Review: Carradice Safari Earby Bar Bag 7L

> Buy now: Carradice Safari Earby Bar Bag 7L for £94.95 from Carradice

Carradice might be best known for its all-black Super C or their Spitfire green Nelson Longflap but it has experimented with some interesting looks over the years. Search for its products online and you’ll find garish blues, neon-reds, Rambo-ready camouflage and decorative Harris Tweeds.

The safari look on offer with this special edition Earby 7L Bar Bag and its accompanying Barley Saddle Bag sit in much safer territory. They are crying out to be strapped to a vintage steel frame and loaded with home-made ginger beer for a jaunt to the coast.

Build quality

There’s a robust feel to the bag as you pull it out of its packaging. It’s made from 18oz Ranger cotton that promises durability and good water resistance. Leather trim and a large Carradice logo complete a look that sits somewhere between Famous Five and Ice Cold in Alex.

There are D-rings on the top, which might allow you to stash excess gear. I use these regularly on my saddle bag but I’m not sure I’d want kit flapping away in front of me or blocking the beam of a front light.

It’s easy to move this from one bike to another. Solid leather straps attach easily to the bar and headtube, and there’s extra protection where the bag comes in contact with the bar. I used this first on my Condor Fratello and my only concern was pushing brake and gear cables out of the way to attach it to the frame.

I certainly wouldn’t want to use the head tube strap on a carbon fibre frame, where abrasion could cause damage. That is not an issue for me, given my fleet of tank-like steel-framed bikes.

There’s a familiar drawstring cover on the inside and then two leather straps outside to close everything up. I’d quite like to see an internal pocket but instead we get a single compartment lined with a map of the world.

The ‘Heritage World Map Lining’ is listed as a selling point on the Carradice website but I’m sure I’ve seen that fabric on offer in Dunelm (other curtain suppliers are available). In an emergency, you could feasibly use it for a global circumnavigation: ‘Hang a right on the Mandalay Highway and second left to filter onto the Mombassa interstate…’

Most Carradice products come with a signature from the person who handcrafted them. Just as I noted on my recent Carradice Odyssey review, that doesn’t seem to be a feature inside newer Carradice models. They are available on the sales tags now, according to my Carradice source. I think this is a bit of a shame as I like that constant reminder of the hand-crafted nature of these bags.

Capacity is pretty impressive and I set off on my first ride with a repair kit, two inner tubes, jelly babies, rain coat, spare hat and gloves, sandwiches and a couple of bananas. That’s more than I really need for a full day’s ride.

Climb every mountain

Heavily loaded, the Earby sits securely in place. Getting out of the saddle for some big climbs, there was very little movement even when really digging in on seriously steep inclines.

And I really appreciated the fact that at 30cm wide, it sits easily inside my 420mm handlebar with no interference to gear changes. That was an issue with my recent Carradice Bowland test and I’m even finding it a problem with my narrower Super C bar box as well.

I can get a front light attached to the handlebar and it will happily shine onto the road over this bag. There’s also an additional leather loop on the front to mount a clip on an LED light for emergencies.

One small niggle with this style of bag is the fact that I can’t easily access kit on the move. With my Carradice handlebar box, I can happily eat a full picnic on the go or dig around for cameras and battery packs without my bike shoes hitting the tarmac.

When the rains come

Because it doesn’t need a support rack, this is a very versatile bit of kit that I can easily load onto any bike. For that reason it’s had a lot of use and it has been caught out in a number of recent downpours.

While it doesn’t claim to be 100% Waterproof (unlike other products in Carradice’s range), I had no issues with water ingress. It has dealt admirably with everything from light showers to a sustained downpour.

That is helped by the internal support that gives this bag its shape and helps to to keep out any water that might splash up from the road.

So performance has been really impressive. It is durable, stable and easy to move from one bike to another. What’s not to like? One small but important point, is that I can already see the fabric starting to pick up oily marks from fumbled road-side maintenance. I sense that this could look very weather beaten in just a few years. Again that is part of the charm of a Carradice bag that ages with you.

Value

Great capacity, good durability and impressively weatherproof: I think this is really good value, especially if you like the safari look.

And the fact that it doesn’t need a support rack, means you aren’t going to be landed with an additional cost. I’m testing the matching Safari Barley Saddlebag as well and many people may consider buying them as a pair. They certainly look striking against the electric blue of my steel audax bike, topped off with a well-worn Brooks saddle.

If I had to buy just one of these special edition bags, it would be the Earby. It is cheaper, more flexible in its use, holds enough for a long day ride and it doesn’t require the expense of a bag support.

Of course there are plenty of options out there, but none offer quite the same mix of heritage aesthetic and functionality that is on offer here.

Most fabric bar bags that sit in this category tend to offer a much smaller capacity of around 2-3L. A close competitor might be Carradice’s own Harrop Bar Bag that costs £54.99 and offers 4L of capacity. Sam gave it nine stars and described it as ‘outstanding value’. I think the Earby can more than match it on that front.

The Zefal Z Adventure F10 is really made for bikepacking. Jim gave it a solid thumbs up for durability and its waterproof qualities. At just £45, it is significantly cheaper but definitely doesn’t have the same aesthetic appeal. It does have a 10L capacity but expect some problems with gear changes on a narrower bar, if you overpack.

At just £29.99 you’d be hard pressed to beat the Oxford Aqua Eco Adventure for value. Available at Decathlon, it has an impressive 9L of capacity and promises to be very waterproof.

I reckon the closest competition for functionality and value for money comes from Carradice’s own Super C Handlebar Box. I have one and love it. It is a smaller 5L capacity but I am big fan of the waterproof map holder and the fact I can access kit easily while I am cycling. At just £89.99 this seems good value, although I have had to buy a few additional KLICKfix adaptors to load it on to other bikes.

Our best bikepacking bags buyer’s guide includes bar bags and other kit-carrying options.

Verdict

The great selling point of this bag for me is the fact that you can easily move it between bikes and, unlike other Carradice products, it doesn’t require a support rack. With enough capacity for a long day ride that means it sits in a really useful niche. It’s an excellent bit of kit and well worth consideration.

I’m not sure the Safari look is enough of a selling point for me but I would love to see this product being produced to match up with the green and black Carradice Barley Saddle bags. If Carradice made a 7L bag like this to match the classic Audax Super C, I’d be first in line to buy one.

The Earby is a really impressive product and well worth your consideration, if you are looking for a brilliantly durable and well designed bit of bike luggage with great heritage appeal.

> Buy now: Carradice Safari Earby Bar Bag 7L for £94.95 from Carradice

Verdict

Robust, well designed, great capacity, stable and very easy to move between bikes – this is a really excellent product