Cyclodelic Saddle Bag Black/Pink

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