I’m planning a long ride and was thinking about one of those little bag/boxes you can stick a few bars and gels in that sits on the top tube just behind the headset- popular with those triathlete types I believe.

Anyway, I reckon one of those might interfere with my knees when I’m climbing out of the saddle so was wondering if you can get anything similar that goes under the top tube out of the way?

There are all sort of frame bags that’ll fit. You’ll usually get a better range on a foreign website though.

http://www.rosebikes.com/products/accessories/bags/bike-bags/frame-bags/

http://www.rosebikes.com/article/xtreme-frame-bag-easybag-s-635699/aid:635701

I’ve never had a problem with my knees hitting my little Topeak bag though.

😉

I just got one of these – can fit my pump, 2 x inner tube, multi tool, tyre levers, phone & wallet no problem. Would work for gels, etc too.

I reckon one of those might interfere with my knees when I’m climbing out of the saddle

How on earth do you think this will interfere with your knees?

How on earth do you think this will interfere with your knees?

i could picture a kneepad velcro, toptube box velcro interface cunundrum that could be quite nasty

used one for longer rides as means can eat when suits you not when others decide they are about to die and they don’t get in the way – the toppeak one is quite good but it really depends on your cable routing

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cycling-Bicycle-Bike-Triangle-Bag-Front-Saddle-Bag-Top-Tube-Frame-Pouch-Outdoor-/290731550023?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43b0f36547

Got one of these works fine.Get all my stuff in it so no need for a back pack.No leg/bag interface issues 🙂

Mine is pretty annoying on the road bike, my knees clip it when climbing out of the saddle, I then sub-consciously started compensating for it and ended up with a dodgy right knee on a recent 100 miler.

i followed/picked up a trial of gels down mynton batch the other week.
saw a chap later on with a tri bag hanging off his top tube.
these two events may not be related.

Does that Deuter Front Triangle bag interfere with your bottle on the down tube?
I also have a topeak tri bag, but I do find it annoying on the road bike and would like to get one inside the triangle.

I’ve got a Jaand frame bag like Rocketdog’s, I use it on my mtb and road bike. If its overpacked, my knees do rub it a little, but not too bad.

I got a cheapy one from ebay first:

(tried mounting it backwards)

£5 posted if you want it…

You could, of course, just use the cheap Tri method…

Duck tape

ir bandito did it work fitted backwards if so i’ll take it if op does not want it

Yep. Probably wasn’t quite as efficient for loading as the corner was sort of pulled up to wrap the head-tube tab around the top of the seattube, but it was fine.

Here’s another (lighter) pic:

Can’t find any pics of it mounted on the front.

email in profile if anyone wants it…

Been on the lookout for a UK source of Jannd bags for a while with no luck. Hadn’t seen those Deuter bags before, so just got that instead. Cheers!

Someone linked up to a shop in Sweden selling the Jaand bags the other day. Same price as from the US, but no import duy as they’re EU.

Hang on, I’ll have a look…

EDIT: Found it
http://cyclecomponents.com/1/sv/artiklar/jandd-frame-pack-svart.html

Cheers, but I think the Deuter one may be slightly better as it’s a bit smaller so should make getting to a bottle a little easier.

I have one of the little Topeak Tri Bag jobs:

Can’t say it interferes with my knees at all. It is almost exactly the same width as my top tube, so I can’t see how it could unless you have a very odd pedalling style or very knobbly knees.

http://www.topeak.com/products/bags/TriBag_raincover

It is almost exactly the same width as my top tube, so I can’t see how it could unless you have a very odd pedalling style or very knobbly knees.

I have one of the Top Peak bags and very, very occasionally I very, very slightly rub the velcro with my right knee.

But, I have a wonky right leg, so my knee also sometimes rubs the top tube – I had to tape some inner tube over the cable guides on my Inbred.

Small handlebar bag?

Just a thought, not the most fashionable item, but keeps everything to hand, and will be well clear of your knees

My top tube tri bag does get in the way of my knees when out of saddle climbing (swinging the bike side to side).

Unconnectedly I was looking at those Deuter bags on CRC last night.

Think I have a bit in the old PayPal account 🙂

These little bags are great on the commuter too as I can leave a couple of gels in there plus my padlock keys, swipe card for work etc.

Another tri bag user and my knees hit against it when in the saddle! This is particularly worse on my triangulated frame.

I do feel that it could be narrower but due to riding small frames it’s the only thing that works. Not used for food but scrunched-up route maps.

Must say that Graham’s one is very posh with its fancy cover. 😀

Thanks all,

That Deuter one Steezysix linked to looks about the closest to what I had in mind, although I did also see this on road.cc today.
Ta for the offer bandito, nobody need hold off following that up on my account 🙂
Also sort of glad to hear it’s not just me whose knees get up around that area when climbing..

Must say that Graham’s one is very posh with its fancy cover.

Yeah Topeak do three versions of essentially the same bag. You can get that one with or without the rain cover. Or there is a dry-bag version which is slightly bigger and even more waterproof but sacrifices the side pockets.

I’m not sure why anyone in the UK buys the version without a rain cover. It’s not like it adds a lot of weight and surely no one likes soggy biscuits 😀

Ordered the Deuter frame bag from CRC on Tuesday morning and it arrived yesterday. (In a jiffy bag, so I wonder if CRC have dropped their boxes-only packaging?)

I’ll try to remember to post a photo once I’ve stuck it on a bike. This, plus the tri bag plus a saddle pack and a bottle cage is a reasonable amount of space for kit for long rides.