Review: Bike Bag Dude Custom Frame Bag

The bikepack industry has grown immensely in the past few years. Cyclists are craving more, they want to travel further, faster, testing the limits, all for bit of self gratification. We know the feeling and so do the bag builders. This is why we have seen an explosion of bikepack manufactures. Each have their own unique twist, but they are all made for the sole purpose of getting outside and reeling in the beauty with everything you need hooked to your bike. I recently came across a really cool company that specialized in frame bags. I knew I wanted one, mainly because of the name, Bike Bag Dude. Kedan hit the hammer on the nail with a unique, personalized name that caught me, and I’m sure many others. The name speaks for the industry, a usually laid back group of folks that just want to bike and travel. I decided we should probably take a look at one of these bags in detail. The Process: I hopped on the Bikebagdude.com to check it out, I took a look around and liked what I saw. I was kindly greeted with this… “At Bike Bag Dude, I make Bespoke Frame Bags. Everything is customized to your requirements and I tailor make every bag as if it were my own. Please contact me if you have any questions, I love to hear about planned adventures. Thanks, Kedan” The website is simple and easy to use. If you want to make an order you must contact Kedan via the contact page. I did so and quickly received a response back with a few questions he had. Luckily Kedan had a template of the Borealis Yampa that I need a frame bag made for. Kedan usually can check the geometry of the bikes on manufacturer’s site and from that figures out measurements for the specific bags. With the timely email response, I decided to go ahead with the custom frame bag. Kedan started to work on the bag and once he was finished, Kath, Kedan’s wife, sent me a pay-pal invoice. I needed the item relatively quickly so I asked if they could expedite the shipping and they kindly obliged. From Australia to Colorado the package took 7 days.   Specifications: The bags outer body is made from a lightweight X Pac VX21 and VX 07. The bag is lined with a polyester mini diamond coated ripstop fabric in white to increase visibility inside the bag. This particular bag came with a waterproof two zipper system, attached to the zipper handle are small bungee like chords. Kedan sell’s options of one, two, or even three zippers systems in which the third zipper would attach to the side for maps and cue sheets. The bag comes with what Kedan calls a “false floor” which is sewn inside the bag and Velcro on the other end creating two separate chambers. You can choose to incorporate the false floor or ask him to leave it out. Kedan works with 10 different colors, black, white, silver, grey, camo, green, blue, red, orange, yellow. If you don’t want to think about it, he will take a look at your bike and decide on a good color scheme. My bag for a Medium Borealis Yampa came in at 392 grams (13.8OZ) and is 120mm wide. Opinion: There are a number of things that we thoroughly enjoyed in the testing of this bag. We gave Kedan the picture of the Yampa, and days later a beautiful red and black bag came in the mail. The stitch work was very precise and neat, showing his sewing skills. The “false floor” came in very handy when holding a hydration bladder on the upper level. It stabilized the bladder very well, while accessories fit perfectly on the lower level. The zipper pouch neatly allowed the hydration hose to exit the bag. Both zippers are waterproof and come with bungee cords on the zipper handle. We really enjoyed the simplefeature of the bungee cords, when closing the bag we tugged on the bungee which cleanly zipped up the bag with ease even when the bag was full. It may sound funny but it is the most satisfying zipper pull we have felt.

Of course we had to test out its waterproof capabilities. We put the bag in the sink and poured water directly over the zipper. We also completely submerged the bag underwater to see what would happen. Our first test resulted in little or no water penetrating through the zipper. When we submerged the whole bag for 20 seconds, water started to seep in, but at a very small pace. The frame bag would have no problem in a downpour.

One of the most unique yet simple features of the Bike Bag Dude frame bag was the velcro frame straps. We love the micro velcro, not to hard to pull but very secure. But the real winner was the fleece inside of the velcro that prevents any rubbing and damage to the frame itself. It works really well for carbon bikes, which can actually wear from excessive rub over time. There was a piece of velcro that was on the bottom part of the bag where the seat tube met the bottom bracket. It didnot wrap around the frame and we were confused why it was there. I contacted Kedan and this is what he had to say… “That bottom strap serves 2 purposes — it doesn’t fit around anything — it just sits there — it provides tapering of the bag if it is needed — more of an issue for 2 and 3 x drivetrain bikes — and it de-stresses the bottom of the bag so that if things are poking into it from inside , there is loose fabric – not tight fabric”   Final Thoughts: We really really like the design and features of the Bike Bag Dude frame bag. It made its way up to the Arrowhead 135, but had to take an early exit due to the rider. Kedan has gone through plenty of trial and error to figure out what works and what doesn’t. The 120mm width is perfect for fat bikes with an extended BB. The “special” velcro, waterproofing, supple zippers, and durability are all apart of this fantastic bag. Oh, we also love the name, so if your in the market for a bike bag we recommend you check out the Bike Bag Dude. Kedan also makes 100mm wide bike bags for your standard mountain bike. Frame bags start at $210AU for 1 Zipper. $250AU for a two zipper bag with false floor. $290 for three zipper bag with false floor. Bike Bag Dude also makes Handlebar Rolls and Chaffe Bags.