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review

Cyclodelic Saddle Bag Black/Pink

8
£55.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Fabulous looking bag, on or off the bike, and usefully roomy - not cheap, but not expensive either
Weight: 
233g
Contact: 
www.cyclodelic.co.uk Amy Fleuriot amy@cyclodelic.co.uk

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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Cyclodelic aim to bring a little girlie style back into cycling kit, and the Saddle Bag shows just how committed to this end they are.

A fairly traditional bag in concept, the Cyclodelic Saddle Bag adds a few twists just to keep things interesting. Available in either black and metallic hot pink or purple and gold colour options, the bag is immediately visually arresting. Lined with a fun contrasting screen printed ‘wheel’ design cotton fabric, they contain an elasticated pouch pocket for keys, phone etc, as well as the roomy main compartment. The bag measure 15cm x 14cm x 15cm so it’s a generous size for a saddle bag, and easily big enough to take your phone, lunch, camera and a lightweight windproof jacket or a spare pair of gloves. It's reasonably light too at only 230g.

The bag fixes incredibly easily to the rails of the saddle and to the seatpost, and is stable and secure in use. It’s made from hardwearing cordura and whilst not waterproof, it will shed road muck and light showers reasonably well. The bag fastens with a pair of brass coloured metal fasteners, and has a reflective trim that runs along the top of the coloured panel. Ideally, I’d have liked this reflective trim to have been standard colour Scotchlite, rather than the black variant, as this seems to be more readily reflective, but it does do the job and makes the rider more visible. A tab on the front of the bag also acts as a handy light clip for additional after-dark safety.

What really sets this bag apart though, is the strap design. With a few contrast coloured press-stud fastenings, the bag can easily be morphed from a saddle bag into a funky shoulder bag or clutch bag, that genuinely doesn’t look out of place or too ‘bikey’ for a shop or café stop, or even an evening out.

All in all, it’s a cool and useful bag, it's not cheap as saddle bags go, but then it is trying to be more than simply functional - it's a designer fahion item, plus it is also a very versatile bag and judged against the sorts of prices you might expect to pay for a designer shoulder bag (or even a non-designer one) the price seems reasonable for something that is both lovely and useful.

Verdict

Fabulous looking bag, on or off the bike, and usefully roomy. A little bit pricy as a saddlebag… but possibly not as a bag

road.cc test report

Make and model: Cyclodelic Saddle Bag Black/Pink

Size tested: standard

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes, immensely.

Would you consider buying the product? Have started saving already.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes. But I'd rather be exclusive.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 37  Height: 1.65m  Weight: 67kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, general fitness riding, mtb,

Lara has been riding bikes for longer than she'd care to admit, and writing about them nearly as long. Since 2009 she has been working as part of the road.cc review team whilst championing women's cycling on the side, most notably via two years as editor of the, sadly now defunct, UK's first and only women's cycling mag, erm, Women's Cycling. 

Believing fervently that cycling will save the world, she wishes that more people would just ride a bike and be pleasant to each other. 

She will ride anything with two wheels, occasionally likes to go fast, definitely likes to go far and is always up for a bit of exploring somewhere new and exciting. 

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1 comments

Avatar
neilwheel | 14 years ago
0 likes

Excellent!  4
Not my first choice, but its the style that counts!
Let the great transverse saddle bag revival begin!

So much better than pretending to be a messenger...

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