CyclePig

Handlebar bags are perfect for carrying those essentials that you need to readily access while on your bicycle ride. They come in a variety of sizes ranging from 2 litre mini bags to 9 litre behemoths. In preparation for an upcoming bike tour I have recently purchased an Ortlieb Ultimate 5 - Classic Bar Bag. After testing it on several day rides here is my review.

Summary

Ortlieb always make high quality bicycling equipment and the Ultimate 5 Classic Bar Bag is no exception. Functionally it is excellent and is very convenient for storing your important accessories. The Ortlieb Handlebar Bag is slightly let down by the robustness of the map material and I would have expected the map holder to be included at this price point. The addition of a lock is outright bizarre and not including a lighting mount is an oversight.

This bag will be most suited to bicycle tourists, although could prove useful to utility cyclists needing to carry a medium amount of fragile or valuable items. Here is the official Ortlieb information on the Ultimate 5 Classic Handlebar Bag.

Specifications

• Weight - 650g / 22.9oz
• Carrying Capacity - 7 litres / 472.2 cubic in.
• Maximum Load - 3kg / 105 oz
• Dimensions - 23.5 x 21 x 14 cm / 9.3 x 8.3 x 5.5 in.
• Material - Waterproof PD620/PS490 fabric

Detailed Review

The Ortlieb Ultimate 5 Classic Bar Bag is towards the larger end of bags and is therefore more likely suited to bicycle touring rather than utility type cycling, or where you have a large number of accessory type items to carry.

The inside of this bar bag is cavernous. There is a small pencil case type pocket attached to the inside front of the bag but other than that it is a very large single open space, although you can purchase an internal divider or padded camera insert as accessories. This will easily allow you to fit all the accessories you could need on your ride - phone, maps, glasses, camera, energy bars, wallet, passports. It is even large enough to fit an ultra portable laptop such as the ASUS EEE PC.

The exterior of the bag is made with a heavy duty but lightweight fabric that is fully waterproof. I have not yet used the bag in the wet but experience suggests this will indeed be 100% waterproof. However, when on trips I still put important accessories inside zip-lock plastic bags just to be safe.
UPDATE: I have now cycled with the bag in heavy rain for several hours and can confirm the bag is completely waterproof.

The exterior walls are not completely solid - the front and back walls are reinforced with plastic while the side walls rely purely on the fabric for the structure. The bag still feels reasonably sturdy and this design certainly helps with the overall weight, however some care will be required if carrying fragile items.

The bar bag lid opens forwards and is secured at the back on both sides using studs. When attached to the bike it is very easy to open and close. The bag also comes with a shoulder strap allowing it to be easily carried when off the bike - a must when on tour to keep your valuable items secure. The bag does not have a location where a front light can be attached and due to it’s size will make placing a front-light elsewhere quite challenging.

The top of the bag also allows a map to be attached using two studs. However the map case is not fitted as standard which is something I would expect to see at this price point. The map holder is a good size and will fit two panels sideways on a typically sized map. The plastic doesn’t feel particularly robust and I would expect the bag to well outlast the map holder. For the tech geeks a GPS bag that attaches to the top of the handlebar bag can also be purchased as an accessory.

The fixing mechanism is a Rixen and Kaul KLICKfix fixing system. It is very robust and took about 5 minutes to read the instructions and fit to the bike. However, somewhat bizarrely, the fixing mechanism has a lock on the attachment, allowing you to lock the bag to the bike. This feels unnecessary as a thief could simply open the bag and remove the contents.