Rasmus
Mu-43 Top Veteran
Hi everyone!
Since I got my new bike in January I have been looking for a good handlebar bag for carrying photo gear. This hasn't been easy, either my Googling skills suck, or there are just not many suitable bags available out there, or both.
First, I purchased an Ortlieb Ultimate6 Classic bag, with the matching camera insert, however, I found the solution rather unsatisfactory. To begin with, there just barely enough place for an E-M1 (without battery grip), the Panasonic 12-35/2.8 and the Olympus 7-14/2.8. Also, the bag is essentially just a big hole where I can put stuff. No side pockets or other places to put various things like extra batteries, filters etc. Well, there is actually an internal pocket, but it's a bit hard to access with the camera insert in place.
My next bag, a Kalahari Swave S-35 had the opposite problem. Absolutely gi-normous for a handlebar bag with a map case on top and every possible side pocket and sub-compartment I would ever need, it was all too tempting to stuff it with way too much gear, causing it to swing rather worryingly up and down on its Klickfix attachment. The bag in itself weighs 2 kgs, which makes it rather easy to exceed the maximum recommended load of 5 kgs for the Klickfix handlebar bag mount. Also, the bag was nearly as wide as my drop bar, which meant that I had to squeeze my thumbs between the bag and the bar when riding on the hoods, which I do more than 90 % of the time. On longer rides, this became rather painful on my thumbs. I guess the bag would have worked better with a flat bar, but the bag is still heavy, and hanging heavy stuff over the front wheel tends to have negative impact on the handling of the bike.
I briefly considered getting a Norco Carson bag. However, the bag is similar in size to the Ortlieb and even though It's marketed as a camera bag It looks very much like another bag that it just one big hole to put stuff in.
Then I stumbled over this DIY project that described a way to convert a generic camera bag into a handlebar bag, and decided this was something I would probably be able to do, so I went ahead with it.
Step one: Find a suitable bag. I knew I would need a bag with one side that was essentially flat and featureless, and a main opening that opened toward that side and went roaming the bag section of my local camera store. Some of the Think Tank Mirrorless Mover and Suburban Disguise bags seemed to fit the bill, with the suburban disguise bags just a little bit on the big side.
Eventually, I settled on the largest of the Mirrorless Movers, the 30i. For some reason, different models of the Mirrorless Movers have their opening in different directions. The 30i opens in the useful direction for a handlebar bag, though.
Almost immediately I went on to the "Your warranty is now void" step, partly to assess the feasibility of the whole operation, partly because I would have to do this anyway.
Next step: get a sheet of something that can be used to distribute the load from the Klickfix attachment. The description I had found used coroplast, I used a 3 mm thick sheet of plexiglas. Here, I have partly cut it to shape.
I never thought I would use the word "Kafka-esque" to describe communication with a carrier, but getting that KLICKfix plate was really frustrating.
They: "The plate is now at your pickup point"
Me: "Ok, what's the tracking number?"
They: "Oh, just go and collect it"
Me: "I tried. I need a tracking number"
They: "Ok, this is perhaps a tracking number: nnnnnnnn"
Me: "Ok, I tried that. They wouldn't recognize it as a valid tracking number"
They: "Ok, try this instead: nnnnnnnnn"
Rinse and repeat. About six weeks after I've ordered the plate and purchased the bag I finally have the plate.
Test attached on my handlebar. Looks promising.
Top of plexiglas plate cut.
Stitched together. I was in a bit of a hurry to get the bag done in time for the bike tour I had planned, so my stitching is rather quick and ugly so I expect I will need to redo this part at some point.
Bag closed. Still looking good.
With contents. putting 3-4 lenses and a body in the bag isn't hard, and there are plenty of little pockets for storing small items, a tablet etc, and it isn't crammed.
The included rain sleeve fits nicely even when the bag is attached to the bike.
My verdict after using it on a 10 day bike tour is that it mostly worked. The stitching held together. What didn't work as expected is the plexiglas sheet, that turned out to be too brittle for this application, and both top corners have chipped off a bit. Which means I will need to find something stronger. I also assume that stronger than plexiglas ill probably mean I'll have to get the cutting done for me instead of doing it myself. Any suggestions?
Since I got my new bike in January I have been looking for a good handlebar bag for carrying photo gear. This hasn't been easy, either my Googling skills suck, or there are just not many suitable bags available out there, or both.
First, I purchased an Ortlieb Ultimate6 Classic bag, with the matching camera insert, however, I found the solution rather unsatisfactory. To begin with, there just barely enough place for an E-M1 (without battery grip), the Panasonic 12-35/2.8 and the Olympus 7-14/2.8. Also, the bag is essentially just a big hole where I can put stuff. No side pockets or other places to put various things like extra batteries, filters etc. Well, there is actually an internal pocket, but it's a bit hard to access with the camera insert in place.
My next bag, a Kalahari Swave S-35 had the opposite problem. Absolutely gi-normous for a handlebar bag with a map case on top and every possible side pocket and sub-compartment I would ever need, it was all too tempting to stuff it with way too much gear, causing it to swing rather worryingly up and down on its Klickfix attachment. The bag in itself weighs 2 kgs, which makes it rather easy to exceed the maximum recommended load of 5 kgs for the Klickfix handlebar bag mount. Also, the bag was nearly as wide as my drop bar, which meant that I had to squeeze my thumbs between the bag and the bar when riding on the hoods, which I do more than 90 % of the time. On longer rides, this became rather painful on my thumbs. I guess the bag would have worked better with a flat bar, but the bag is still heavy, and hanging heavy stuff over the front wheel tends to have negative impact on the handling of the bike.
I briefly considered getting a Norco Carson bag. However, the bag is similar in size to the Ortlieb and even though It's marketed as a camera bag It looks very much like another bag that it just one big hole to put stuff in.
Then I stumbled over this DIY project that described a way to convert a generic camera bag into a handlebar bag, and decided this was something I would probably be able to do, so I went ahead with it.
Step one: Find a suitable bag. I knew I would need a bag with one side that was essentially flat and featureless, and a main opening that opened toward that side and went roaming the bag section of my local camera store. Some of the Think Tank Mirrorless Mover and Suburban Disguise bags seemed to fit the bill, with the suburban disguise bags just a little bit on the big side.
Eventually, I settled on the largest of the Mirrorless Movers, the 30i. For some reason, different models of the Mirrorless Movers have their opening in different directions. The 30i opens in the useful direction for a handlebar bag, though.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Almost immediately I went on to the "Your warranty is now void" step, partly to assess the feasibility of the whole operation, partly because I would have to do this anyway.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Next step: get a sheet of something that can be used to distribute the load from the Klickfix attachment. The description I had found used coroplast, I used a 3 mm thick sheet of plexiglas. Here, I have partly cut it to shape.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
I never thought I would use the word "Kafka-esque" to describe communication with a carrier, but getting that KLICKfix plate was really frustrating.
They: "The plate is now at your pickup point"
Me: "Ok, what's the tracking number?"
They: "Oh, just go and collect it"
Me: "I tried. I need a tracking number"
They: "Ok, this is perhaps a tracking number: nnnnnnnn"
Me: "Ok, I tried that. They wouldn't recognize it as a valid tracking number"
They: "Ok, try this instead: nnnnnnnnn"
Rinse and repeat. About six weeks after I've ordered the plate and purchased the bag I finally have the plate.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Test attached on my handlebar. Looks promising.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Top of plexiglas plate cut.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Stitched together. I was in a bit of a hurry to get the bag done in time for the bike tour I had planned, so my stitching is rather quick and ugly so I expect I will need to redo this part at some point.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Bag closed. Still looking good.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
With contents. putting 3-4 lenses and a body in the bag isn't hard, and there are plenty of little pockets for storing small items, a tablet etc, and it isn't crammed.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
The included rain sleeve fits nicely even when the bag is attached to the bike.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
My verdict after using it on a 10 day bike tour is that it mostly worked. The stitching held together. What didn't work as expected is the plexiglas sheet, that turned out to be too brittle for this application, and both top corners have chipped off a bit. Which means I will need to find something stronger. I also assume that stronger than plexiglas ill probably mean I'll have to get the cutting done for me instead of doing it myself. Any suggestions?
