Of my latest creation?

Not bad if I say so myself. I reckon this gives me about 10 l of luggage space right at the center of gravity of the bike. With a couple of kg in there it doesn't appear to alter the handling of the bike noticeably.

It's made of 500 denier Cordura and although light weight it's pretty tough and water resistant.

With the bar roll and seat bag I can now pack a bivi kit with ease. Roll on the summer nights!

looks like you've made a good job of that, how much clearance do you have of it when its full?

I've gone quite narrow on this incarnation so there's plenty of clearance (2" or so) with my knees. The tightest spot is where the front mech would be. Even there I've got some space though.

good effort, must get round to doing one myself soon, any tips?

Well impressed

Any tips?

Depends how much experience you have…

It's not too complicated if you've done this kind of thing before but if you've no sewing skills then it's going to be tricky to get a decent finish. It's not really a novice project.

I'm wondering if there's a market for custom bags made in the UK, anyone interested?

depends on the quality – but yes there would likely be a demand given the wait for epic bags

Any chance of some bigger pictures?

That's excellent. I would love to have the skills to make one of these. I'm saving for an Epic one instead. If you do start a business for them up, make sure you post it on the forum!

bigger pics+1

looks good though.

where do you source 500 denier cordura?

I'd be intrested if you start making them for the right price

+another1 for bigger pics, just getting the stuff together myself to make one up. Also worth having a look here

For those that wanted bigger pics:

The whole thing…

And a close up of the end on the zip:

As you can see on this bag I didn't use a waterproof zip (I didn't have one handy) but I have created a protective flap to keep the worst of the weather out and to provide some chafe protection. You can also see that it's double stitched, every seam is, as I hate it when my kit falls out onto the trail….

How much were you thinking?

I'd be an interested guinea pig if the price was right.

Email me

Cheers

Another interested guinea pig here. As above, send us an email over if you do get down to it. Was thinking of getting one for a Bivi-Alpine adventure this summer, and as mentioned, the epic designs wait is a bit long. It looks really good

I've been giving this some thought over a beer last night. I reckon the price will be about £60 for a basic bag like the one in the photos.

Since they're custom made there's no reason I couldn't add special features if desired (Internal pockets, dividers, hip flask slot, extra zip, etc). But this would all be little extra.

I've also made a handle bar roll and a seat pack but the latter still needs some work.

I think I'll need to design a website next…..

I'd gleefully hand over £60 for that sort of thing.

sounds good to me. keep us informed.

This is most excellent news. Keep us informed +1

Give us all a shout when you're ready to start knocking them up.

I'd be interested too

Plum

I'm wondering if there's a market for custom bags made in the UK, anyone interested?

I'd be interested too.

If its durable ill be very interested in a bed roll. Id have a frame bag too but i need to decide on my new frame first !

I'd be interested as well.

+1 Here.

Keep me in the Loop.

Looks like there's a massive UK market for frame bags!

…almost double figures!

I'd have thought the trick would be to manufacture something that will fit all or most bikes, as otherwise it would be genuinely custom and so likely unaffordable if made commercially?

excellent, looks like a winner for the bivvy brigade

suggestions:
waterproof – think of front wheel spray/stream crossings
map pocket
use tape straps on downtube so you can still use a crud catcher
internal pocket for fuel bottle – upright, near bottom
have the bottom flat so little bits & pieces don't fall into the V shape (plus gives mech/c-ring clearance)
battery holder for lights (maybe external to preserve submersiblility – dry sleeping bag is essential)
roll-top instead of zip?
does laden bag affect top-mounted gear routing/shifting for non-on-one owners?

Wow, that's a lot of positive feedback!

I'm not really geared up to swing into full production at a moments notice but I do have enough materials about to make 2 or 3 bags. If anyone's serious about giving it a go then there's an e-mail in the profile.

I think I will set up as a cottage (actually summer house) industry. I'll be sure to let folks know….

Feeling inspired now! 😀

I should probably point out one thing I'd do differently on bags made up where the bike isn't available:

In the pics I've used a long sleeve with velcro on the secure the bag to the frame, as the velcro is relatively thin and runs parallel to the tubes it needs to be a good match to the frame tube diameter. If the frame's not available to check against then I'll do this with a series of thinner straps that wrap around the frame. These will be more tolerant of tube diameter and funky shapes (such as hydroformed tubes).

Otherwise they'd be the same as the photos.

I will be in the market for one of these later in the year… and also the handlebar roll… do you have any pics that you could put up of the roll?

if it's a straight top tube but flaired at one end could you not just get diameter measurements, at say seat tube end, middle and head tube end?

Excellent work!

I want one too 😀

I'd add my name to the list of "interested of STW" folk.

The frame bag is very interesting, but with so many variations its surely a fraught area.
I'd be looking keenly at a seat bag for flexibility, to be honest.

Add me to the list!