Dealin' With Some Baggage

Odin's Revenge set up.

 A while back I mentioned BikeBagDude from Australia and that I had made arrangements to get a few items from him to use on the titanium Mukluk. Well, the package hit the door yesterday.....just in time for me to use some of the kit for Odin's Revenge!

Yep, I am putting on the Chaff Bags I got in onto the Fargo. What's a Chaff Bag, you might ask? Well, here's the description straight from the website:

"Handy little bags for the handlebars -they work both on the LHS and RHS. Can be 4, 6 and 8 inch deep. Bungy cord drawstring top made from Terrain X Pac and fully lined."

So, basically these can be used as a feed bag type of gizmo, or they fit water bottles really well. You could stuff gear of appropriate size in there too, I suppose, but since the bags are meant for the handlebars, I would assume the things you stuff in there are things wanted while riding. Perhaps.....other interpretations are welcomed! 

Chaff Bag

 The Chaff Bag has two Velcro tabs up near the opening that you can use on a handle bar, or put one around the bar and one around the stem, as I have here. (Note: The Chaff Bag on the other side of the bar is only looped around the handle bars.) On the bottom of the Chaff Bag there is an extra long Velcro tab to reach down to a fork crown, down tube, or what have you, to secure the bag so it doesn't flop around. The top opening is big enough that I can easily reach down inside it and it features a drawstring closure. (Note: Bag in the foreground is closed, bag in the back ground is open.) 

So, I basically just popped these two on in about two minutes and didn't even think about it, really. However; I think this might be exactly how I run them. The one closest to me will carry food and the one on the front of the bar will carry a water bottle. (In fact- there is a large water bottle in it in this image, you just can't quite see it from this angle.) This arrangement will allow me to carry three large water bottles and three small water bottles for a total of six for a total capacity of 132 ounces of water. All of that water and none of it on my back! I'll need it too, cause the forecast is calling for 95°F and low humidity. 

Custom frame pack

 The other bag is the custom made frame pack for the Mukluk. This is your frame bag with a "false floor" which is removable so you can have a divided compartment or a huge open area inside. The lower zipper allows access to the "basement" level when the floor is installed. 

The bag is very detailed, well made, and spacious. I'll have to do a post dedicated just to this bag at some point, but I need to test fit it to my Mukluk first and then I'll share all of that with ya'all later. 

But before that can ever happen, I desperately need to clean By-Tor up. He's been wallowing in the mire of late, (and it's been loads of fun!), so the frame is encrusted with a thick layer of dried dirt at the moment. No use getting the bag all fouled up right out of the gate with that! Even just yesterday, just before I discovered the bags had arrived, I was spinning the rear wheel up a greasy, slick, muddy climb. I had splashed through mud puddles and thrown up dirt all over it again, as it had just rained heavily here before each way of my commute. Once in the morning, and once right before I left work, so By-Tor is rather messy. 

I'll get all this done and probably wait till after Odin's Revenge so I can write up a proper review on the Chaff Bags and then fit those and the frame bag to a clean Mukluk!