bryanska wrote:
<snip>
I bought this:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/Default.aspx?Main=Manufacturer.aspx&Manufacturer=Agu&cat=cycle&UberCatName=&UberCat=0&w=0&CategoryName=
an Agu Rack Pack Yamaska 475 recently.
Similar style, fold out "panniers", rack top mounting - so similar that
I wonder if they're not the same item rebadged, or clones to the same
design.
I use it for a 12 mile each way daily commute.
Very useful,and just the right size. It holds toolkit, tubes, phone,
wallet, shirt/socks/pants for work in the main bag. Rain jacket fits
under elastic straps on top, and it's useful to be able to get that out
quickly without opening the main bag. There's a second zip just below
the main zip that allows the main bag to increase in size by about 20%
- again, very useful if there's some extra stuff to bring home. It's
not quite long enough to fit a rolled up sheaf of A4 paper in the main
compartment, but it will cram in at an angle, or can go in the
panniers. There's a "partition" inside that you can move around on
velcro, which is great if the bag is half-empty - you can position it
to stop things from rolling around.
It's fixed to the rack with four velcro straps - I wasn't too happy
with that before I bought it, but it's secure and stable, and quick and
easy to remove and move from bike to bike.
The fold out panniers are useful, but need to be evenly loaded from
side to side - too much in one side causes the rack-bag to be pulled to
that side, and puts a lot of stress on the fixing straps. They're more
an occasional use sort of thing - if I thought I was going to use them
a lot, I'd prefer real panniers.
Very waterproof, good quality zippers etc. Includes a shoulder strap
(useful when touring?), and a "shower cap" type rain cover, neither of
which I've ever needed or used. Don't know if any of this is the case
with the Performance one.
I bought mine for about €30, and it's been excellent value so far.
Downsides - heavy - about 500g when empty, but you're bout to cram it
full of junk anyway, so who cares? Also, as with any rack-top bag,
they hid my rear red LED blinkies, which were attached to my seatpost.
I made a mount for them to fit them onto the back of the rack, behind
the bag.
HTH, Regards,
bookieb
