I’ll come straight out and admit it, I do not like top tube bags, they are never the right size, they suffer from floppy bag syndrome unless you use a stabilising system like the excellent 76projects one reviewed here or, and by far the thing I like the least about them is that when you stand up on the bike to climb or sprint my knees rub on the bag! I know this is a personal thing for me and that the vast majority of riders don’t suffer this but having mentioned it on instagram quite a few other people said they had the same issues.
One of those people was James at tailfin.cc. Tailfin have recently added top tube bags to their excellent range of bike packing kit and this included this tapered design said to be perfect for those of us with a knee inwards pedalling action. I immediately emailed Tailfin and James was convinced the new design would solve my issues, as it had for him and sent me one to try out.
The bag is a dual design and can be bolted to your top tube if you have the mounts for a super clean look or using the supplied straps it can fit just about any frame design. The straps thread through two very sticky rubber mounts that grip the top tube of your bike like limpets! If you are bolting the bag on the bolts go through the middle of these mounts giving a even more tenacious grip.
The bag material is a welded design and comes in two varieties, a zip version (only option on this 0.8L pack) or zip or flip lid for quick access on the larger versions. Tailfin describe it as a sculpted design to be knee friendly. This means the bottom tapers towards the top. The bag does not come with head tube strap as tailfin claim it doesn’t need one. Inside is one large compartment with a cushioned insert and a side pocket.
I first used a bike that allowed a bolt on bag and immediately tried to make it top heavy by putting heavy items at the top inside it and then going for a ride. Straight away I noticed the difference to other bags I’ve tried in that my knees didn’t touch it! I tried to dislodge the bag by deliberately riding over rough ground and it was rock solid. It became a silly game of leaning the bike over or trying to rattle it from side to side just to make the thing move at all! It was all in vain, no movement. This also meant accessing the bag via the zip on the move was simplicity itself, open and closing to grab a snack was easy and i got so confident that it would open and close I didn’t even have o look down. This 0.8l bag was just slightly too small to fit my pixel 5 smartphone so if you want to keep a phone in there go for one of the larger sizes but for energy bars, Gregg’s sausage rolls, emergency Haribo and tools it is spot on.
Next i swapped to a bike without mounts and fitted the straps, a word on those actually as they were top quality and worked so neatly with a tiny holder to hold any over lap on the strap they looked good too. Any fears that this mounting system would be looser were unfounded, again the bag was rock solid (this time on a MTB).
The tailfin top tube pack has been on but never off various bikes since April and that says everything you need to know from a self confessed top tube pack hater! The shape works fantastically with my knees, I’d say 95% of the time my knees don’t touch it. On other bags it was the other way around with my knees hitting them to the point of snagging knee warmers. Tailfin are correct, it does not need a head tube strap to be stable. Using the bolt on method and the lack of needing the head strap means the pack looks very good and tidy indeed. The fact that is it functions superbly and the fact that is is 100% waterproof too is just icing on the cake.
The tailfin top tube pack is currently £52 and that sounds like a lot of money, this cost means it is in the same price bracket of some bespoke bag makers stuff but, from a design, materials and function perspective it is worth every penny.
you can see more details on the Tailfin Top Tube Pack on the Tailfin website
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