The handle bar bag has become a bit of a cliché in the gravel bike world, along with check shirts and pictures of gravel bikes next to wood piles in the forest. However the bar bag does have a place on a gravel bike as we tend to carry more stuff than our skinny tired cousins because we go a bit further out there (did you see what I did?) away from civilisation. By that I mean away from cafes and shops. Gravel bikers also seem to be not such fair weather riders and go out when the forecast could turn nasty and inevitably being the UK the ground is muddy. So, the need to carry a decent waterproof jacket, some snacks, some tools and a phone for selfies next to a trig point is there. Stuffing all that into the aforementioned check shirt or the pockets of your cargo bib shorts can be problematic if not downright impossible.
The Victory Chimp Out There bar bag is cylindrical and 20cm wide x 12cm high x 12cm depth and has a 2.8L capacity. It is made from 1000D cordura with a waterproof lining and aquaguard zip. There is an elasticated fabric pocket at one end and a mesh pocket at the other. The mesh side also has a bungee cord and clip where Victory Chimp suggest you can secure a phone. The bag has Molle style webbing back and front to enable straps to fit it to a handlebar and front for attaching, well anything you like. I found it ideal for a cafe lock. The bag also has elasticated paracord on the outside for cinching down anything that doesn’t fit inside. The whole bag is stiffened by a plastic liner meaning there’s no chance of saggy bag syndrome. The inside fabric is bright (and bananary) enabling you to see inside better in low light and there’s also a mesh divider in there too to separate a wallet/phone credit card from the rest of your stuff. The ends of the bag have D rings so you can attach the supplied shoulder strap for carrying the bag off the bike. To fix the bag to your bars Victory Chimp supply two plastic straps with plastic buckles. There is also a cord to stabilise the bag around your bikes head tube or steerer. Victory Chimp have also added a nice touch as there’s a velcro pad area where you can attach a patch of your choice to customise the bag!
In use the bag passes the “can it be opened and closed with one hand while riding along” test with flying colours. So on the fly haribo or crisp rations are easily accessible. I managed to get a lightweight jacket, E-inflator, tubeless repair tool, multitool, Mini phone tripod (social medial, sigh), phone and sandwhiches (normal medium sliced 2 rounds, usually cheese) inside easily and used the side pockets for empty wrappers until I found a bin.
The bag is very stable even with a heavy load in it, I carried a large glass jar of chunky marmalade (don’t ask) for 36 miles over rough terrain and there was hardly any bounce or swinging. Also because of the lining there’s minimal rattle when you’ve only got a couple of things in the bag too. Fitting to the bike is easy, the straps are long and so should fit any weird wide aero bar you have. The straps could be a bit more elastic though, especially when it’s cold out and they stiffen up but then you are probably not going to be taking the bag off and on again like I do so that’s hardly a negative. In fact its hard to find anything but praise for this bag, it quietly gets on with it’s job, seems tough without being overbuilt and heavy, has lots of features but no silly gimmics and can resist typical UK weather. Then again Victory Chimp is based in Northern Ireland so I really shouldn’t be surprised at its design.
So the Victory Chimp Out There bar bag is perfect for day rides freeing up your pockets and holding your essentials securely and comes from a UK rider owned company.
At time of writing the bag costs £45, for that you get a lot of bag for your money. You can find more info on the Victory Chimp website
below are a couple of short videos to give you a better look at the bag and a bit more about that marmalade!
UK GRAVEL COLLECTIVE 