Carradice Barley Saddle available in Black or Green
- 2 Side pockets
- 6 metal D ring strapping points on lid
- Made from cotton duck in either Black/White Straps or Green/Honeystraps
- 7 litre capacity
- CYCLING PLUS BEST BUY AWARD, see below for review:
This saddlebag is a newcomer to Carradice’s range and while not radically different from any of its other bags, it does have some nice new features that other small day - bags in their range don’t have. The most noticeable difference is its colour: traditionally, cotton - duck bags have always been black, but this one is olive green with black piping on the edges and honey - coloured leather straps. The colours blend well together and give it a distinctive look.
You can get a black version with white straps if you prefer, but I really like this new colour. It has two side pockets large enough to fit in a couple of inner tubes and a tool roll with a bit of space left over. Another welcome feature is the interior drawstring which pulls up the inner nylon “curtain”, giving slightly more capacity and also preventing items from tumbling out when undoing the straps. The traditional position to take rolled-up rainwear or spare clothing on top of the bag now has six D-rings (three each side) to take either a narrow or a fat roll.
There is also a loop on the lid for fitting a rear LED. The bag weighs 550 grams (19 ounces) and the capacity Is claimed to be about seven litres. To see if it had suitable capacity for typical items I would take on a 400 or 600 brevet, I filled it with leg - warmers, arm warmers, woolly hat long fingered gloves, windstopper jacket, long sleeve Helly - Hensen, Petzl Tikka head torch, folding tyre and a few bonk rations. A few more items could have been squeezed in if necessary, with the straps at full length. Tubes and tools went in the pockets, and there was still space on the lid for a cape or whatever. So, if you like to travel light there’s no need to weigh yourself down with an oversize bag and a carrier. As the bag is quite compact, it fits neatly under the saddle, easily clearing the mudguard or tyre
Finally, I gave it the waterproof test, standing the bag on the shower tray floor and leaving the power shower running full pelt on it for several minutes - a deluge it was unlikely to receive in Britain, more like a monsoon storm. Result: not a drop of water penetrated the bag, so maintaining Carradice’s high reputation for waterproofing their bags. For extra protection for riders without mudguards in wet conditions, there is a strip of waterproofing material under the bag, in line with the tyre. This would only need a wipe over with a damp cloth to keep it clean after a wet ride.
Extracts from Test Report by Tim Wainwright as featured in the Winter 2004 issue of ARRIVEE magazine - "It’s good value for money, tough and well - made, ideal for our style of audax riding. |