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bike pic > Carradice Bagman Problems > Custom Cycle Fitments  Bag & Bracket

Custom Cycle Fitments  Bag & Bracket

Two products relevant here:

• A bracket which clamps to the seat rails and provides a place to strap on bags that are designed to strap to saddles with bag loops.

  The bracket provides the effect of loops for saddles without them. There is also a “lift” version of the bracket which holds the bag higher to keep it from rubbing on the tire or fender.

• Bags which strap to saddles with bag loops, broadly similar to Brooks, Carradice, and other similar bags.

  CCF bags have somewhat different features, see below.

Some features of CCF bracket:

• There were few other brackets available at the time.

• Even for saddles with loops, a bag might rub the fender or tire. The “lift” version of the CCF bracket might elminate that problem.

• The bracket was designed for quick on/off, so one bike could be used for commuting/touring/etc.; but also all weight for the bag/bracket removed easily for racing.

Some features of CCF bags to compare to other designs:

• The bags were made of coated nylon, which made them somewhat waterproof, but lighter than cotton (e.g., Carradice) or vinyl (e.g., Brooks).

  On “somewhat waterproof”, note that nylon coatings often come off with use. Also, CCF bag seams are not waterproofed.

• Bright colors

  Colors may make bags and bike more visible than darker colors available on Carradice (waxed cotton) and Brooks (black vinyl) bags.

• CCF bags have a tapered “nose” compartment (day bag) or shape (touring) which is narrower than the rest of the bag.

  It is somewhat common that saddle-hung bags rub on the riders' thighs. Some riders add blocks of wood or other spacers between the seatpost and bag, to push the bag back, away from the rider.

  The tapered section on CCF bags provides the effect of a spacer. But (a) the taper provides storage, where a block of wood just takes up space; and (b) the taper is just made of fabric, so may be lighter than a separate block.

• CCF bags are about 40 cm (16 inches) wide, which is narrow enough to help them “hide from the wind” behind the rider.

  Some other saddle-hung bags are wider, although it depends on the model. For example, a Carradice Nelson is similar capacity to a CCF day bag; the Nelson's body is about 35 cm wide, but it has side pockets which make the bag about 45 cm wide overall.

CCF brackets and bags are described further here (cyclofiend.com, as of 2013/09), cached copy here. See page 2-5 for bags, 6 for the rack.

From eBay item number: 261283027240 as of 2013/09, seller "horne4". The listing says in part:

Large-size Day Saddlebag with Quick-Fit Saddlebag Raising Fitment from Custom Cycle Fitments. This bag would be ideal for day touring or credit card touring, or to complement a classic 70's or 80's sport touring bike.

Custom Cycle Fitments was the cottage manufacturing and publishing operation of bicycle transportation authority and author John Forester and his partner, Dorris Taylor. The saddlebags were hand made in the USA from the late 1970's into the early 90's. [...].

The Large Day Saddlebag listed here is detailed on pages 2 and 3 of the catalog, and the Quick-Fit Saddlebag Raising Fitment for Plastic Saddles is described on page 6.

The accompanying pictures show the saddlebag and Quick-Fit Saddlebag Raising Fitment mounted both on a plastic saddle and on a Brooks without bag loops.

The bag has two compartments. The smaller front compartment, accessed from zippers at either end, is triangular in shape, tapering toward the seat-post attachment in order to avoid contact with the back of the thighs. The larger compartment has flaps which extend from both the back of the bag and the sides, and velcro together, to secure the load underneath the bag outer flap. There is also a map compartment on the top of the flap. The bag would be ideal for light credit card or day touring.

The bag is about 440 g, of which about 110 g is the support dowel, and 330 g for the bag. The bracket is about 170 g.

Note the touring bag has a nominal capacity of 1060 in³ (17.4 litres), unclear if that is the main compartment only or there is a separate forward compartment; and nominal weight 370 g. The "large" has a nominal main compartment of 610 in³ (10.0 litre) and 960 in³ (15.7 litres) total, and nominal weight 460 g. It may be the 370 g is a typo, and should be e.g., 470 g.

                                   

Like a Carradice bag, the bag is "hung" from a horizontal wood dowel, the straps go around the rack and dowel.

The forward compartment has zipper access on both sides.

The bag is made of urethane-coated nylon, which is nominally waterproof, but such coatings tend to peel and leak after a few years. Also, water may enter around the straps, which go through both front and rear compartments; the zippers are not water-proof; and the design has compromises for easy access that probably mean water will enter around the left and right edges in a heavy rain.

For comparison, many cyclists from the 1930's through today (2013) use Carradice bags. Here are the Foresster/CCF catalog listings along with catalog listings for some Carradice 2013 products from carradice.co.uk:

A CCF bracket attaches to the saddle rails using hooks that pull on the front of the saddle rails, and clamp aluminum blocks against the back of the saddle rails. Together, these hold a chromed steel frame that includes a horizontal wire, where a bag straps on.

           

The wire is shaped, rather than a simple “U” so that the bag straps will not slide down the wire.

The hooks are tightened with 8 mm nuts. A goal of the CCF bracket is that it can be installed and removed fairly quickly, including that it is only loosened to remove and tightened to install, and does not need to be disassembled in to several parts and then reassembled.

A “lift” version of the bracket raises the bag so it is less likely to rub on the tire or fender.