Not heard of Lomo before? Me neither until my father in law introduced me to the brand thanks to his love for swimming and all things watersports. Started in 2000, Lomo seem to be dedicated to high quality, well thought out and reasonably priced products. Making everything from wetsuits to cycling accessories Lomo have recently branched into the world of motorcycle launching a number of brilliant new luggage products at prices that are hard to believe.
For the past 2 years I’ve moto-commuted daily. The question of luggage is one I’ve wrestled with from day one. For starters the options seem endless; hard panniers, soft panniers, top box, rucksack, tank bag, tail pack etc…… each comes with it’s own degree of compromise. For the first year I went with the rucksack (the brilliant Knox Studio to be exact). Pros – No attaching to the bike, simple, useful off bike, as inconspicuous as a bearded man in Shoreditch. Cons – Sweaty back, danger of over packing = bad back, restriction to movement on bike, did I mention sweaty back? Hard panniers didn’t seem to make sense either, besides their enormous cost I’ve never been a fan of adding width to my bike. Tank bags don’t rock my world either, most wouldn’t look out of place on a space suit. So what about a tail bag………
A successful birthday resulted in a bright yellow arrival, the Lomo 15L waterproof tail bag (and a set of Lomo Panniers, review coming soon). The 15L perfectly fitted the bill for my daily bag; affordable, completely waterproof, big enough but not massive, super easy to connect to my bike and durable enough to not need replacing anytime soon. So after a month of commuting with it how does it stack up?
The design is a simple but very well thought out one. Made from durable PVC the bag uses the classic roll top design with the addition of a top zip to keep it’s contents perfectly dry. Side and top clips help to keep the bag compressed and at 15L it’s a perfect size for daily use comfortably carrying my youth worker resources, lunch, a change of clothes and a tablet or laptop. The addition of a small outer pocket provides a great home for wallets, earplugs, keys etc and an included shoulder strap takes care of the carrying at the other end.
Included with the bag are a pair of straps designed to be left attached to the bike. These make fitting and removing the bag a super quick job with little to no faffing and effort, 4 clips and you’re done. Whilst every bike will vary the straps are versatile and can be used in different ways to give a good fit no matter what you ride. There are various mounting loops and tether points on the bag so there’s loads of options to mount to other bags, parts of the bike or even pedal bikes should you be so inclined.
Only avalible in one colour, high viz yellow it’s look won’t be to everyone’s liking but it sure makes you stand out on the road. And despite it’s technical appearance I’ve had loads of non biking staff in the various schools I work in ask for details about where to get one.
After a month of daily use the bag has put up with lots of bashing around, drops, scrapes slips and scuffs and remains un marked. With a quick spray of water or a damp cloth it looks as good as the day I opened it.
Now here’s the kicker. It only costs £30, including the shoulder strap and mounting straps. To put it into context that’s almost the same price as some other brands charge for waterproof liners, and less than a third of the price of Kriega’s US20 the other bag I had in mind.
All in all, great brand, fantastic quality affordable bike bag with a tonne of features. It’s an A* from me.
BMotoUK 
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