark, the Dual is good value for money and the size is spot on if you just want to carry the bare minimum get-me-home essentials. The quality is good which should see it last and the mount, while low tech, is tried, tested and secure.

What's not to like? Well, nothing really unless you don't like the colour!

Verdict

Well priced, hard wearing minimalist saddle bag that you can look at as an extra jersey pocket.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Arundel Dual Seat Bag

Size tested: Black and Red

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The Dual is designed to fit two of each of the most needed spares for your ride. The Arundel website is a great read and shows the reasoning behind the products that they design.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Nylon outer with a double stitched Velcro strap. A leather buffer patch keeps wear to a minimum.

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10

All the stitching looks good and the strap and zip worked well without any issues.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

Fits well to a range of saddles and movement is kept to a minimum.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

No problems to date considering the weather its been subjected to. I'll report back if anything changes.

Rate the product for value:
 
9/10

Cheap as chips for the quality.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Spot on, the fit is good under the saddle and it carries just the right amount of tools for a quick spin on the road.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The leather patch is a good idea ensuring longevity of the material, plus the simple strap makes moving it from bike to bike easy.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

To be honest, nothing really

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 34  Height: 180cm  Weight: 78kg

I usually ride: Genesis Flyer  My best bike is: Ribble Gran Fondo

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

 

Arundel Dual Seat Bag
seat bag
saddlebag
arundel seat bag
Arundel
Stu Kerton

Since writing his first bike review for road.cc back in early 2009 senior product reviewer Stu has tested more than a thousand pieces of kit, and hundreds of bikes.

With an HND in mechanical engineering and previous roles as a CNC programmer/machinist, draughtsman and development engineer (working in new product design) Stu understands what it takes to bring a product to market. A mix of that knowledge combined with his love of road and gravel cycling puts him in the ideal position to put the latest kit through its paces.

He first made the switch to road cycling in 1999, primarily for fitness, but it didn’t take long for his competitive side to take over which led to around ten years as a time triallist and some pretty decent results. These days though riding is more about escapism, keeping the weight off and just enjoying the fact that he gets to ride the latest technology as part of his day job.

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2 comments

Avatar
Crimea03 | 12 years ago
0 likes

Well I've got the Tubi version and it's a great piece of kit. Simple to use and narrow so it doesn't wreck your shorts. Mine's nearly three years old and still going strong. I have used several other bags and this is the best by far.

Avatar
Coodsta | 12 years ago
0 likes

I've had ond for a month or two and would agree with the review. Brillaintly simple piece of kit. I have squeezed two tubes, a mini-tool and on CO2 canister in mine, it's a tight fit but nothing rattles. I was a little concerned about the single strap but works really well, especially if you wedge the pack between the seat rails. One bonus is the lack seat post strap means you don't knacker the finish on your seatpost. I've got mine on my Bob Jackson 'Sunday Bike'& it looks appropriatley retro with out trying to hard. I'll be getting anther for my commuter soon. Glad I bought this for £12 & not the rapha tool roll I'd been eyeing up! They also do a tubular sized one too!

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