Lomowatersport

The Gear – Lomo Crash Bar Dry Bags (2 x 6.5l)

Posted on by BMotoUK

I’ve got a confession to make……I’m a bag hoarder. My wife has shoes, lots of them, I have rucksacks, dry bags, messenger bags, little travel organiser bags and did I mention rucksacks. But after nearly 18 months with a ‘adventure’ style bike I was yet to find a set of crash bar bags I was happy with, that is till once again Lomo stepped in with their take on the humble crash bar bag.

Some of you may have seen my review of the brilliant 15l Lomo tail pack earlier this year. I also spent the summer blasting around to different youth festivals fully loaded with Lomo’s throw over panniers which I plan to review soon. Much like both of these products the crash bar bags are extremely high quality, solid bags with well thought out touches and a price that tickles my Yorkshire genes.

Each bag is made from a thick tarp material with a roll top to ensure the contents is dry at all times. Although I haven’t had these out in the wet yet their sister product the 30l panniers were bone dry following a 8 hour ride in torrential rain and these will be no different I’m sure. The backs of each bag are toughened with an extra layer of hard grippy material giving some shape and protection to the bags (and engine bars).

Each bag has 3 straps, 2 horizontally that attach at the front on either side with standard loop buckles. The third strap is vertical compressing the roll top and or bracing some of bags weight at the top on the bars attaching with a clip. Obviously every bike will be different but this combination of strap provides loads of options for getting the bags strapped up to the bike nice and tight. For my CB500X I had the horizontal straps looped through in 3 places (2 on the top strap, 1 on the bottom) then the vertical strap over the top. Each strap has a number of loop holes on the bag (back and sides) which is a nice touch and shows the well thought out design that’s gone into them. After 6 hours of mixed riding yesterday on everything from motorway to bumpy and twisty single track roads the bags were solid, no movement or flapping around, I forgot they were even there!

Each bag is 6.5l and honestly I’m not sure I’d want anything bigger. I’ve previously tried 2x12l engine bar bags and they were cumbersome, bulky and I simply couldn’t get them to sit right (maybe a factor of a lightweight/smallish bike). Packed up yesterday with a couple of extra layers, snacks, water, flask, tool and puncture kits there was tonnes of room left. For bigger trips these are going to serve well as the home for easy access bits out on the road giving me just a bit more space to organise my gear.

All in all these are the perfect answer to my engine bar needs and they are highly recommended. When you factor in the £39 price tag you just can’t beat them.

Available direct from Lomo – Click Here

Check out my review of their 15l tail bag Here

The Gear – Lomo 15L Tail Pack

Posted on by BMotoUK

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.