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Messenger bags are the future.

DonDaddyDDonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
edited March 2009 in Commuting chat
I don't know what it is but Messenger bags are awesome!!!

I finally got my Knog Presto messenger bag. I have never known such comfort from a bag.

Fact that I managed to fit all my rucksack stuff into it was amazing as it looks small at 19ltr. But golly its comfortable!

The big wide strap is comfortable and it hardly moves with or without the sternum strap.

I'm a big fan of the Knog stuff, in a big way. Cool looking quality stuff throughout their range!!!
Food Chain number = 4

A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game

Posts

  • always_tyredalways_tyred Posts: 4,965
    No, you are mistaken. That's a fakenger bag.

    A messenger bag is covered in oil and sweat.
  • DonDaddyDDonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    Fakengers may be onto to something. The bag a messenger bag is supremely comfortable.
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • itboffinitboffin Posts: 19,686
    Carrier bags are the future.
    Rule #5 // Harden The censored Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • singlespeedexplosifsinglespeedexplosif Posts: 1,595
    panniers are the future. I only use my courier bag as a change bag for the baby when we go out now. Mind you, not many people out there have Bontrager or Ortleib change bags ;)
  • cougiecougie Posts: 22,512
    I dooo have a yearning for a messenger bag - but seeing as I run with a bag more than I bike - its just not gonna work out. My bank manager would be pleased at least.
  • gtvlussogtvlusso Posts: 5,112
    I have a Chrome Messenger bag - it is fantastic - premium price though!
  • always_tyredalways_tyred Posts: 4,965
    DonDaddyD wrote:
    Fakengers may be onto to something. The bag a messenger bag is supremely comfortable.
    No, honestly, its nice - good choice.

    Does it have anything to strap across the front and stop it slipping around?
  • il_principeil_principe Posts: 9,146
    DonDaddyD wrote:
    Fakengers may be onto to something. The bag a messenger bag is supremely comfortable.

    Yep, they are used for good reason. I love mine so much I have designed another, just waiting until I can actually afford it before confirming!

    Got mine here:

    http://reloadbags.com/index.php
    2015 Canyon Aeroad CF SLX
    2020 Canyon Ultimate CF SLX
    2020 Canyon Inflite SL 7
    On the Strand
    Crown Stables
  • DonDaddyDDonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    Always Tyred wrote:
    DonDaddyD wrote:
    Fakengers may be onto to something. The bag a messenger bag is supremely comfortable.
    No, honestly, its nice - good choice.

    Does it have anything to strap across the front and stop it slipping around?

    Yep, but its not needed the design is very stable on the back.
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • shoulder_of_orionshoulder_of_orion Posts: 529
    I have a backpack. Can anyone explain the advantage of a courier/fakenger bag over a backpack?

    I had a nasty, brutish and short career as a courier back in the '90s and still have the bag (oil and sweat covered I might add), but I never use it.

    I thought the rationale behind the courier bag is that they are the right size and shape to carry artwork, which is no longer a requirement of my daily commute. Therefore can't see the point in them...?
  • il_principeil_principe Posts: 9,146
    Well I find mine comfier, more secure on my back, less sweaty to wear, easier to access, easier to pack and roomier.
    2015 Canyon Aeroad CF SLX
    2020 Canyon Ultimate CF SLX
    2020 Canyon Inflite SL 7
    On the Strand
    Crown Stables
  • natcotnatcot Posts: 26
    The advantage of a messenger bag is simple............you are free from the rules of the road!! ie, this

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLzGj10f ... re=related
  • rhextrhext Posts: 1,639
    Panniers, every time. Quite apart from the comfort factor (and no matter how comfortable a bag is, it's always going to be less comfortable than no bag at all), there's the ....errrmmmm.... personal hygiene issue. If you cycle a lot, it's going to get sweaty. And if it gets sweaty, then it's going to smell. Very bady indeed after a while!
  • jongingejonginge Posts: 5,945
    rhext wrote:
    Panniers, every time. Quite apart from the comfort factor (and no matter how comfortable a bag is, it's always going to be less comfortable than no bag at all), there's the ....errrmmmm.... personal hygiene issue. If you cycle a lot, it's going to get sweaty. And if it gets sweaty, then it's going to smell. Very bady indeed after a while!
    My old backpack was awful for sweaty back and did, indeed, need washing quite regularly. My new(ish) Deuter Bike 1 has airflow pads which has virtually eliminated the problem :)
    FCN 2-4 "Shut up legs", Jens Voigt
    Planet-x Scott
    Rides
  • shoulder_of_orionshoulder_of_orion Posts: 529
    OK. I cede the sweat issue. Haven't really noticed that this winter but I'm sure I will in summer, might invest in a new one soon...
  • HeadhuunterHeadhuunter Posts: 6,494
    Must admit, I can't see much benefit of messenger bacgs over a rucksack. I've had a cheap and cheerful 37 litre Decathlon rucksack for 18 months now. It's been through rain, shine and snow. I've used it running and cycling and it's held together without problems. I find rucksacks very comfortable.

    Panniers on the other hand are a disaster - they make the whole bike feel heavy. If yuo have a "lively" bike, it won't be after you fit panniers, it no longer feels like you can nip smoothly between the traffic.
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • biondinobiondino Posts: 5,990
    Shoulder of Orion - is asshat a verb?
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • Jay dubbleUJay dubbleU Posts: 3,197
    rhext wrote:
    Panniers, every time. Quite apart from the comfort factor (and no matter how comfortable a bag is, it's always going to be less comfortable than no bag at all), there's the ....errrmmmm.... personal hygiene issue. If you cycle a lot, it's going to get sweaty. And if it gets sweaty, then it's going to smell. Very bady indeed after a while!

    Yes indeed - just got my first set of panniers from SJS - I am never going back to a backpack :D
  • brushedbrushed Posts: 63
    I used to swear by my Timbuk dee dog courier bag - it saw 18months active service as a courier, survived a house fire - got a bit melted then some scrote stole it to carry his booty in when my flat got burgled.

    I now swear by my 20 litre rucksack as the one shoulder strap thing trashes your torso in the end. It twists your back - seriously.

    No end of shoulder spasms until I switched to 2 straps - more balance, more ergonomic yes more sweaty but ultimately more happy and therefore less grumpy / aggressive on the roads.
    FCN 4 summer
    FCN 6 Winter

    'Strong, Light, Cheap : choose two' Keith Bontrager
  • jongingejonginge Posts: 5,945
    brushed wrote:
    I used to swear by my Timbuk dee dog courier bag - it saw 18months active service as a courier, survived a house fire - got a bit melted then some scrote stole it to carry his booty in when my flat got burgled.

    I now swear by my 20 litre rucksack as the one shoulder strap thing trashes your torso in the end. It twists your back - seriously.

    No end of shoulder spasms until I switched to 2 straps - more balance, more ergonomic yes more sweaty but ultimately more happy and therefore less grumpy / aggressive on the roads.
    This is the bit that worries me about messenger bags. Sitting around in front of a computer screen all day is bad enough as it is...
    FCN 2-4 "Shut up legs", Jens Voigt
    Planet-x Scott
    Rides
  • prawnyprawny Posts: 5,408
    I'm thinking about getting a decent sized bar bag like the Ortlieb ones, anyone got any experience with them? Do they muck up the hadling much?

    I'm thinking either that or an SQR Glentress or Tour but I think they might be a bit big.
    Saracen Tenet 3 - 2015 - Dead - Replaced with a Hack Frame
    Voodoo Bizango - 2014 - Dead - Hit by a car
    Vitus Sentier VRS - 2017
  • rhextrhext Posts: 1,639
    Headhuunter wrote:

    Panniers on the other hand are a disaster - they make the whole bike feel heavy. If yuo have a "lively" bike, it won't be after you fit panniers, it no longer feels like you can nip smoothly between the traffic.

    I suppose people will always have different preferences. A couple of observations, however. I used to feel as you do, having used a cheap rack when I was a kid: bike swayed all over the road as the load oscillated on what was effectively a rack-shaped spring. Having now splashed out on a good-quality rigid rack and some good quality panniers to go with them, the bike feels little if any different to when unloaded.

    Average speed and journey time, however, are completely unaffected. At the end of the day, you're carrying the same load, and the closer to the road and more rigidly you mount it, the less energy you'll use swinging it around.
  • DonDaddyDDonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    prawny wrote:
    I'm thinking about getting a decent sized bar bag like the Ortlieb ones, anyone got any experience with them? Do they muck up the hadling much?

    I'm thinking either that or an SQR Glentress or Tour but I think they might be a bit big.

    A bar bag!!! A bag on the handlebars!!!???? A handlebar bag!???

    DUDE!!!! WTF!!!! I nearly threw my computer out the window in a fit of rage!!!!

    bags do not go on bars, bums or in the form of paniers. You're male!!!! Bags are meant to be slung over your mighty globe of a shoulder an effort that pays homage to the days when men used to carry women (back to their caves) in the same fashion.

    I'm told up north that they still do this. Real mean what with the hairy back of the hands and knuckles that drag along the floor....
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • DonDaddyDDonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    prawny wrote:
    I'm thinking about getting a decent sized bar bag like the Ortlieb ones, anyone got any experience with them? Do they muck up the hadling much?

    I'm thinking either that or an SQR Glentress or Tour but I think they might be a bit big.

    A bar bag!!! A bag on the handlebars!!!???? A handlebar bag!???

    DUDE!!!! WTF!!!! I nearly threw my computer out the window in a fit of rage!!!!

    bags do not go on bars, bums or in the form of paniers. You're male!!!! Bags are meant to be slung over your mighty globe of a shoulder an effort that pays homage to the days when men used to carry women (back to their caves) in the same fashion.

    I'm told up north that they still do this. Real mean what with the hairy back of the hands and knuckles that drag along the floor....
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • prawnyprawny Posts: 5,408
    Would I be able to get away with some manliness intact if a said that rucksack straps are too small to go over my pulsating and dashing forearms of doom? :?

    Also I am from the black country(ish) so there are many times I do have a woman and/or a drunk stand up comedian to carry home :D
    Saracen Tenet 3 - 2015 - Dead - Replaced with a Hack Frame
    Voodoo Bizango - 2014 - Dead - Hit by a car
    Vitus Sentier VRS - 2017
  • the_hundredth_idiotthe_hundredth_idiot Posts: 813
    I think I'm going to dip my cycling toes in the messenger bag water.

    I've stopped getting my shirts laundered near my office and am back to ironing them at home - at least for now. I've got one of those shirt-folding thingies which take an ironed shirt and allow you to fold it for travelling - the shirt only has a couple of creases when you unpack at the other end and they soon fall out. The shirt-folding thingy just fits in the rucksack but it is starting to look a little tatty at the edges as I have to bend it a little - a messenger bag looks like a better shape to hold it.

    This one seems like it would fit perfectly and seems a pretty good price. Any thoughts (apart from the staggeringly bad name)?
    http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cru ... g-ec011751
    Never be tempted to race against a Barclays Cycle Hire bike. If you do, there are only two outcomes. Of these, by far the better is that you now have the scalp of a Boris Bike.
  • DonDaddyDDonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    On a serious note. The Knog bag is ergonomically shaped so it sits in the small of your back. The sternum strap not only stops it from swinging around (completely) but it also supports it. As I'm riding I hardly feel it on my shoulder and its position on the small of my back allows air to flow in that area meaning non sweaty back.

    Its a pleasure to use it, a revelation! Honest!
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game
  • ride_wheneverride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    The crumplers are really nice, that's a fairly good price too.

    I use one atm and it has been excellent, and also holds far too much stuff!
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • biondinobiondino Posts: 5,990
    Hurrah for well-timed marketing
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • ride_wheneverride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    that's really nice, and not that overpriced for rapha...
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
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