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I prefer to ride vintage bikes and have recently had my old 1976 Aerospace sport (drop handlebar) refurbished/rebuilt. It's working well! However, I have yet to find a small light weight tool bag (for spare tube, spanners and puncture repair) that would fit behind my saddle as the centre pull rear brake cable gets in the way. I've tried a top tube bag, but find it gets in the way. I don't want a handle bar mount either. Any suggestions for alternative bags? bike saddle


bike bag for centre pull brakes Here's the bag in place with new saddle. it is a little cramped for space, but tools and spare tube fit. Thanks for all the suggestions!

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  • 2
    Is it possible to show us a photo of the upper rear of your bike? I am finding it hard to picture what you're working with.
    – Weiwen Ng
    Commented Aug 13 at 14:42
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    @WeiwenNg I've added a picture. Saddle may be replaced!
    – MiguelH
    Commented Aug 13 at 14:52
  • Checking - you're after period-correct, or at least a good facsimile ? So that would imply leather or waxed canvas rather than nylon ?
    – Criggie
    Commented Aug 14 at 3:27
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    @Criggie Thanks, I'm not that bothered about period correct in terms of bags. I've already swapped the wheels for 700c's, added a modern saddle and bottle carrier. I'm just getting my first derailleur bike in the road again!
    – MiguelH
    Commented Aug 14 at 8:29
  • Just a concern. Even making allowances for the stuff there, the seat is really low. You might be risking either knee or crotch injury depending.
    – Dan Gao
    Commented Aug 14 at 20:30

4 Answers 4

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If all you're looking for is a small pouch for a tube, levers, patch kit and a multitool then I have a small Topeak wedge pack on my road bike:

enter image description here

Depending how far back you have your seat mounted, and how far back on the rails you push the pouch, you can create a fair distance to the seat tube. (On my bike it's > 5cm.)

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  • That looks a distinct possibility! Thanks!
    – MiguelH
    Commented Aug 14 at 8:34
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By top tube bag, you probably mean a bag that straps to the top of the top tube and the stem, sometimes called a bento box. Those can prevent you from sitting on your top tube at a light, or hit your legs when standing.

David posted a saddle bag that has a bit of stand off distance from your post. Most saddle bags don't do that, but there may be some others that do. A low-profile saddlebag may also work. The one below is made for Ornot (link to the Instagram post) by Rickshaw Bags (link to their product page, may not be permanent).

Low-profile Ornot saddle bag

Bags that mount under the top tube are a possibility. There are bags that fit under the whole top tube, which I think are usually called half frame bags (because they don't fill your entire front triangle). There are a few bags that fit in the front of the bike between the top, head, and down tube intersection like this one from Apidura:

Apidura racing frame pack

I'm not sure what the standard term is for this. They're less common than half frame bags. But Apidura isn't the only company that makes them.

If you had a Specialized saddle, it has a standardized pair of accessory mounting bolts. Specialized makes a tool kit that mounts to those bolts. Or Lezyne (and probably others) make either bottle cages or adapters with slots for tools - although they won't have room for a tube. You could carry the tube in your jersey pocket or use something like a Voile strap to secure one to your frame. Or you could get a small wallet to carry your entire flat kit. Rapha makes two sizes, although the small version won't easily fit a phone plus a tube and multitool.

Last, you may be thinking of rack-mounted, larger handlebar bags used in bike touring. Lower-profile bags that use straps are available and, in my observation, becoming more fashionable these days. It may be worth reconsidering.

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  • Thanks! I'm currently reusing an old cross bar mounted bag, but find it really annoying as it occasionally hits my legs. It does have plenty of space though!
    – MiguelH
    Commented Aug 14 at 8:36
  • Your second image shows a nose-bag which I find is helpful for moving weight forward on the bike. Weight out the back contributes to a lack of control when on a steep climb.
    – Criggie
    Commented Aug 17 at 21:24
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While I don’t use one myself, I know quite a few people who swear by Portland Design Works’s ‘tube taco’. The concept is dead simple, it’s a bit of the same type of material that a soft tonneau cover for a pickup truck would typically be made of, with some elastic straps on one side designed to hold a spare tube and a couple of tools, and then it straps to the underside of the top tube (or in theory to any other tube that’s long enough on the bike) using a voile strap. The whole thing can relatively easily be attached or removed one-handed or even with bulky gloves, and there’s enough room for everything you’re likely to put in a basic flat-repair kit.

The downside is that it’s open to the elements (though not as much as just strapping it all directly to the frame with no protection), and the space is limited.

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  • Thanks! An Interesting alternative! As you mentioned, it is a little more open to the elements!
    – MiguelH
    Commented Aug 14 at 8:39
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https://www.google.com/search?q=leather+bike+tool+bag seems to be showing a lot of nice tool bags for under the seat, both leather/vintage or not.

enter image description here

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  • Which of these have enough distance to the seat tube to avoid fouling the brake cable?
    – DavidW
    Commented Aug 14 at 13:57
  • @Ekus Thanks for the images/links to the leather bags. I had already seen these, but to my shame, I prefer lighter weight modern fabrics! Leather looks great, but weighs more and needs regular oiling!
    – MiguelH
    Commented Aug 14 at 14:14

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