Ride Boulder Co

Bike Bags: Brooks, Acorn or Queen Bee

Posted on 09. Sep, 2009 by admin in Cycling Bags

(picture from http://oldbikeblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/making-saddle-bag-part-i.html)

I have a great bike – a Rivendell Quickbeam. It’s perfect for cycling around town, although I have taken it off road many times. I use it nearly every day to run errands around town.

Needs a pannier?

It seems recently I have been cramming more and more stuff into my messenger bag and it is killing my back. I am thinking that perhaps I need to add some panniers to it. Anytime I mention adding panniers to my bikes, my husband cringes saying “I am messing with the aesthetic” but the aesthetic means I have jars and stuff sticking into my back.

So, I have been looking at different bags out there. One guy, at the Old Bike Blog, is making his own Making a Saddle Bag, Part I and I think that is fantastic and wish I was inclined to try my hand at that sort of thing.  But I only have one of those hotel packets with a needle and the three primary colors of thread. So, I have been researching and found three that I think might work. Two are made in the US – Queen Bee and Acorn Bags, which is a big plus but one is Brooks, which has all that leather and tweedy history.

Choices

I am probably more inclined towards the Brooks just  because of the style of bike I have but the Acorn Bags are pretty similar in styling. The only drawback with the Acorn Bags is that they don’t appear to have panniers. But maybe one large bag on the back would work. I guess it depends on what I’ll be carrying but I imagine it will be groceries, laundry (dry cleaners), books, wine, etc that type of thing. The Queen Bee bags look well-made and maybe even a little sturdier than the Brooks pannier but as I have not touched and felt either one perhaps that is unfair. I wonder how both hold up in the snow.