Topeak Compact handlebar bag

A bar bag is a useful bit of kit for touring, audaxing, commuting and the like and this Topeak Compact handlebar bag is an excellent example, assuming you don't want to chuck the kitchen sink up front.

Measuring just 22 x 13 x 18 cm and with a capacity of two litres, it's at the small end of the bar bag scale. Nominal load capacity is 5kg, although unless you're carrying gold bullion around you'd struggle to fit 5kg worth of kit in it. I mostly carried my wallet, phone, keys, a backup battery and sundry other stuff in it, and that was more or less a full load.

The internals are lined with flock and it's subdivided with Velcro walls, so you can keep stuff that scratches away from stuff that gets scratched. I found the Velcro caught on the net compartment in the lid of the bag a bit, and that coins and small stuff slipped under the dividers, but generally the dividers did a good job.

On the bike the bag opens at the rear with a double zipper so the lid hinges away from you; that means you can dive in and find stuff easily enough. It comes with a waterproof cover for really foul weather, although nothing I rode through during testing necessitated its use, and I saw some pretty heavy rain.

There are two small side compartments too, that wrap around and do up with a buckle at the front. You can undo this buckle, should you so choose, lengthen the straps and use the bag as a bum bag. If that's your thing. It's not my thing. But it might be useful on tour. The side bits are big enough for credit cards, change, blister packs of ibuprofen and the like.

One issue with bar bags is that you lose a lot of bar space, and one of the best things about the Topeak Compact is that the mount comes with a bar extender. It slots into the top of the mount and gives you somewhere to put your Garmin or your light. It's not the world's most sturdy mount, but it never fell off or anything, and I used it all the time. The bag itself attaches with a locking plate and is held very well, with the small size of the bag meaning it doesn't bounce around much.

Verdict

Good little bar bag for those that want a few essentials to hand on a tour or commute.