Nuts About Bike Bags

We're nuts for bike bags. They're the best part of the bike.

Any bag makes any bike more useful. The best bags make the best bikes look better while being more useful. You can't just put a bag on a bike and not notice it, and since it affects how your bike looks, why not strap on a bag that doesn't make your nice bike look worse? Or one that makes your lousy bike look better?

We like neat, tough-looking bags of a neutral color, not too bright or dark. The fabric should be water-repellent at least and the bags should be sewn to hold together, so you can continue to enjoy the bag as it ages. The bags should make you feel like a cowboy or a miner as you open them up take stuff out or put it in, not a hurried account executive hustling down to gate B12 to catch the 7:45 flight to Cleveland, or high school girl with a Luis Vuitton purse.

Natural materials win hands down. Boo on the ubiquitous black nylon, fastex-festooned and overcompartmented packs, briefcases, travel luggage, and bike touring baggage you see all over the place. A lesser boo, but still a boo, on the shiny vinyl bags that you can dunk in the lake, but which don't allow damp clothing to dry in them.

The best-made bags we've ever seen: Nigel Smythe & Sons

These British-made bags have that Barbourish, old-money country estate, let's go hunt some foxes, play some polo, stare at Big Ben, and finish the day off with brandy, mutton, and boiled potatoes look. Every stitch is perfect, the leather trim is consistent in color, and it's safe to say that if you don't like the look of a Smythe bag, you have bad taste or bad eyes.

Bags have been in the Smythe family for several generations now, and it shows. The line of bags we have are made to our specifications, and we couldn't be more proud of them.

Fabrics

The Smythe bags come in laminated wool tweed, both olive plaid and grey/blue herringbone and fine, stiff, waxed (yet dry to the hand) canvas.

All of these fabrics are waterproof. Stitch-holes can leak, though, and if your bag is likely to be in prolonged downpours or even constant, day-in, day-out drizzle, we recommend bag covers. These, too, are made for us in England under the Nigel Smythe & Sons brand, and although they're made of coated nylon (olive color), they do a good job of keeping the bags bone-dry in the wettest conditions, and they're cheap, too.