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The Rambler Luggage Rolltop Handlebar Bag is handmade within the US and options an expandable design, beneficiant capability, extremely weather-resistant building, and weighs simply over one pound. Miles has been placing one by its paces over the previous couple of months to see the way it holds as much as long-term bikepacking. Discover his evaluate right here…
Up till lately, I felt {that a} harness and detachable drybag system was the be-all and end-all for handlebar setups. My ordinary mandate is mild and tight. When bikepacking on singletrack, I need my bike to really feel like a mountain bike, and I’m a believer {that a} small handlebar roll makes essentially the most sense when driving technical terrain. A good roll retains the entrance finish of the bike light-weight and affords a transparent line of sight of the entrance wheel and path forward.
For all the things past light-weight summer season mountain bike journeys, I’ve been pleasantly shocked by lengthy flap-style handlebar and saddle luggage, such because the Luggage by Hen Piccolo I reviewed right here and the Wizard Works Shazam right here. What they lack in compactness is made up for by their performance. Their top-loading design is an actual deal with for anybody who has primarily used handlebar rolls, offering easy accessibility with out getting off the bike and countless packing area as a consequence of their expandable building.
When Pennsylvania-based bag maker Rambler Luggage despatched over their mini panniers I reviewed a couple of weeks again, additionally they included their giant roll-top handlebar bag. The bag was entrance and heart for your entire period of my 2,000-kilometre Australia journey and was shut by throughout transit between pedaling, performing as my bar bag, residence for my iPad, grocery hauler, tent bag, and carry-on with the addition of a easy shoulder strap. Since that journey, I’ve additionally snuck out on a few fast overnighters near residence, and I’m able to report on the way it has held up.
The Rambler Luggage roll-top handlebar bag is unstructured, which means it has no plastic liner to assist maintain its form. Though, in the event you’d like a plastic liner, the bag has an built-in sleeve for one, and Rambler gives it as an add-on. It’s made to order in your alternative of EcoPac X-Pac or waxed canvas with a 12L base quantity that expands proper as much as 29L when unrolled. It has a big roll-top closure, two webbing straps with G-hook buckles that connect to 2 corresponding lengths of daisy chain webbing, and a smaller size of daisy chain on the again for attaching the bag to a headtube, fork, or seatpost if working it as a saddle bag. The higher attachment factors are stabilized with a replaceable oak dowel and two included Voile Nano straps. Six foam spacers are additionally included, and there are two expandable pockets on all sides for quick-access objects.
All in all, the Rambler Luggage roll-top bag is kind of minimal. The 2 exterior pockets and roomy most important compartment are all you get for group, which makes it a terrific bag for stuffing awkward objects into. It’s additionally appropriate with their map pouch, floating webbing web, web harness, and fancy pouch if you would like extra. There are small drain holes within the base of the outside pockets and a recycled water resistant liner inside, and though it’s not 100% waterproof, the bag is extraordinarily weather-resistant as a consequence of its building, completed seams, and supplies used. Waxed canvas luggage could be additional weatherproofed with the addition of waterproofing wax, which Rambler additionally gives.
Whereas Out Rambling
As talked about, the roll-top bag got here alongside on our 2,000-kilometre Australia bikepacking journey earlier this spring. We encountered every kind of climate, from heavy rain and thunderstorms on Dan Hunt’s new Sydney to Summit path to pea gravel, sand, and singletrack alongside the Munda Biddi Path within the west. After a couple of days of regular rain, the bag proved to carry up nice in moist situations. With the Rambler packed half-full and several other rolls of the principle closure, water wasn’t getting in. The G-hook buckles have locking clips, however I by no means closed them totally, because it made getting out and in of the bag a lot faster. I discovered that even with the buckles open however looped by the webbing on the entrance of the bag, they’d keep in place, particularly when tightened down for driving.
Since I used to be working the bag with none type of plastic liner, the bag ended up taking the form of its contents. This makes packing the bag a cinch since you will get away with randomly stuffing cumbersome issues like tents and puffy jackets inside, however it additionally means it finally ends up being barely floppy. By this, I imply the one headtube attachment and foam spacer wasn’t sufficient to maintain the bag from rubbing towards the headtube of the bike, and after some time, it was folding in towards the body. I suppose this wouldn’t be a difficulty with some strategic packing or the elective plastic liner, however it’s price noting. Evaluating the Rambler’s minimal design to one thing just like the Luggage by Hen Piccolo, which has an extra wood dowel on the decrease attachment level, it’s much less secure in sure eventualities. Though a entrance rack isn’t required, I used to be glad to have one to supply some assist.
The dearth of construction wasn’t a difficulty whereas driving, and the bag felt strong when loaded up driving gravel roads. Nevertheless, for extra technical driving, I’d recognize some extra stability. With that stated, a big roll-top type bag is rarely my first alternative for technical singletrack. I appreciated the 2 exterior pockets for stashing easy-to-reach objects like snacks and multi-tools, they usually typically acted as an overflow space for when Emily was on grocery obligation and got here again with what appeared like every week’s price of meals. An elastic drawstring weaves by the highest of every pocket and up the aspect of the bag, offering further safety for taller objects like bottles or asparagus shoots. I discovered the pockets to be a little bit quick, and and not using a flap or lid, I wasn’t too eager on trusting any essential small objects to remain inside whereas driving bumpy terrain.
For many of the journey, I had the bag packed above the oak dowel and handlebar straps, which made utilizing my customary bar-mounted GPS mount awkward. To get round this, I ended up utilizing a sticky mount on the highest tube, and my kLite dynamo mild setup was adjustable sufficient to level up and over the bag. Though it might have been packed smaller, we all the time discover a strategy to fill our luggage up, which is probably the largest con of enormous top-loading luggage. It’s additionally a large bag, at roughly 14” broad, and the widest strap place is 10” aside, which doesn’t depart a lot room to your arms on sure setups. I had loads of room when put in on a large Curve Walmer bar with two foam spacers in use, however I might see the width being an issue for anybody with narrower bars. Rambler additionally gives a smaller 12” broad model of the roll-top bag with a 7-16L capability.
Though it’s a standard add-on, I’ve by no means had cause to make use of a shoulder strap with a handlebar bag. This time round, having the strap and devoted buckles for it to hook onto proved extremely helpful. It turned out that the dearth of construction and exterior options made for a terrific shoulder bag whereas utilizing transit or as a carry-on for our flights. It’s an enormous bag, however when packed strategically for transit, it by no means felt cumbersome whereas strolling.
Execs
- Handmade in USA from high-quality supplies
- Meticulous building and apparent consideration to element
- Excessive capability and expandable design are nice for longer excursions
- Minimal design is light-weight and simply packable
- Doubles as a terrific carry-on throughout transit
Cons
- Costly
- No inventory plastic liner means the bag doesn’t maintain its form
- Exterior pockets are a little bit shallow
- No decrease dowel for stability
- Probably too broad for some bars
- Materials (as examined): EcoPac X-Pac
- Weight: 514g (1.1lbs)
- Dimensions: 14” x 6.5” x 8-22” (WxDxH)
- Place of Manufacture: Pennsylvania, USA
- Worth: $230 USD
- Producer’s Particulars: RamblerBags.com
Wrap Up
Total, the Rambler Luggage Roll-Prime is holding up nice after some severe use in Australia and again residence right here in British Columbia. The development and high quality of the bag are prime notch, and it looks as if a strong possibility for anybody searching for a high-capacity top-loading handlebar bag. It’s a easy bag with its lack of decrease stabilizer/strut or inner liner to carry its form, which could not be very best for some forms of driving, however I discovered it simpler to pack than different luggage on this class, particularly when stuffing cumbersome objects in, and lots secure on tough surfaces. It’s additionally one of many lightest weight top-opening luggage accessible as a consequence of its minimal design, and if you would like massive capability with out including further weight, it’s an possibility price a better look.
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