Brompton cargo options: O Bag with DIY extenders, and Folding BikeBasket

D calls me a pack mule, and a quick glance at what's on this blog is consistent with that--I like to find ways to carry things on my bikes. Herewith my two current Brompton cargo options:

Brompton O Bag by Ortlieb
I got the O Bag as part of my bike's package deal, which was great because the impetus for getting the bike was my multi-modal commute. The bag is well made, and though I haven't ridden in any torrential downpours, I'm confident that it's as waterproof as claimed. It's also sizeable, and could easily contain a change of clothes, my toiletries, my lunch and sometimes my breakfast too, and work papers.

O bag on Brompton

The features I found most useful about the bag:

• Rear roll-top detachable bags: These are handy for carrying items I want immediate access to. The attachment system is secure enough that I put my wallet, keys, and cell phone in these pockets, yet the bags are not difficult to detach. The reflective logo on each is also appreciated.
• Shoulder strap: Having the strap to the bag (in addition to the top handle) is great for those times when I need to lift my folded Brompton while carrying my bag. The strap as well as the buckles attaching it to the bag are sturdy, so I don't worry about failure given how much the bag can carry. When I'm riding around, I tuck the strap insider the front flap so it doesn't rub the wheels or accidentally catch on anything. As a bonus, you can also use the strap on one of the small detachable bags.
• Plastic feet on bag bottom: The bag can stand upright on its own, a helpful feature when I'm on a train platform and want to set the bag down. The feet also spare the bottom of the bag itself from some wear.

There are other features that I don't use to full effect, but still appreciate. There's a large padded laptop sleeve inside, with a wide velcro closure. Multiple compartments inside--even individualized pockets for pens--help keep things organized, and the light grey interior make it easy to find things. The orange key strap is also visible and removable. These details would be perfect if I was using this as an office briefcase, and maybe in the future I will.

The only real shortcoming of the bag--at least for amount of stuff I was putting in it--was the length of the front straps for the bag closure. At their original length, even when fully extended, I didn't feel like I was getting all the available volume at the top of the bag. I'm not the first person to notice this problem, or to try to devise a solution. I only needed a couple more inches, and I didn't want to physically alter the bag, so I decided to make little strap extenders (with D's help, naturally):

Strap/buckle extenders for O bag

I bought a couple of replacement stealth buckles from Ortlieb and some black nylon webbing from REI, and attached the male and female part of each buckle using a small length of strap. The extender buckles fit right into the male/female parts of the existing buckles, and it's actually a little easier to open the bag using the extenders since they're not sewn directly onto the bag. The extenders add about 2.75" of length to the strap, which is just enough so that my things don't feel crammed in, but the front flap fold still keeps the elements out.

O bag with strap extenders attached

Overall, the O bag is great for commuting. Aesthetically it's definitely more tech than tweed, but I think it looks great on my white Brompton, and has a professional feel to it.

Brompton Folding Basket
Last weekend I bought the folding basket for the times when I wanted to use the Brompton for small shopping trips. Others have written about how they use the O bag for this purpose, but honestly it feels too heavy duty for such a casual use. And while I have my Globe and all its various ways of carrying things for dedicated grocery trips, sometimes I just like riding around on the Brompton and I wanted the option of spontaneously stopping by somewhere to pick up something. Also, D recently got me a nice digital camera, and I didn't want to carry it around on a shoulder bag, so it can go pretty easily into the folding basket.

Folding basket on Brompton

Although I've only used the basket for two shopping trips, I'm already amazed by how well the Brompton plus basket system works. I can use my bike in shopping cart mode at the two grocery stores I go to, so I just stick my groceries directly in the basket, and get a good sense of how much I can carry--it's more than I had anticipated. Small tip: I use a standard Baggu bag to hold my things, as it fits perfectly inside, and I can tie the handles to keep things from flying out during my bumpy ride home (see below).

Rear view of basket on carrier block

Baggu bag peeking from inside

There's also something adorable about Bromptons as cargo bikes. The small wheels with (proportionally) large carrying capacity remind me of "shopper" bikes or a classic butcher's bike, but with a more modern design.

Anyway, as I have more experience with this basket, I'm sure I'll have more to say, including any negatives. For now it's added functionality to my already versatile Brompton, which is as high a praise as I can give for a simple bike basket. =)

Po Campo Wristlet

I had been looking for a small bag for my Brompton for a while, to carry a phone, wallet, maybe a small set of tools when I didn't plan on carrying a larger bag. I checked out the mini O bag, but the price was too steep for the anticipated use. I also considered a canvas roll to use as a saddle bag, but I couldn't find one to see in person, and they have a tweedy aesthetic that isn't really my style. 

Enter the Po Campo wristlet, which I remember seeing online, but hadn't really considered. I was actually at the bike shop to check out some other bags, but they had just received these so they were featured up front:

I wasn't actually in the market for a handlebar bag given the Brompton's non-standard handlebar shape and fold, and I'd grown used to an underseat bag on my Globe, but the wristlet looked promising. I clipped it onto my bike and, lo and behold, it fit and it didn't interfere with the fold!

So I bought it on the spot and rode home with it. I hung the bag facing me, so that I could fold my bike without having to remove the bag. It was actually quite handy because I was mostly winging it on the streets, and had to pull out my phone every now and then to check where I was.

Of course, I hadn't completely given up on the idea of an underseat bag. The clip system on the wristlet could easily attach to the rails of my seat, but I thought the bag would cover my rear light. Then I realized that I could clip my light to the strap and position it in a way to make it visible, so now I can alternate bag placement.

I've had this bag for more than a month now, and it's mostly lived up to my expectations. I do have a few notes on my experience:

• The zipper can be difficult to work around the corner of the bag, though on the plus side this means the contents are secure, even when the bag is upside-down on my folded handlebars.
• When the bag is on my handlebars and loaded down, the metal clips rub against the brushed metal on the handlebars, marking them up. This is mostly a cosmetic issue, perhaps easily remedied by adjusting the bag position or not filling it up so much.
• Placing the bag under my seat works well, but I haven't ridden around enough at night to assess if my rear light is functionally visible. I'll have to ask D to follow me and check it out. For now, I can rely on my helmet's rear light if need be. 

Overall, I'm happy with this wristlet, especially since I had not initially considered it when looking for a small Brompton bag. It's also cute and looks great on my bike, and that's almost as important as its functionality, no?

One Year Later: Cargo Options Revisited

Last summer I invested in various cargo options for my bike, based on my anticipated use for each. I've had a year of experience with these items now, so I thought I'd do a comparative evaluation. Here's my assessment from most used to least, though my riding has changed since I moved to DC so the list is likely to re-shuffle by next year:

Detours Ballard Market Pannier 
Because the predominant use of my bike for the first half-year was for commuting to work, my pannier became cargo option that I used most. I'll leave a full review to others, but suffice it to say it was an excellent bag for my needs: I could carry gym clothes and shoes, as well as lunch, the standard contents of a purse, and sometimes papers and a laptop without any issues. The side and front pockets were also handy, deep enough that I felt comfortable putting my wallet or keys in them, for easy access during my ride. The pannier was secure on my rack with all of these things inside, even as I went over some extremely bumpy terrain (there was a minor issue with the rack clip attachment, but there was an easy fix demonstrated on the website). The rubber bottom is another nice feature, great for when I would set my pannier down as I was locking up my bike--it would keep the bag upright, and protect the contents (and pannier itself) from the grime.  And after constant use for months on end, it still looks almost new.

Pannier on rear rack

These days I don't commute with my Globe so I don't commute with this pannier, and it's sadly underused. It would be a serviceable shopping bag, but I usually use my crate or basket, plus the pannier requires more careful loading of things into it compared to just using a regular grocery sack and sticking into a crate or rear basket. I still plan on keeping the pannier around though, and it does come in handy on occasion.

Milk Crate

This remains by go-to grocery shopping and general errand-running cargo option. It is the most secure, and gives me the most capacity. It requires a little more set up than the others, and is also a little more weight, but for serious shopping it's worth it. I've loaded the crate up and my ride remains stable. Also, I can leave it on my bike while I go into the store or wander around a market. As an added bonus, it increases by rear visibility considerably since I attached a huge swath of reflective tape to the crate, and a mounting bracket for my rear light.

Crate with reflective tape and rear light

I used to do one big loop and hit up all my stops, so by the end of my loop I need a cargo net to keep everything in the crate. After my move, I could break my trips into smaller segments and drop stuff off at home, so I don't always need to use this option, and try to alternate with the bottle basket. It's still preferred for the heavy duty grocery shopping though.

Basil Bottle Basket

Surprisingly, I used this basket the least of all my rear cargo options. It's well-made and beautiful, but for the way I was using my bike, its functionality was superseded by the milk crate. Post-move  I have smaller rides, and the things that used to be a hindrance now work to the bottle basket's advantage. For example, the farmers' market I go to now is a tiny neighborhood one, and when I know I'll be gone the next weekend, I don't buy as much. I can take this basket and drop it onto my rack, and either bring it around with me at the market or leave it on the bike since I'm never more than 25 feet away. I used to secure it with a bungee, but the arms are long enough that it's not really necessary, and the ride isn't that long anyway. I pair this basket with a Baggu shopping bag, which is roomy and has handles that I can tie up to prevent anything from jumping out.

Bottle basket on rear rack

Wald 137 Front Basket

I made this purchase in the early fall, because I thought it would be nice to have a light carrying option for when I wanted to use a bag that wasn't a pannier, but didn't want to take something as large as my crate or even my basket. I also thought it would be good to have the extra space to carry things home when my pannier was fully loaded (which it often was). However, for a while I was ambivalent about this basket, and went back and forth on leaving it as a fixture on my bike. For one thing it made the bike harder to carry down the stairs, which I did on an almost daily basis. For another, it interfered with my front light, although D (true to form) came up with a DIY solution that is not ideal but still pretty functional. I was also worried about it getting wet and rusting.

Now that I have secure bike parking in my building (also, there's no way I can keep my bike in my apartment) I've started keeping the basket on the bike. People sing the praises of Wald baskets, and I agree it's both well made and affordable. It's a fairly shallow basket so I've permanently attached a cargo net to the front so things don't go flying out. I use it as anticipated, plus it's been pretty handy to have in combination with the rear options, and its wide bottom is great when I want to keep something laying flat.

Milk crate and front basket

Anyway, it was helpful being able to choose between these different options as I was figuring out how I like to ride my bike. I've appreciated the flexibility even more post-move as my riding habits have shifted.

Cargo options for my bike!

Over the past few weeks, I've done a lot of research on different ways to carry things on my bike. The most obvious thing would be to just carry everything in a back pack, but I don't like having a bag on my back throwing off my balance, particularly when going to work involves a big hill with a narrow, bumpy road and a sharp-ish turn in it. Also, it makes my back sweaty. So, I've turned to other means:

Milk crate, pannier, bottle basket

Milk Crate
I've found the crate is a good general purpose mode of transporting things. It's very secure, and can carry a lot--more than any of my other options, actually. In addition, I don't have to worry about leaving the crate on the bike, whereas I'd have to carry the other options with me wherever I went. The main disadvantage is that because of where it's positioned, putting too many heavy things changes the center of gravity of the bike. So, my primary use for it has been for running quick errands. I can throw a purse and a sweater in there and go to the market to pick up a couple of odds and ends. It gets a bag of vegetables or a box of pastries home very nicely.

Pannier
I got this bag mainly so that I could carry my laptop and papers into work. I found that putting these things in my regular backpack in my crate made my bike more likely to "take off" (it's heavy high in the back, so the front wheels tend to lift off the ground a little). This bag is just big enough to hold my work things, and even gym clothes if I plan appropriately. It has a rubber bottom and a rain cover, to keep things dry in various conditions. An added handy feature is that the straps convert to back pack style. It's actually so compact, and I can hardly feel it on the bike even with my laptop and clothes in it--sometimes I look back just to see if it's still there!

Bottle Basket
Perhaps the least necessary of my cargo options, the ideal use for this basket is carrying tall, heavy things that I wouldn't feel comfortable transporting in my crate, e.g. cartons of milk or juice, other things that throw off my balance. I suppose I could carry some of these in my pannier, but this basket feels more secure: it has two arms that hook on to the rear rack, and I use a bungee as well since I travel some very bumpy roads. It's less fussy to get on and off, as there's no messing with clips and tucking away straps and flaps. It's also roomier than the pannier, which can't really take a full load of groceries. Of course, the real added value of this bottle basket is that I can hang it on one side of my rack while hanging my pannier on the other. So, if I wanted to load up on heavy and tall items as well as a regular load of groceries, I wouldn't be limited to choosing either my crate or my pannier.

One thing that might limit me is the 10kg max load on my rack; otherwise, I might attempt this:

Something I'd never actually do