Top Tube Bags

I recently reviewed the Roswheel Bicycle Frame Pannier and Front Tube Cell Phone Bag on Amazon.com. It's a good bag.

I gave it five stars;
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I am an avid cyclist, riding 8,000-10,000 miles a year. I specialize in randonneuring which consists of very long (200km+) unsupported rides. I've been using top tube bags for many years and spotted this on the top tube of another cyclist a month ago. He and his wife both had one and recommended them strongly. When I saw them on Amazon at ~$6.00 I thought they can't be any good because I normally spend $15-$20 for a top tube bag. They finally arrived today (I got one for my second bike, one for my wife, and one for my daughter). I am VERY impressed. I might have to buy one for my main bike and one for my other daughter.

Let's start with the top. There is a transparent plastic top with a Velcro flap underneath that is designed to hold a cell phone. My wife's iPhone fits comfortably while still in its case. My Lumia 928 barely fits when I take it out of its rubberized case. I think it would also fit if it were in a very thin case. You could also put a routesheet in here or even a Garmin Edge GPS system to protect it from the rain. I just put my Garmin Edge 705 in there and I can read it fine. I could even put the external battery pack for my Garmin or my phone in the main compartment.

The case comes with a headphone extension cord and a port in the front of the case to run a cable through so you could plug a headphone in to your cell phone if you wanted, not that I think that's a good idea. You would run the extension through the port so it's peeking out, then you could plug or unplug your headphones as you want. The top flips towards the rider which means it lays flat on the top tube when open - makes sense.

There's a double zipper around the top with extra large zipper tabs so you can open it with full finger gloves. Opening the top reveals a capacious bag about 2.5" x 2.5" x 5". That's plenty of room for gels, beans, bars, trail mix, even a spare pair of arm warmers. There are no compartments in the bag other than the one for the cell phone. It is sturdy enough not to collapse under its own weight when there's a cell phone in the top.

It fastens to the frame with three Velcro straps with buckles - two for the top tube and one for the steerer tube. You can cinch it down pretty firmly and it doesn't move around. The build quality looks good - I don't see any flaws in the stitching. It also has a reflective strip on each side. It looks good, it's highly functional, and it has a very reasonable price. What's not to love?

Unfortunately its raining outside so I don't feel like giving it a test ride. Hopefully next Saturday :-)

OK - time for an update now that I've given it a test ride. There are a few issues - nothing major.
1. This bag is about an inch wider than my other bags which means when you stand to climb your knees may brush against it. This is an issue with all top tub bags but the width of this one makes it worse. You'll need to keep your knees about an inch further apart when you stand.

2. The straps are too long. If you have an aluminum or carbon frame your top tube will be wide enough (about 1.5" seems OK). If you have a steel or titanium frame you may have problems. My top tube is about 1.3" diameter and when the Velcro loops back on itself through the buckle the hook part misses the loop part which means I can't cinch it up as tight as I want to. I put some rubber strips from old light mounts around the tube and it works fine now but I think this is a design flaw.

3. The strongest point is also a weak point. I use my top tube bag to snack from while I'm riding. The top flap where you put the cell phone makes it more difficult to get to the contents of the bag while you're riding. I found that unzipping one side but leaving the other side zipped up worked fairly well but it's not as easy to get to the food as my other top tube bags are.