| OYB Bike Bag -- Modified Vintage Swedish Military Surplus
April 08, 2013
[$45, postpaid in US. Postage is about $8, so bag cost is only $37.]
The OYB Bike Bag is ready for action!
This bag used to be the 7-Way Bag but now it's the Bike Bag.
(I only have a few 7-Ways remaining.) You can use it anywhere on a bike, but it has no shoulder or waist straps. And it comes by default with a superb stick mount. If you want a shoulderbag, there's a separate option for one below.
To order the Bike Bag, click on the PayPal button to the left under the picture and order away! Available with extra options like top-straps. Read on! (Hmm, this is such a long product description, but what can I leave out?)
The OYB Bag is about 4" x 7" x 9" in size (4 liters, 250 cu in) and converts in a jiffy into a Saddlebag, Handlebar-bag, or Pannier.
It also has a small outside pocket (where I keep my whole bike tool-kit) that's 2" x 4" x 6", or .7L (50 cu in), for 5.3L total bag capacity (300 cu in). Weighs about 14 oz.
This bag is sensible, affordable, and stylish.
Now, I make these bags out of rare surplus military shoulder bags -- cutting off useless straps, sewing buttonholes, whittling a notched dowel, sewing on a lower d-ring, attaching the OYB patch and adding any of the many Options -- thereby rescuing and re-purposing this already scarce bag away from oblivion.
Every Bag Waterproofed! All bags have been fully treated with Nikwax Waterproofing. I'd say they're still only water-resistant because there are no seals involved. To treat them I fully immerse each bag in Nikwax "Cotton Proof" for canvas, then also treat the leather base with another Nikwax product for leather.
These bags are vintage -- that is, used -- most have some marks, scuffs, wrinkles, a bit of corrosion. They break in to a "burnished" look.
Brown or Gray>The default bags have brown leather, but if you request it I can send you one with gray/greenish leather (the canvas is also a bit grayer/greener) which wears away to brown on the edges of the leather. Each color looks great on certain bikes. Oh, the Gray/Green Leather bags are all 7-Ways -- so you get extra straps and functions, though the straps are fully removable, making them identical to Bike Bags.
Waiting for Your Order: I still make media here. That, and my backorders list, means that it'll be a week or two before I can make and ship your bag.
Two Logo Patch Options! OYB panniers and bags now come by default with a leather logo patch riveted on. Note: the patch in most pics is light-tan, but after a week of sun your patch will deepen to a rich red-ocre. Also, the patch can function as a blinky-light strap -- just clip your light onto it. But! I can glue on an embroidered patch instead, if you like and if you add a note telling me to do so. So, you can either go classy or colorful!
Cheaper 4-Way Shoulderbag Variant! If you want one of these bags but do NOT want to use it on a bike, I offer it in an unmodified version without the 3 extra straps for $25.00. As such, it's a worldclass shoulderbag. It can also be used as a Backpack, Frontpack and Waistbag. However, I note that the shoulder-strap, with adjuster-slider, is 44" long max, instead of the 52" of the 7-Way Bag: so it rides a bit higher on my hip (I'm 6 feet tall). The waist-strap fits up to a 38" waist. Those Euro people were a bit smaller a few decades ago. Also, the shoulder and waist straps stay on: they're sewn-on instead of clipped on. (And there's no OYB logo patch, unless you request one---I'll rivet one on free of charge.) Just click this "Add to Cart" PayPal button:
For Small Bikes or Canti/Centerpulls... If you have a FRAME UNDER 54cm IN SIZE, let me know in a special side note! Also, if you have centerpull or cantilever brakes and you think the bag will rub the cable, let me know, too. It's often not an issue, depending on your particular set-up or if you have a large frame. Just look at the pics.
For Rail Saddles... If your your saddle only has rails -- doesn't have loops -- isn't a Brooks-type -- LET ME KNOW! I'll sew the buttonholes closer together and cut the stick notches closer. Rails are closer-set than bag-loops.
Top Straps Option! For an extra $15 I'll rivet straps to the top of the flap to boost the stash capacity of your bag. (See pics below.) Just click this button:
Custom Monogramming For $5 I can stamp up to 11 "western saddle-style" capital initials for you: one each on the two leather main flaps and up to 3 initials in each of the 3 small straps (I put them near the buckle, reading toward it, so you can see the initials when the straps are installed).
Money Back Guarantee & Warranty If you don't like your Bag, return it for a refund (less shipping) in a week. If something breaks untowardly, I can send you a part if it's easy to replace, or you send it back and I'll do the repair and, again, if it failed too soon I'll pay for Parcel Post shipping back to you. Otherwise, if it's normal wear'n'tear you can pay the postage back, if you would, please. These items are tough. I've only heard of a couple breaks out of hundreds sent out. They've all been readily fixed by the customer so far, so I haven't had any repair returns yet.
Even More About this Amazing Bag! I've been told it should be called the "OYB Normal Bag." Get it? (Say it out loud.)
It's one of the rare bar-bags that works nicely with STI (pivoting brifter levers) or moustache handlebars.
It's big enough to fit 2 bottles of wine. I keep my complete bike tool/spares kit with minipump in the smaller outside pocket (tube, tools, wallet, keys, the works). Sure, it's a bit narrow in the mouth, but that adds to its compactness and makes it less purse-like, if that matters.
A great thing about these bags is their slot'n'stud fasteners. Faster than buckles yet secure. Better-looking than zips. Elegant solutions are so pleasing!
How to Use It... Each bag comes with an info sheet. It also comes with 3 small leather buckle-straps.
What Some Customers Had to Say...
"Your packs have caught many eyes in this bike mecca and I have given many Oregon folk your website. I commute every day and do not have a car. The bags are great at all times. They keep their shape and looks. I have ridden them thru 2 snowstorms here so far, full of groceries, without busting an egg!" -- H. Roberts, Eugene, OR
"I had my bag on the taco ride last night (www.tacoride.com). Your bag got a lot of attention. I've sent your website to a couple people this morning so you might get some interest from a few IA or NE cyclists." -- D. Olson
It has other fans, too... The Bike Commuters blog also raved about it: http://www.bikecommuters.com/2007/09/28/oyb-saddle-bag.
Non-USA Postage Buttons You should see an option upon check-out for postage to your country (or near enough). Please select the *2-3 pound* postage rate (although it will charge you less than this weight-range usually costs...it's just how I set up my grid). If this doesn't work right for you, manual PayPal buttons follow...
Canada: First click the above main ordering button then click this next button which adds $3 to your Cart:
UK/Euro/Oz: Please click the main button above then click the button below to add an extra $10 to your Cart, to cover excess postage costs:
Why OYB Luggage? I offer luggage items as a way to support my promotion of indie outdoor culture and heritage via the 1500+ free articles on this website. OYB gives a view into independent outdoor culture like no other media source.
Now, For Some Pics!
A close-up of the shoulderbag version:
Here's the Shoulderbag. (Rodger has the strap twisted here, but he's a man of action so what do we expect. Note also the unused waiststrap dangling from the lower part of the bag. For more action, like while riding a bike or XC skiing, you can use the waiststrap to prevent bag-swing.) ...
Here are a couple views showing how they work on a bike. (I used some zipties in one pic---but you can also see the leather straps. Each bag comes with 3 straps.)
Here's the Carradice-style stick-mount which allows a close fit to a saddle with bag-loops. (Note that seatpost strap could be tighter, to eliminate any sway, if rings were drawn together with strap rather than strap going thru rings and around post---follow?)
Here's how nice and wide the bag opens with the stick option:
Two big points in this next pic... *1: Let me know if you'll mount via Rails (standard saddle) rather than Loops (Brooks) -- a shorter 4.5" stick works better in that case. *2: Let me know framesize if it's smaller than 54cm (here's a 50cm) so I can sew buttonholes lower so bag mounts higher (get it?):
Stick pics (courtesy Alan Ferrency):
Here's the $15 top-straps option:
Here's a Blinky on its strap (a $5 extra option) with an embroidered patch:
Customer pics of their bags...
Here's "Shek," a bike commuter, showing his flare via an OYB Bag in pannier mode:
A happy OYB family! Coloradan Joe Ramey bought a bag last fall. One of his kids poached it. Then he got another. And another. And another! ...He finally has his own. One of his daughters has the shoulderbag for campus.
(I think I see a trace of a creature in the image above. A skunk? Family pet?)
Henry Roberts, organizer of Cino Heroica, a gran fondo in Montana, en route at L'Eroica:
On tour in Italy the week before, with 3 bags:
As a handlebar bag on JD Kimple's CX bike:
Dave Olson's Salsa Fargo:
Houston Roberts "car":
They work for motorcycles, too! (I need to let them know -- they must get tired of all that black leather) This one is on Spencer Gibb's bike, of the band "54 Seconds"...
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