Brooks Scape Top Tube Bag

The Brooks Scape Top Tube Bag is a robust, well made and stylish bit of kit. If you're looking for simple, accessible storage to mount on a knock-about-town bike, use on one-day trips or multi-day adventures, it's a reasonable option. Unfortunately, its price and a less-than-versatile attachment don't go in its favour.

Brooks is pretty late to the bikepacking party, and you'd think that might have given it time to really sweat the details. For me, they haven't quite got it right with the Top Tube Bag. It'll be a matter of opinion as to whether its pros outweigh its cons.

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Just like the rest of the Scape range, the Top Tube bag is stylish and understated. Along with the Scape Panniers it will appeal to those not solely focused on bikepacking; it lends itself use on its own for quick blasts, on or off-road, and day trips.

It still fits with the 'modular' design, tethering to the main packs if you're running other Scape things. In short it's versatile, and the Velcro mounting means it's quick and easy to swap about.

Construction and mounting

The bag is a welded construction, with a stiff base and sidewalls. It's rigid at the front too. You can see this on my gravel bike quite well.

The bag attaches with two Velcro straps at the top tube and a third at the steerer – they're smooth underneath and left my paintwork unmolested, but frame protection is still a good idea.

There are three positions for the top tube straps, but only one for the front end. The straps themselves are really robust and a good length, and I got away with using one top tube strap on my mountain bike to get the bag snug to the headset.

The problem is, there's no scope for changing the front strap's position, so if it doesn't fall right for your stem, spacers and bars, there's nothing you can do. I fitted the Scape to several bikes, but none gave the perfect fit.

Yes, you can switch to a different, narrower strap, but for £50 it's disappointing to need extra parts.

Once on, it holds its position pretty well, though on bikes it doesn't fit well it tends to pivot a few degrees when steering. I never had issues with it coming loose though, even on rough off-road.

Stability

There is no option to direct mount it, and I'd say this is Brooks' biggest omission. The stability on all my bikes was 'acceptable' rather than good. There are no pockets or dividers either, but then there really isn't any need for them in something so small.

By my tape measure, the Scape is 21cm long and 4.7cm wide. At its highest point it's 11cm, and it tapers down to 6cm.

While the slim, tapered profile and rigid shape is good for knee clearance, it does mean you can't really overstuff it. The interior is smooth and anything inside is really well-protected, though, despite the lack of a liner, and it cleans up easily both inside and out.

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Waterproofing is as good as any out there. We've not had much rain recently so it's been in the shower several times, and coped admirably; no ingress whatsoever.

The coated YKK zip and one-finger puller makes for very easy access; there's no dragging and the bag keeps its shape, so you never need two hands to open it. There's a cable exit too, which is handy.

Oh, and it's good to see this product come mounted (with cord, not plastic) on a thick piece of card – nobody needs excessive packaging all over their (land)Scape.

Value

While there are plenty of cheaper bags available, the Brooks Scape is hardly alone at £50. The Straight Cut Top Tube Bag is £55, for instance, and Miss Grape's Node Road is £60.

If you are keen to get a direct mount bag, Apidura's Bolt-On Top Tube Pack is worth considering for £52, though the Restrap Top Tube Bag is £32.99, Deuter's Energy Bag is now £14 and the LifeLine Adventure is £15.

Conclusion

Brooks' Scape Top Tube Bag offers outstanding protection for your kit, easy access while riding, and attractive styling. Given the lack of versatility in its mounting and the relatively high price, though, it may struggle to compete in a crowded market.

Verdict

Stylish, robust and easy-access protection for essentials, let down by a poorly-designed front strap