# Carradice Super C saddlebag



## Chuffy (31 Mar 2009)

Just got one of these to review for Road.CC but I'm having trouble getting it to fit on any of our bikes.

The standard method is with two straps on the saddle loops and another strap round the seatpost. If I do this then the bag is pulled over onto it's 'face' by the seatpost strap. It also sits on the tyre, regardless of whether the seatpost strap is fitted or not.

It's going back, someone else will review it instead, but I'm intrigued now, does anyone else have bother getting these beasties to sit properly? I've got a bad case of WTF? and Why Bother?


----------



## Noodley (31 Mar 2009)

Mine fits fine. I'll go look for a pic.....


----------



## Noodley (31 Mar 2009)

I should add that was the first time I had fitted it and it was not the best fit. 

I have since learned how it works properly.


----------



## Chuffy (31 Mar 2009)

Different bag. 

The one I've got is one of these:-





See those red reflective strips? No bloody use if they're pointing down at the ground...

I've done a bit of Googling and the gist seems to be that you need a Bagman support bracket or a much bigger bike.


----------



## Chuffy (31 Mar 2009)

You've got one of these haven't you?


----------



## Noodley (31 Mar 2009)

I thought it was the bag I had...sorry.


----------



## Chris James (1 Apr 2009)

Chuffy, as you have identified, you need a support of some sort.

Either a bagman, SQR mount, a saddle bag support (all available via Carradice) or a rack.

When I was a kid you could buy a support that looped around your seat stays, so you didn't have to bolt it on the frame. I used it to support a Karrimor sadle bag. I don't know if anyone still makes them. I suppose Carradice are the only game in town now?


----------



## New Horizon (1 Apr 2009)

Welcome to the wacky world of Carradice, happily esconced in the 1950's, still churning out stuff that requires endless bodges and expense to make it sort of work, and that’s after the initial hefty expense. Some people love it, and they're welcome to it.


----------



## Chuffy (1 Apr 2009)

New Horizon said:


> Welcome to the wacky world of Carradice, happily esconced in the 1950's, still churning out stuff that requires endless bodges and expense to make it sort of work, and that’s after the initial hefty expense. Some people love it, and they're welcome to it.


I have to say that after trying to get the damn thing to fit on all five of our bikes AND trying to get their SQR support system to fit, all without success, I'm inclined to agree with you. Beautifully made, great material, but rubbish design and engineering. Probably best if someone else reviews it, because I'd be less than kind....


----------



## MacB (1 Apr 2009)

Main reason I went for the Arkel rack pack rather than then Carradice I set out to buy. Too much faff and I wanted something that would easily go on all my bikes.


----------



## Chris James (1 Apr 2009)

I think you are all bieng a little harsh. The Super C saddlebag has a capacity of 23 litres so is effectively the same size as a medium rucksack. It is not surprising that it needs some support to stop it waggling around.

If you buy the purpose made support then I don't think there is loads of bodging required (I wouldn't know, I don't have one!)

New Horizon, if Carradice are so crap what alternative do you suggest with the same carrying capacity? MacBludgeon's rack pack requires a rack for support (which are more expensive and heavier than the Carradice saddle bag support), as do panniers. You can use the same rack to support a Super C.

I have an old Camper Longflap I occasionally use with a rack, but mostly I just don't carry much stuff. The Super C is huge and sized for Bed and Breakfast touring. For days rides Noddles Barley looks the ticket and he doesn't use any support with that.


----------



## Chuffy (1 Apr 2009)

Chris James said:


> I think you are all bieng a little harsh. The Super C saddlebag has a capacity of 23 litres so is effectively the same size as a medium rucksack. It is not surprising that it needs some support to stop it waggling around.
> 
> If you buy the purpose made support then I don't think there is loads of bodging required (I wouldn't know, I don't have one!)
> 
> ...


I think the answer to that is that of the five bikes I tried to fit the Super C to (and the SQR support system) none would take it. However, four of the five will happily take a rack, with the minimum of fuss.

The Carradice website doesn't give the clearence that the bag needs, so you might need a support for it, or you might not. If not, then you have to buy another part, but you won't know that until you've looked at the bag drooping face down onto your tyre and wondered WTF you've done wrong. My bike is not small either, it's actually slightly too big for me (54cm frame) so to me, the bag is just badly designed. If it's going to need a support for anything other than a large frame, then build the support into the feckin' design! 

Frankly, after all that faff I couldn't give a stuff about how well made they are or how much they will carry...


----------



## nilling (1 Apr 2009)

Every so often I fancy buying a Carradice saddlebag - nice retro styling

But after looking on their web-site I seem to get put off for some reason. Now after reading Chuffy's experience I'm glad never bought one and I'll stick to panniers and rucksack.


----------



## Crackle (1 Apr 2009)

Chuffy said:


> I think the answer to that is that of the five bikes I tried to fit the Super C to (and the SQR support system) none would take it. However, four of the five will happily take a rack, with the minimum of fuss.
> 
> The Carradice website doesn't give the clearence that the bag needs, so you might need a support for it, or you might not. If not, then you have to buy another part, but you won't know that until you've looked at the bag drooping face down onto your tyre and wondered WTF you've done wrong. My bike is not small either, it's actually slightly too big for me (54cm frame) so to me, the bag is just badly designed. *If it's going to need a support for anything other than a large frame, then build the support into the feckin' design! *
> 
> Frankly, after all that faff I couldn't give a stuff about how well made they are or how much they will carry...



Yup. I nearly bought the Barley when I was looking for a day bag but was put off by various bodge articles on the web about how to stop it resting on your wheel and I didn't want the SQR mount. FF has got that setup and is perfectly happy with it though.

In the end I settled on this because I didn't want to leave a rack permanently attached, it's fine but threading the straps through the buckles requires patience and a knife; how daft is that, surely it's not hard to design straps that go through the buckles fitted.


----------



## MacB (1 Apr 2009)

Like Nilling I was perusing the Carradice site with intent to buy, the different fittings led me to search on reviews. The amount of comments that I came across, akin to Chuffys', led me to seek another bag. Appreciate my option only works with a rack but then all my bikes will have racks. If I do go down the route of no rack then I may revisit the Carradice idea.


----------



## Chris James (1 Apr 2009)

Chuffy, I understand you are frustrated, and I am not employed by Carradice or anything but ....

As far as I know no bike baggage of that capacity has a built in support to it. Carradice are not unique in that regard.

If four of your five bikes take a rack then use that as the support. Problem solved - unless you want to fit it to your fifth bike! Then there is the whole issue of whether your saddle has bag loops ....

I agree with your point about the Carradice website being a bit rubbish. But if the bag is uniquely crap I am intrigued as to what you are going to replace it with. As far as I can see all the competitor products also require a support. 

I would be amazed if one of the larger saddlebags could be fitted to a 54cm frame without some sort of support though. The only people who seem to get away with no support are CTC types with 25 inch frames and one inch of seatpost showing. But I suppose I only know this as I have used saddlebags on and off in one form of other for about 25 years!

Only the plus side, cotton duck is bombproof, will last forever, and using a simple support is lighter than using a rack.

Funnily enough, of the three saddle bags / wedge packs I have, the Carradice is the ONLY one that fits to my B17N without any bodging.

My Topeak wedge pack won't attach to the rails as the gap between the rails on the B17N is the wrong spacing for the bracket (so I use a cable tie instead). I have an Altura fusion bag which attaches via rixen and Kaul fittings - there isn't enough rail length left on my saddle so it doesn't attach very satisfactorily and the nett result is that I never use it).


----------



## Chuffy (1 Apr 2009)

I'm so glad it's not just me being stupid! 

If Carradice had supplied the bag with a Bagman system, instead of the SQR then I probably wouldn't have posted this thread. But I would still question the wisdom of a system that makes it almost impossible to easily remove the bag from the bike and also requires a bodge to make it work in the first place...


----------



## Chuffy (1 Apr 2009)

Chris James said:


> If four of your five bikes take a rack then use that as the support. Problem solved - unless you want to fit it to your fifth bike! Then there is the whole issue of whether your saddle has bag loops ....


Brooks saddles on all of my bikes, so no problem there.
I don’t normally use a rack, I use a backpack, but the Carradice was sent to me to review. Initially I was pleased, because it would be nice to have my back free, but after an hour of grumbling and swearing in the shed I was less chuffed. Carradice sent us the SQR fitting (presumably on the assumption that we might not have bag loops) but that won’t work on any of our bikes either. The instructions say that it needs 5cm of post. Not true. It needs 5cm of post _plus_ clearance above and below, so things like seat post clamps and saddle rail bolts will foul the clamp unless you have about 15cm (my estimate) of clear post showing. 



> I agree with your point about the Carradice website being a bit rubbish. But if the bag is uniquely crap I am intrigued as to what you are going to replace it with. As far as I can see all the competitor products also require a support.


I won’t be replacing it with anything, but I’m very glad that I hadn’t shelled out my own money for one. 



> I would be amazed if one of the larger saddlebags could be fitted to a 54cm frame without some sort of support though. The only people who seem to get away with no support are CTC types with 25 inch frames and one inch of seatpost showing. But I suppose I only know this as I have used saddlebags on and off in one form of other for about 25 years!


Then why not supply a support as standard? Or design one into the bag? It’s supplied as a standalone storage solution. If it can’t be used as such, except for people with freakish frames, then that’s a design flaw.



> Only the plus side, cotton duck is bombproof, will last forever, and using a simple support is lighter than using a rack.


The bag is lovely, I just wish that it fitted on my bike…



> Funnily enough, of the three saddle bags / wedge packs I have, the Carradice is the ONLY one that fits to my B17N without any bodging.


My saddle is the only part of my bike that it fits on. I’ve never had a problem with wedge packs on my saddles before.



> My Topeak wedge pack won't attach to the rails as the gap between the rails on the B17N is the wrong spacing for the bracket (so I use a cable tie instead). I have an Altura fusion bag which attaches via rixen and Kaul fittings - there isn't enough rail length left on my saddle so it doesn't attach very satisfactorily and the nett result is that I never use it).


Fair enough, other stuff may have compatibility issues, but I’ve never come across a product where the usage was so badly compromised.

Criticising a Carradice Saddlebag feels wrong somehow, like slagging off steam engines or the Lake District, but however much I want to like it, I can’t help but be deeply irritated by the basic crapness of the design….


----------



## Plax (1 Apr 2009)

I have the Carradice Barley saddle bag using the SQR system. It holds 7 litres and I love it. I had it just looped through my Brooks saddle to begin with but discovered the SQR system when I wanted to transfer the Barley onto my hybrid which can't take a rack. Ideal as I can swop between the bikes now. Anything larger and I can see how you would need some kind of support - with the Barley on my Brooks saddle the bottom used to touch the top of my rack.


----------



## Eat MY Dust (1 Apr 2009)

I use a Carradice SQR Tour on my road bike and can't fault it (on my bike) I have however heard of people having problems with wheel clearance.


----------



## andrew_s (2 Apr 2009)

Chris James said:


> When I was a kid you could buy a support that looped around your seat stays, so you didn't have to bolt it on the frame.


Like this?

The bag tipping back thing is because the bags were designed when people rode bikes with frames as large as possible. The saddle would be well forward on the rails, and the seatstays would keep the bag pretty much upright. If you want to use a modern compact frame, the simplest thing to avoid the bag tipping back is to use a long seatpost strap threaded through 4-6" of plastic pipe.

The big Carradice saddlebags (Super-C, Camper Longflap) will need 19-20cm of space below the attachment point if supported, or 22-23cm if not. If you don't have the space, they won't fit your bike so you'll just have to use a smaller model.

I find that the Bagman QR system works really well. I've the full system on one bike (no rack), and just the clamp on the bike with the rack fitted. As quick on & off as anything


----------



## Chris James (2 Apr 2009)

andrew_s said:


> Like this?



Yes, that is exactly what I was talking about. I bought one for about a fiver in around 1985 and thought it extortionately expensive then!

It worked well though, and so I wonder why they are not more generally available. I suppose the current trend towards smaller frames makes them less useful?


----------



## John the Monkey (2 Apr 2009)

A friend of mine has one on his (rather lovely) old Mercian - the only problem he seems to have is that the bag sometimes moves about a bit too much.

Chuffy, I think it might not be such a bad idea for you to do a review, tbh (as well as passing it on for someone else to review as well). A site that never pointed out the downsides of products that don't work for everyone is not much use at all. At the very least, forward your comments to the next reviewer.


----------



## Pottsy (2 Apr 2009)

So what is the general opinion of whether to go for the SQR system or the Bagman?

I have the same problem Chuffy, it is annoying.


----------



## andrew_s (2 Apr 2009)

At the moment, go for the SQR because the Bagman is out of stock just about everywhere
I prefer the Bagman QR though.


A standoff to stop a saddlebag with no support swinging forwards under the saddle and brushing the backs of your legs
http://128.83.80.200/bike/nelson.html


----------



## Tail End Charlie (3 Apr 2009)

I have an SQR Tour bag and it's brilliant. Easy to get on and off in seconds, well made and tough. The pockets at the side of the main bag are great for tools, inner tube etc, which can just stay in there. The SQR fitting mount is a great idea.


----------



## Danny (3 Apr 2009)

You can just buy the SQR fitting system from Carradice and use it with a Super C saddlebag. I've done that and it works really well. Also makes it every easy to put the saddlebag on and off the bike.


----------



## Fab Foodie (3 Apr 2009)

Ha!
I had/have one of those old Karrimor rear-stay fixings to support the bag and a large black cotton Karrinmor saddle-bag to go with it... but it doesn't work on my Compact Giant. The Karrimor bag was brill, better design than the 2 Carradice I have (Barley and Camper Longflap).

I use the SQR on my Giant with the Barley and the Karrimor bag, it works a treat for ease of use. The Karrimor fully loaded is a very big bag on the back of a TCR but found that it was pretty stable, the addition of a bungee cord to the saddle-rails made it rock solid.

Fitting the Barley to my TCR was a fag without the sqr as my Brooks saddle is waay back on the rails and the bag was nearly horizontal, I made a stand-of with a space-grip and some plastic pipe. The SQR fixed the issue and is readily transferrable from bike to bike.


----------



## Chuffy (4 Apr 2009)

Right then...

Tarnation, I'm going to review the damn thing. As JtM said, the problems I've had are as valid a view as someone with a perfect frame who has no problems. I like the 'length of plastic pipe' standoff bodge though. I might well try that...

Meanwhile I've fettled a rack onto TC, so that will solve the problem for the moment.


----------



## Fab Foodie (4 Apr 2009)

Chuffy said:


> Right then...
> 
> Tarnation, I'm going to review the damn thing. As JtM said, the problems I've had are as valid a view as someone with a perfect frame who has no problems. I like the 'length of plastic pipe' standoff bodge though. I might well try that...
> 
> Meanwhile I've fettled a rack onto TC, so that will solve the problem for the moment.



That's the spirit!

Remember, if you diss the Carradice publicly, you'll have hoards of beardy men in Tudor longs torturing your soul for ever...

By the way, what's the saddlebags name (who made it... generally biro'd onto the tag inside. My Barley is a Christine).


----------



## Pottsy (4 Apr 2009)

Hee hee, I've got a Sue.


----------



## Plax (4 Apr 2009)

I have a Patricia


----------



## Baggy (4 Apr 2009)

Sue has been busy, Chuffy's bag and the pannier he has to test are both Sue's.


----------



## Bill Wickham (6 Feb 2013)

I'm new to this forum & notice that there's been some discussion on the Carradice Super C wedge bag. I've had one for some time &, while I find its 8L capacity very useful, I found the fiddley attachment system irksome. I've overcome this by modifying the bag to attach using a Topeak QR system. I've had to make up a plate in s/s to extend rearwards from the saddle rails & it all works very well. Details / photos etc. could be supplied upon request.


----------

