I think the Swift bag would be a good choice. As an FYI the Camper Longflap is a huge bag. I use a Nelson Longflap occasionally for touring and plenty big for the purpose you describe. Mine fits in my 15”x10” Wald basket if the side pockets are empty and has D rings to attach a shoulder strap. A downside of the duck canvas Carradice bags is they are water resistant, especially if re-waxed periodically, but not waterproof. The Zeitgeist bags aren’t waterproof but they shed water better - I have a Catalyst and Zeitgeist.
I have a Pelago bag and porteur rack for my city bike. It’s great for errands but would have the same issues you describe with your current bag. For touring I use a Berthoud rando bag or the smaller Swift bag, so wouldn’t fit your needs. On Wednesday, August 27, 2025 at 8:01:34 AM UTC-4 Andy Beichler wrote: > I plan to either make or buy a large randonneur bag for one or more of my > bikes. In the meantime, I have a Carradice Camper Longflap like the one > Nick post above hanging from my handlebar and supported underneath by a > Mark's Rack. I did that just to see if I liked how it handled with a front > load. They can handle a lot of stuff and if I didn't also want the look of > a traditional randonneur bag, I would just keep this one on there. For the > record, I have 46cm Noodles on my bike. I would not want the Camper > Longflap with narrower drops, but it might not bother other people. And, > Carradice makes narrower bags if you wanted to try that approach with > narrower bars. > > Most of the traditional style randonneur bags would not hold my work > laptop, lunch and anything else I might be carrying. Even my smallish > laptop is wider than most of them. However, Waxwing bags makes a Porteur > and a Demi-Porteur bag that are bigger than most other offerings I have > found and they still look like traditional front bags. If I decide to buy > one instead of making my own, I will buy one of those. Good luck in your > search. > > On Wednesday, August 27, 2025 at 4:11:06 AM UTC-4 Nick Payne wrote: > >> I commuted for many years before retirement using a Carradice Camper >> Longflap saddlebag to carry what I needed - laptop, lunch, work clothes to >> change into, etc. I also used the same bag and bike to carry all my luggage >> for short tours of up to three or four days. >> >> Here it is being used in the Victorian Alps. >> [image: IMG_0102.JPG] >> >> Nick Payne >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/d5bd813b-9da5-4267-9124-d3199632ca27n%40googlegroups.com.
