Bike-packing is growing in popularity and the bike bag market is exploding. There are loads of brands to choose from and many of them are custom-fit so they can work on all kinds of bikes. The last few months, I’ve had the pleasure to test a few bags from UK bike/packing suppliers Apidura.
I received the bags in December for some arctic testing. The first thing that struck me was how well thought through these bags are. Apidura is a fairly new company founded 2013 but the gear felt like it came from a company that been in the business for a long time. Seams, zippers and buckles all looked amazing and performed excellent. My test bags consisted of a saddle bag, a handlebar bag and a small accessory bag, that clicks on the bar bag, super easy. Great for your extra gloves, camera, phone and energy bars.
But lets start with the saddle bag.
I honestly have not removed it (even once) since I fitted it on the Muk.
I use the fat bike for ice riding and commuting during winter and the saddle bag has been quite handy. I even went grocery shopping with it. Still that’s not recommended. The mounting is very easy and adjustable but Apidura recommends not packing heavy stuff in the saddlebag. It gets wobbly, a steak and some beers made it swing away, while riding home. The reason it has not come off of my bike is the roll top closure and the neat clamps that manage the straps to hang down when the bag is rolled up, to a smaller size. Since all Apidura bags are water proof it also worked as a great mudguard. The bottom part of the seat bag (close to the rear wheelz0 is strengthened with a thick extra layer of material.
Now over to the Handlebar bags.
The handlebar bag uses the same super easy mount system. Just three straps and still very sturdy and the clips for accessory bag is so discrete I almost didn’t find them. The handlebar bag has the same roll ends as the saddle bag, like most dry-bags out there. It´s a great feature, waterproof and easy to adjust to the amount of stuff you pack into them. But, when temperature goes below -15 degrees Celsius the fabric can get quite stiff. If it gets colder some materials can even crack. The Apidura bags are all made of Dimention-polyant VX21. A four layer laminated fabric. It’s very durable and super light. It got a little stiff, but didn’t crack. Not even in -26 Celsius! Keeping things light, is a big thing for Apidura, they brand themselves as leaders in the ultra light bike market. I’m not sure that weight is the main issue when I go to choose bike bags. Durability, mounting and functionality, is more important than, light weight for me. I mean you´ll just stuff them with heavy gear anyway. However, Apidura fulfills all of the above features , yet are also ultra light. Whats not to like? I´m a cyclist…..so of course I´m a weight weenie. Lets face it……it’s in our genes.
Overall, the Apidura bags are serious stuff. I dig them a lot. They might not come in all of the colors in the rainbow, but they do provide high quality gear for your hard earned bucks. These are super durable bags that will last many miles. Apidura offers a full line of bikepacking gear, including, matching frame and top tube packs. Apidura is an up-n-comer and it´s gonna be interesting to see what they develop in the future. The Bike Black Ribbon Test Pilot – European Bureau, gives these Apidura bags their seal of approval and give 4 viking gnomes out of 5 to the Apidura bike bags.
Handlebar bag is £75
Accessory bag is £40
Saddle bag is £ £85
You can get them direct form Apidura They ship all over the world.
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