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I'm going for a long (for me) two day ride in July and want to get a frame bag. Given I'm unlikely to do this a lot I don't want to spend too much. I've seen the Topeak Midloader for around 35 quid/euros. Is there anything else I should look at (happy to spend a bit more but > 100 quid seems a bit much)?
Depends on your frame, but Wee Cog will make you a custom one for £55...
Of the "established" manufacturers there's Alpkit, Apidura and Wildcat who all do partial frame bags "off the shelf". It's surprising how much you can get in one of these, they are actually really good for commuting. Full frame bags tend to be frame specific (surprise, surprise), you might get a standard one to fit, you might not.
Looking at the Midloader, it looks fine, not seen one in the flesh (fabric?) so can't comment on quality, etc. but Topeak's usually decent stuff.
I've emailed Wee Cog as ideally I'd like something that'd be optimal for both my road bikes as 90% of the use will be on one or other of those.
Anyone tried the 10 quid one at PX?
Measure up your frames: top tube "length" should be from seat tube to the point where the gap between top tube and down tube is the height of the bag. This means the bag isn't getting scrunched up. The partial frame bags are, IME, fairly transferrable: I've an XL Wildcat partial frame bag and it fits my Solaris (large frame); my Genesis Croix de Fer (medium frame) and my wife's Stooge.
Lomo? Not huge so will fit most bikes. Cheap. Robust. Waterproof.
I think the Restrap small/medium frame bags look good and transferable between frames. I got one of the planet x £10 jobs the other day. I've not used it in anger yet but it just fits in my large parkwood frame, the material and build seems strong, the velcro straps are good if a bit long, but it is quite narrow. Great value for what it is and worth a punt for limited use.
@faustus - most frame bags are quite narrow, 6cm or maybe 8cm is common. Any wider, particularly on road bikes and you catch them with your knees when pedalling.
Sure - just that this one seems narrower than my alpkit one as it's 5cm wide so a touch on the narrow side. But i've not had it packed out yet and well-used yet, so it'll probably seem better then.
I've bought some stuff from the PX Podsacs range (a bar bag and a saddle bag) and they are great. The £10 frame bag they have in stock is pretty small, but looks decent for the money. The £20 one is a better size but out of stock.
If you don't have a stem bag then getting the £10 PX frame bag and also a stem bag might be a cheap option, and give you a bit more flexibility.
Don't know what size frame you have but i was just about to put a size Large Apidura half frame bag on Classifieds for £35, one of these:
https://www.apidura.com/product/backcountry-frame-pack/
with apologies for the slight hijack, anyone got a pic of the PX bags on a bike? It sounds like it might fit my Camino with two bottles.
I've been impressed with the quality of the Topeak saddle bag for the money.
scud - sadly the space I have is 50cm under the top tube so it's a shade big. Shame, I'd have had it like a shot otherwise.
Lotus ?
Frame bags generally mean no water bottles so take that into consideration.
I use Blackburn. Fit well and if you take the next size down you can keep the seat stay bottle mount. If you fill the full frame you can stick a bladder in the bag but you start asking why am I doin this.
Alternatively use a feeder bag on the handle bar to hold your water bottle or use a rucksack with bladder in. It's simply a constant balancing act when bike packing.
I bought a fairweather from PX. I'd seen them before and the price I got from PX was pretty good. Fitted, it works nicely for wallet, battery+cables, rain coat, gloves, arm warmers etc and I keep the rest of the stuff on the bars.
Frame bags generally mean no water bottles so take that into consideration.
Didn't need a full-frame bag, just something to carry what I need access to whilst more stuff goes into the dry-bag on the bars.
I've got the Blackburn too. Medium fitted my frame nicely and fitted some snacks, wallet, waterproof and a 2l bladder.
Rest of my bits went in a topeak sale bag.
Did a 2 day trip on the Great Glen Way without anything on my back, which was nice.
My first real ride with a loaded bike and definitely noticed the weight up high.
the Large frame bag lived on my bike for over 2yrs and is as waterproof as 95% of the other stuff out there
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ibera-Bicycle-Triangle-Frame-Bag/dp/B00H1KUCQY