Hi! I have a green BarSack/F-15. I have used it some but not consistently. I don't often feel like putting on the F-15 "fork", even though it is only a minor hassle. And I don't like leaving it on for days when I'm not going to use it. (I don't use the BarSack for commuting; I can't think of a way to protect it or its contents from ne'er-do-wells whilst parked at a train station for 9 hours at a time.) So that's a "con" right there.
However, it has been wonderful in use. The magnetic open/close system is exactly what I hoped for: super-easy access but secure closure. They say keep the weight to a few pounds. But it held >5lbs for me without any additional support and did not appear "strained". It is not waterproof, though it is pretty protective. Small gaps can form between the top flap and the side flaps, depending on your contents. Those allow some water in the corners. The side pockets are not fully covered either. With rough-ride jostling, something tiny like a coin battery or a nut or washer stored loosely in a side pocket might bounce out. Bigger stuff is well-blocked by the flap. The material itself is, like all the Sackville stuff, rain resistant but will definitely soak through during a strong or long downpour and allow contents to get wet. If you intend to use the separately-sold map case, that'll prevent direct soaking through the top even in a sustained rain. The map case does make opening/closing a little less than perfect. But it still works fine. I have used the BarSack/F-15 combination on Albatross bars (required some tricky shimming, that did) and on Noodle bars (which required no shimming at all, of course). It's a very easy bag to use. And because it has *no* solid structure of its own, it works very well as a shoulder bag too. I think it comes with a shoulder strap; you should confirm that though. I'm probably not the person to ask about handling. It poses no problem for me. But then, I have no problem with an Arkel Big Bar Bag (actually a very solidly constructed box) carrying 10-15 pounds of shifty contents on camping trips. I guess I just don't understand or even notice "handling" problems of that sort. It never occurs to me to ride "no hands", so the fact that I probably can't do so well with a loaded high bar bag is moot. And I apparently maintain significant pressure on the handlebar when I ride, without incurring any particular discomfort. When people talk about handling, I think they must be referring to qualities which matter when you go 20+mph a *whole* lot more than they matter when you go 15mph. I go 15mph a lot. I very very rarely go 20+mph, and then only in a straight line. There's definitely a difference when I have any sort of weight on the front, be it high or low. And I wouldn't put 30 pounds up that high. But with the sort of weight I would ever put in a cloth bar bag (I'd probably stop at 10 lbs, even supported by a strap of some kind), it's not a difference that I even think about. I just hold on the handlebar and point it where I want it to go. You manage. It feels fine. It doesn't make me noticeably more tired after a 50 mile ride. (By the way, my Albatross bar is the 56cm bar; my Noodle is the 48cm bar.) If you expect to use it regularly or if you don't mind having the F-15 on the bar all the time, then my "con" won't be a con for you at all. If you will want to take it off the F-15 regularly, you can rig it with hex-socket "studs" or "set-screws" that thread into the ends of the F-15, leaving some thread exposed. Then use wing nuts on the exposed thread to secure the bag from sliding forward off the F-15. Now, the fact is that the "snap-around" flap in the back of the bag does a great job of holding the bag in place all on its own. I've used the bag without the wing nuts on the F-15 without any hint of a problem. But that was only with lighter loads (2-3 lbs). Whenever I go on the trail or for 10s of miles, I secure it in front just so I don't have to think about it. Oh, and on a drop bar, you can make installing/removing the fork super easy using a similar arrangement if you leave the handlebar clamp part connected all the time (which I do). It's pretty easy already with the standard bolts on the drop bar. The main reason I haven't used the bag more is that it is *not* as straightforward to install/remove the F-15's fork on the Albatross bars. The shim job I've done is not perfect. There's always pressure for the handlebar clamps to move out of alignment with the fork's rear "slots" for the clamp's "projections". So I always have to tinker with it to get it level and reasonably symmetrical on the Albatross bars, no matter how I secure the fork to the handlebar clamp (with either normal bolt/washer or stud/wingnut). And all in all, I'm sure the normal bolt/washer arrangement is more secure there. Feel free to ask questions if I haven't been clear about anything. And if you have any experience or know of anyone experience with a SlickerSack, please let me know. I'm in a quandry. And the crickets can be heard chirping over in the thread where I placed a post similar to yours about *that* bag. Yours, Thomas Lynn Skean a confessed/professed bike bag nut of the RBW ilk On Oct 6, 2:22 pm, Erik C <erikdcarl...@gmail.com> wrote: > I'm seriously considering picking up a BarSack for my Bleriot. I > searched the archives and couldn't find much in the way of reviews on > this bag set-up with the NITTO F-15 support. Anyone had this bag for a > while and able to comment on any effect on handling, on/off > convenience, in-ride use, etc.? > > Thanks! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
