Front Bar Cradle

[Rapideye]

Just came back from an overnighter yesterday. Rode on my gravel bike using my Acepac front harness and bag. This stores my mat, tent and some sleeping kit.

I'm finding while it works well on my hardtail, it sags too much on my gravel bike and rubs the tyre. I'm having to regularly pull it up and it's a pain. I'm using voile straps to hitch pull it up but that's not great either.

So, riding back yesterday, convinced myself I need a cradle that clamps on to the handlebars, onto which I can strap a dry bag. I saw one that looked good but think that is the Salsa Everything Cage at £130 and that seems expensive. I also saw the Aero Spider which is a bit cheaper. Anyone else got other solutions? I also remember seeing a small chrome rack that'd help stop a bag from touching the wheel.

I've got a month before I need it for the next trip

[gecko76]

I use a Restrap bumper bar which worked well on the old bike but the new one has a shorter head tube and rubbing is an issue so I'm considering a cradle of some sort.

[Lazarus]

https://bathoutdoors.co.uk/collections/drj0n-bagworks

Like the salsa but cheaper[ have one works fine if you stick to weight limit but is tight to bars /cables etc


Also the Alpkit Kanga will work - I have one with the roo pouch if interested in a second hand one- incredibly stable
The aero spider is very heavy [ had one but never used it] but bullet proof, the others have weight limits that are quite low - less than 2 kg iirc

[Retiredtester]

The salsa is fantastic and can be picked up for a lot less than 130 on eBay. This one ends soon and one ended on about 60 quid a week or so ago.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/297213056423 ... media=COPY

[Charliecres]

Something like this might work to stop the bag sagging. I’ve used something similar on my gravel bike.
https://rockbrossport.co.uk/products/ro ... -bar-clamp

[Rapideye]

Just realised I put this in the wrong section. Had actually thought it hadn't posted at all and have just added another post, now deleted. Maybe Mods can move it to general?

[Rapideye]

Thanks, everyone.

Something like this might work to stop the bag sagging. I’ve used something similar on my gravel bike.
https://rockbrossport.co.uk/products/ro ... -bar-clamp

Charlie...excuse my ignorance but is this strong enough for a bag on its own or only as an extra support using a harness? Maybe strapping around both handlebar and this clamp?

Retiredtester - ok, thanks, will keep an eye on that. Hadn't got to looking 2nd hand. I've got a bit of time.

Lazarus - My kit probably isn't over 2kg on the gravel bike as I have to move some things out to make it fit between the drop bars anyway. I'll bear that in mind. The Kanga too...yes, I might give it a go but will probably wait a couple of weeks and weigh up the options first. I like the roo bag idea. I have the Acepac bag that fits to the harness. It's good to be able to put valuables in here that can be unclipped when heading in to shops etc.

Cheers again

[whitestone]

Going with the “suggest what you have rather than what has been requested “ I’ve got Gorilla Cage mounts on the forks. The bags are 5.5L capacity each. No straps to rub which is a big plus on carbon frames

[fatbikephil]

Would one of these help?
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/accessories ... -mm-0-deg/
It's what I use on the gravel bike to support the bar roll.

[Rapideye]

Cheers, Phil. So like Charlie's option, I'm struggling to see how this works in reality. Is this sitting on the underside of the bar roll harness? Strapped around the bar roll and this to keep it stable? Sorry, being dim.

[faustus]

I've used the drjons clamps and strapdeck, and they're ok, but as said tight to the bar and not the outright strongest, and not quite a big enough cradle. I've a salsa cradle I picked up from here for good money and it's excellent, if slightly heavy. It gives room for cables, and hands on the bar, can be put at different angles, and is 100% solid. I tried the aeroe front cradle and didn't get on with it, from memory it gets in the way of cables more, and has a strange method of fitment.
As you mentioned, if your fork has the bosses/fittings, then something like a nitto M18 (or similar) would keep your bag up. Also, agree the suggestion of fork bags is another good option.

[fatbikephil]

Cheers, Phil. So like Charlie's option, I'm struggling to see how this works in reality. Is this sitting on the underside of the bar roll harness? Strapped around the bar roll and this to keep it stable? Sorry, being dim.

I've been trying to find a pic but failed....
It relies on having high bars and a few spacers under your stem so may not work if you have your stem slammed. The bracket goes on the steerer just above the headset. On my set up the bag is still strapped to the bars but the bottom of it then sits neatly on the 'T' piece, to which it's also strapped. So may not work for you, unless the long / angled version might? They are cheap....

[Hyppy]

I’ve done a drJ0n double triple strapdeck (or whatever it’s called) attached to and beneath aero bars in the past. That works quite well and is multi-functional too. I’ve done that with a Farr mini extension loop thing and with regular Deda ‘tri bars’.

[due]

I've tried a few options but tbh I wish I'd just gone straight for the Salsa cradle, it is worth the weight and price. It's rock solid, can be angled down slightly to put the weight in a better place, plays nicely with cables, and creates a shelf to put a little accessory bag on.

[Charliecres]

@rapideye sorry for the slow response. The accessory mount I linked to is similar to one I use to stabilise a front bag and stop it drooping. I run the straps round both it and the handlebar. It’s worked fine for me, using an 8l bag filled with quilt, mat and tarp. It would probably be fine supporting a similar bag on its own but I haven’t tried that.

[rivers]

Before moving over to the Tailfin bar bag, I used a handlebar extender bought off Amazon for about £10. I mounted it below my handlebars and it just pushed the bag up and off my front wheel.

[voodoo_simon]

Here’s the Restrap bumper, wasn’t as cheap as some of the options but does seem longer

[JohnClimber]

I'm enjoy using the Aeroe Front Spider rack at present, keeping the weigh lower and less faffing around with the handle bars.

I'll have it on at the WRT if you are there and want to take a look.

https://aeroe.com/products/spider-front ... tlxvvnSgHZ

[slarge]

Salsa cradle is my almost perfect choice. Almost because it's heavy, and because bar mounted lights need raising to see over the bag.
I took some weight out of mine by shortening the brackets, not a lot of weight save but I had a target of 10% weight reduction and achieved that. Bar mounted lights are more tricky - you need a new bracket setup but this isn't insurmountable.
Expensive but good.

[RIP]

weight and price

Bar cradle? Four cable ties and some gaffer tape stretched between bars and mudguard - 15g and 2 pence :