These bags are designed and fabricated in Portland to meet the needs of urban cyclists. Eli, a one man operation, has focused on spacious, practical, backpacks. He’s been providing city dwelling bikers an alternative to the standard messenger bag. When he’s not stitching, you might catch Eli about town on his fixed Kogswell Porteur.
Have you experimented with backpacks or other alternatives for lugging your daily haul? What works best for you?
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This is probably an overkill but the Ortlieb rear panniers are probably the best. I use it for commuting everyday in Singapore and I can personally vouch for its ‘waterproof-ness’, ruggedness and the ease of use. It is simply amazing.
It rains quite a bit in Singapore and very unpredictable as well and I personally find it quite incredible. Are there may people using Ortlieb in the USA?
Cheers, Aditya.
I have been using a Timbuck2 messenger bag for a few years now. That thing has taken a pretty severe beating, and still holds up fine.
they’re nice…
we used to have a bit of a shortage here in the UK (not as lucky as you guys over the pond), whilst you could get timbuk 2 and all manner of commuter cheapness, the real deal was a little harder to come by.
i did have a timbuk 2, it leaked, so i invested in chrome… which is awesome and i have a ortlieb messenger pack for the heavy stuff.
we are seeing a lot more now through brick lane bikes and cavendish cyles now, bagaboo (got one on order), etc.
but day to day, my chrome suits me, hugs me in fact…
We’ve def got a thing here for messenger bags and a reminder that we set up a “recommend a bike bag” on flickr, if you’d like to submit photos of your bags.
I’ve used one of Eli’s backpacks for more than a year, and it’s still going strong. Though, I’ve discovered it’s just like anything else, a messenger bag works in some instances, the backpack for others etc. He also has started making panniers, so if you like those I highly recommend looking around on his sit.
I can’t recommend him enough. The backpack he made for me is still in great shape, and always keeps everything dry.
@Jake,
Good point. I travel with a Crumpler backpack and ride with a messenger style bag.