QUICK NOTE! When I say "no head tube" I meant no exposed head tube section inside the frame triangle. I feel like riding a bike with no head tube would be a terrible idea!
Do you have a recommendation for frame bags of similar kind “wo. headtube”? I’m riding one and actually it is more more difficult to find a good fitting one..
Loved the review, clear, concise, and well thought out! I've got a top tube bag with a similar closure system to the apidura one. A Revelate design mag bolt-on bag, and the magnetic flap closure system is soooo good compared to a middle zipper system. 10/10 :)
I made great experiences with apidura. Used the bags for a lot of bikepacking trips and selfsupported races. Love them and the support by apidura is great too. Cheers from Austria, Helmut
I've used all of Apiduras different top tube bags, and gave my Expedition bag a good beating for a year with no problems, and one day, that rubber zipper broke... Apidura kindly sent a new one, that sadly broke the day after. So after talking to them they sent me the Race series with the magnet closure! No zip to break! I like it for snacks and stuff like that, but it's certainly not waterproof! At least not when the water sprays up from the ground, on rainy gravel rides it fills up with water and pieces of dirt. And the occasional accidental opening happens of course! But a great bag for what it is! :D
Sound like the handlebar pack may be a problem on roads at railway crossings or rumble strips. We have some bad ones which rival any trail bumps you might encounter.
I have a few Apidura bags and I rate them,also some Revelate Designs and Bike Bag Dude 👌🏻your friend needs to move his bottle cage down ! There is a wasted space of 30-40mm between the bottles! Then the bottle teat will clear frame bags more! 🙂👍🏻
Sorry to correct u, the old Apidura frame bags are also assimétric, the right side is deeper than the left side. The top tube one is interesting, the front cable hole seems very useful.
Thanks for this review! I'm considering getting the Racing Top Tube Pack. Is the height of the front velcro strap adjustable? Not sure if I have enough spacers to properly fit the front strap. Also, does the bottom of the bag come with any non-slip material? Thank you!
Absolutely love your vids mate... I'm knew to gravel and intend to do some short bike packing trips... any thoughts on the Expedition series? Keep the great content coming mate :)
Thanks for all your content! Will you put together a list/review of your favourite bike packing or touring routes at any stage? Also, regarding the top tube bag. What would happen to all your items in the case of an accident or particularly rough descents etc? Does the closure system not limit the type of items you might put in there (mobile, camera etc)? Cheers!
Hey Jarrah, I publish a fair bit of my riding stuff here: www.lavelocita.cc/rides I cover heaps of stuff around South Australia and run articles about other things around Aus for people to enjoy. As for the top tube bag, it's kept everything in just fine so I haven't had to worry about it falling open. Even over big bumps the closure system has worked great.
@@JustRideAdelaide i like these bags, but i cant decide these or saddle bags for snacks. i worry these in your video would hit my leg when riding out of the saddle?
@rideadelaid how do you manage giving up easy access to down tube bottle? On a 54cm frame, I can’t easily get standard bottle in and out. What do you suggest?
The Fiziks fall right in the middle for me. I don't particularly like them or dislike them. I'll be publishing a review of them soon on La Velocita but maybe won't get to a video for now because of time constraints. Broadly they're fine. Not quite as comfortable as I'd like, pretty good in damp weather but not great in hot weather, and fairly stiff bordering on too stiff given they're a gravel shoe. I reckon a better innersole would fix my main issue which is comfort. The Fizik inner has added thickness above the cleat but it's really thin under the toes.
@@JustRideAdelaide I just read your review on the Powerstrap X4 on la velocita. Very nice and detailed review. I agree with you on all points but one. I guess your summers in Australia are far hotter than they are here in Germany. So hot feet have not been an issue (so far). I could change my mind the next coming months but so far it has been great. For the insole being a little too hard is true. I have fixed this by inserting my basketball shoe insoles and it's become more plush/supple. The only downside on these shoes for me is that is a little more difficult to hike'a'bike because of the lack of grip and I can not be so adventurous on my rides. What I mean is that sometimes, in order to get the nicer view for pictures and what no, you have to climb a tree, a rock or some ruins. With these shoes it is doable but quite difficult. For now, I just take them off and climb barefoot until I am more used to them :D Ride safe dude!
I asked Apidura about the 5L bag as it is gone from their website and many dealers don't have it in stock, Apidura replied saying it had been "retired" and they were not making any more, I guess it either had "issues" or didn't sell very well. Hopefully they address the closure issue with the mini . But otherwise "Ride Adelaide" thanks for the reviews, very informative & helpful.
I'm guessing you use the 1L top tube bag and the 2.4L frame pack? For the top tube back, I'd need to use the velcro version as well. Is it pretty stable? I saw a few people comment elsewhere that they thought it had too much movement.
Hey Jim, for stability I'd say it depends on a couple of things; how many spacers you have between frame and stem, and what your top tube shape is. It can be tricky to get the strap around the steerer if you only have short spacers, or slammed. The strap is thick so that can limit how well it holds. I've found that it's slightly less stable on round tubes. So on the Grove which is alu and has flatted top tube it sits nicer. Rounded tubes on the Bossi are less so. To me, it's no more or less stable than most top tube bags I've used except for ones that directly bolt to the top tube which are quite solid. Hope that helps!
Sounds good. I’ve found some better than others. With mine, on my cross bike I have the added fun of cables that run across the top. I’m definitely going to snag the 2.4L frame pack. Just trying to decide if the top tube for this one is better than the mag tank.
Hi, great review. Can I ask your opinion of the durability of the Racing frame bag compared to the Expedition? Do you think there's a big difference? Due to my bike's size I'm limited to the Racing 4L or the Expedition 3L. I like the size/shape of the Racing bag more, but I'm more of a party pacer than racer, and I want one that's going to last. If you reply, I promise I'll subscribe :-)
I’ve recently ordered the top tube bag due to the reasons you mention, the zipp opening on my Expedition series bag severely limits access to the contents, and I always fear I’m going to bust the zipp, can’t wait for the new one to arrive. I’m really surprised they’ve gone with velcro on the handlebar pack, maybe a magnetic closure like on the top tube bag would’ve been a better option?
Awesome mate, glad you're getting a product that'll help your riding. I think a magnet might have been better but it'd need to be powerful enough to resist the bouncing around. I think Velcro could work, they just didn't use enough inside the lid. It's weirdly small, especially when you see the connecting patch on the outside of the bag is much bigger.
Hey there, like your videos! Do you have an alternative recommendation for the handlebar bag (not for bikepacking, just for snacks and stuff ;-)), thanks!
Cheers Normen! There's quite a few options depending on where you are in the world some might be more accessible than others. I like Skingrowsback and Buckit Belts handmade options. Always good to support those companies if you're willing to spend more for the work they do. Beyond that, Ride Farr, Rapha, the Pedla, Attaquer, and a bunch of other brands all make varieties of the same basic bag designs.
I strongly disagree with the waterproof comment regarding the top tube bag ,On my first day of LEJOG a couple of years ago ,on the first day my phone stopped working due to water ingress .
That's an interesting one! For road, the Specialized Allez is my regular. I've got a lot of videos about that on the channel. A lot of them are old and sucky though. In terms of "my own" gravel bike I'd say the Grove R.A.D. That was meant to be a review bike but I ended up buying it. There's a full review and content about that bike all over the channel too.
Any company that makes a bag that bad, the bar bag with the bad lid, just doesn't deserve to be considered.... dont care how good their other bags are.
QUICK NOTE! When I say "no head tube" I meant no exposed head tube section inside the frame triangle. I feel like riding a bike with no head tube would be a terrible idea!
Well it would certainly put the steering axis in a weird location!
Do you have a recommendation for frame bags of similar kind “wo. headtube”? I’m riding one and actually it is more more difficult to find a good fitting one..
I love the no drums and fanfare approach to making content . Good solid info for us punters ;-) .
Thanks mate, much appreciated!
Loved the review, clear, concise, and well thought out! I've got a top tube bag with a similar closure system to the apidura one. A Revelate design mag bolt-on bag, and the magnetic flap closure system is soooo good compared to a middle zipper system. 10/10 :)
Thanks mate glad you liked it 😁
I made great experiences with apidura. Used the bags for a lot of bikepacking trips and selfsupported races. Love them and the support by apidura is great too. Cheers from Austria, Helmut
Cheers to you Helmut!
I've used all of Apiduras different top tube bags, and gave my Expedition bag a good beating for a year with no problems, and one day, that rubber zipper broke... Apidura kindly sent a new one, that sadly broke the day after. So after talking to them they sent me the Race series with the magnet closure! No zip to break!
I like it for snacks and stuff like that, but it's certainly not waterproof! At least not when the water sprays up from the ground, on rainy gravel rides it fills up with water and pieces of dirt.
And the occasional accidental opening happens of course!
But a great bag for what it is! :D
That's interesting that you had water get in! I've had some fairly damp rides recently and didn't get any moisture in but I'll keep an eye out for it.
Thank you for another great video now I know what to get and what not to get thanks .
Glad to help Bob!
Sound like the handlebar pack may be a problem on roads at railway crossings or rumble strips. We have some bad ones which rival any trail bumps you might encounter.
I have a few Apidura bags and I rate them,also some Revelate Designs and Bike Bag Dude 👌🏻your friend needs to move his bottle cage down ! There is a wasted space of 30-40mm between the bottles! Then the bottle teat will clear frame bags more! 🙂👍🏻
Sorry to correct u, the old Apidura frame bags are also assimétric, the right side is deeper than the left side. The top tube one is interesting, the front cable hole seems very useful.
Oh yes! You're right it's sort of a 2/3 and 1/3 split. I should've been clearer on that. The Race Frame bag is basically 9/10 and 1/10.
Thanks for this review! I'm considering getting the Racing Top Tube Pack. Is the height of the front velcro strap adjustable? Not sure if I have enough spacers to properly fit the front strap. Also, does the bottom of the bag come with any non-slip material? Thank you!
@5:34 love your choice of 'sports nutrition' i need to change mine up
Absolutely love your vids mate... I'm knew to gravel and intend to do some short bike packing trips... any thoughts on the Expedition series? Keep the great content coming mate :)
I just ordered their zippy top tube bag as i wasn't sure about the magnet closing... I wish I'd seen this first ;)
Thanks for all your content! Will you put together a list/review of your favourite bike packing or touring routes at any stage?
Also, regarding the top tube bag. What would happen to all your items in the case of an accident or particularly rough descents etc? Does the closure system not limit the type of items you might put in there (mobile, camera etc)?
Cheers!
Hey Jarrah, I publish a fair bit of my riding stuff here: www.lavelocita.cc/rides
I cover heaps of stuff around South Australia and run articles about other things around Aus for people to enjoy.
As for the top tube bag, it's kept everything in just fine so I haven't had to worry about it falling open. Even over big bumps the closure system has worked great.
@@JustRideAdelaide i like these bags, but i cant decide these or saddle bags for snacks. i worry these in your video would hit my leg when riding out of the saddle?
@rideadelaid how do you manage giving up easy access to down tube bottle? On a 54cm frame, I can’t easily get standard bottle in and out. What do you suggest?
Nice Review. What's your take on the fizik powerstrap x4? Ive ordered them as well for testing and I havent seen any reviews on YT.
The Fiziks fall right in the middle for me. I don't particularly like them or dislike them. I'll be publishing a review of them soon on La Velocita but maybe won't get to a video for now because of time constraints. Broadly they're fine. Not quite as comfortable as I'd like, pretty good in damp weather but not great in hot weather, and fairly stiff bordering on too stiff given they're a gravel shoe. I reckon a better innersole would fix my main issue which is comfort. The Fizik inner has added thickness above the cleat but it's really thin under the toes.
@@JustRideAdelaide thanks bud!
@@JustRideAdelaide I just read your review on the Powerstrap X4 on la velocita. Very nice and detailed review. I agree with you on all points but one. I guess your summers in Australia are far hotter than they are here in Germany. So hot feet have not been an issue (so far). I could change my mind the next coming months but so far it has been great. For the insole being a little too hard is true. I have fixed this by inserting my basketball shoe insoles and it's become more plush/supple. The only downside on these shoes for me is that is a little more difficult to hike'a'bike because of the lack of grip and I can not be so adventurous on my rides. What I mean is that sometimes, in order to get the nicer view for pictures and what no, you have to climb a tree, a rock or some ruins. With these shoes it is doable but quite difficult. For now, I just take them off and climb barefoot until I am more used to them :D Ride safe dude!
Hi, Did you get already Apidura RACING HANDLEBAR PACK (5L) to test?
I asked Apidura about the 5L bag as it is gone from their website and many dealers don't have it in stock, Apidura replied saying it had been "retired" and they were not making any more, I guess it either had "issues" or didn't sell very well. Hopefully they address the closure issue with the mini . But otherwise "Ride Adelaide" thanks for the reviews, very informative & helpful.
I'm guessing you use the 1L top tube bag and the 2.4L frame pack? For the top tube back, I'd need to use the velcro version as well. Is it pretty stable? I saw a few people comment elsewhere that they thought it had too much movement.
Hey Jim, for stability I'd say it depends on a couple of things; how many spacers you have between frame and stem, and what your top tube shape is. It can be tricky to get the strap around the steerer if you only have short spacers, or slammed. The strap is thick so that can limit how well it holds. I've found that it's slightly less stable on round tubes. So on the Grove which is alu and has flatted top tube it sits nicer. Rounded tubes on the Bossi are less so. To me, it's no more or less stable than most top tube bags I've used except for ones that directly bolt to the top tube which are quite solid. Hope that helps!
Sounds good. I’ve found some better than others. With mine, on my cross bike I have the added fun of cables that run across the top. I’m definitely going to snag the 2.4L frame pack. Just trying to decide if the top tube for this one is better than the mag tank.
Hi, great review. Can I ask your opinion of the durability of the Racing frame bag compared to the Expedition? Do you think there's a big difference? Due to my bike's size I'm limited to the Racing 4L or the Expedition 3L. I like the size/shape of the Racing bag more, but I'm more of a party pacer than racer, and I want one that's going to last.
If you reply, I promise I'll subscribe :-)
I’ve recently ordered the top tube bag due to the reasons you mention, the zipp opening on my Expedition series bag severely limits access to the contents, and I always fear I’m going to bust the zipp, can’t wait for the new one to arrive.
I’m really surprised they’ve gone with velcro on the handlebar pack, maybe a magnetic closure like on the top tube bag would’ve been a better option?
Awesome mate, glad you're getting a product that'll help your riding. I think a magnet might have been better but it'd need to be powerful enough to resist the bouncing around. I think Velcro could work, they just didn't use enough inside the lid. It's weirdly small, especially when you see the connecting patch on the outside of the bag is much bigger.
I don’t have that head tube space since I have a small bike. I use wolftooth B-rad to move my bottle cage down
Ohhhh I love the look of those Wolf Tooth B-rads. I might have to get some. I find a lot of frame makers put their cage mounts too high
Ride Adelaide some brands have 3 bolt mounts for position choice
Hi can you suggest another brand that has a versatile handlebar bag then please?
Hey there, like your videos! Do you have an alternative recommendation for the handlebar bag (not for bikepacking, just for snacks and stuff ;-)), thanks!
Cheers Normen! There's quite a few options depending on where you are in the world some might be more accessible than others. I like Skingrowsback and Buckit Belts handmade options. Always good to support those companies if you're willing to spend more for the work they do. Beyond that, Ride Farr, Rapha, the Pedla, Attaquer, and a bunch of other brands all make varieties of the same basic bag designs.
No nonsense review. Great.
I strongly disagree with the waterproof comment regarding the top tube bag ,On my first day of LEJOG a couple of years ago ,on the first day my phone stopped working due to water ingress .
my bottle cage is too high for this to fit
Good fair review Buddy. :-)
Thank you kindly
👍
Which of your personal bikes do you ride the most for road and for gravel and why? Do you have videos about those bikes?
That's an interesting one! For road, the Specialized Allez is my regular. I've got a lot of videos about that on the channel. A lot of them are old and sucky though. In terms of "my own" gravel bike I'd say the Grove R.A.D. That was meant to be a review bike but I ended up buying it. There's a full review and content about that bike all over the channel too.
Any company that makes a bag that bad, the bar bag with the bad lid, just doesn't deserve to be considered.... dont care how good their other bags are.
Hi to everybody. Does anyone know how the race frame pack (2,4lt) fits on the topstone alloy medium size? Thanks
looks like my knees would hit those, i couldnt deal with that
Very close but say it with me: ohvayhah neighgrah
Haha ok I'll give it a shot! I'll be making another video with that bag soon and I'll wait for the verdict on my pronunciation
En mucha cosa parece que contrata a diseñadore de bicicleta que no monta en bicicleta ,, ministro de deporte con sobre peso 110kg e😂😂 fin
Waterproof is fake. Sorry