How to mount the bags on your bike
FRONT HARNESS
This is the trickiest one to get just right. Luckily you don’t have to do it very often.
Fitting this one around brake and gear lines is the tricky part. I’ve included 40mm of foam spacers preinstalled, that’s basically the maximum, less is better if it works for you as it gives you more tyre clearance and is more stable. The tricky bits are the hypalon (fancy rubberised material) flaps. While they are tricky they protect your bars and account for a huge part of harness stability while riding (by preventing rotation).
The way to attach the handlebar straps is to find the best layout for the cables around the foam spacers, wrap the hypalon flap around the bar while holding the spacers in place then thread the strap through the buckle. Don’t tighten too much until the second one is in place and you’ve adjusted the hypalon flaps until they are sitting just right then tighten. There are strap retainers to keep any excess strap under control.
Next is the strap that goes around the fork crown. I placed the strap and spacer at a random height so you’ll probably need to move it up or down the webbing. Ideally you want the spacer to rest on the very top of the fork, not the bike frame so nothing rubs as you turn the bars. Again that tiny Hypalon patch does a huge amount for stability so if you move the strap make sure you put that patch back in place. I’ve included a spare 20mm spacer in the box for you to use here if you really need it - it will push the harness forward and rotate it up to give a little more tyre clearance if required.
(You can see why a harness system is more practical than an integrated bag!)
Now that the harness is installed, fill the double ended roll top bag put it in the harness, do up the center strap loosely, center it then do up the other two straps. Excess strap is taken up by rolling up the strap and using the velcro on the end to keep it in a ball. In terms of packing I put stuff I won’t need to access in the center and things I might need to access on the very ends as you can open each end and pull something out while it is on the bike without much hassle.
FRAME BAG
If you've been accurate with your frame stencil, it should be a good fit. There is a gap left intentionally at the top rear for your hand when you need to lift the bike - without it lifting the bike is tricky when all the bags are on.
The divider is held in by velcro and can be adjusted vertically a little bit if required but it is quite fiddly so only do it if you have to.
TOP TUBE BAGS (COCKPIT & MACGYVER)
The top tube bags can have their straps moved around in the case that there is a clash with another bag or with the bike frame.
The hyperlon on the straps keeps the bags very stable and protects your bike frame. The front two straps on the top tube bag are intentionally without hypalon and fluffy side in as they need to be able to slide as you turn your bars.
REAR HARNESS
The seat rail strap looks complicated, but should go on fine, the hyperlon flaps provide grip and the foam seats the rails snugly.
The tighter you pack the stuff sack the better it will carry, in particular pack the nose out well with small squishy items and put the heaviest items closest to the nose. You’ll need to thread the two rear straps through the rolltop of the bag or they will slide off the sides. Tighten the side compression straps last, the strap retainers stop things flapping around. The harness is quite different to my previous ones in that it has plastic on the top and bottom and the external fabric, plastic and foam are all glued together to give maximum stiffness - there should be little ‘tail wag’ if it is packed tightly!
CAFE BAG
This is the one that clips onto the front of the front harness. The idea is that it is the easiest bag to remove from your bike and you can use its carry strap (you’ll find it inside the bag) to turn it into a satchel (the extra straps are great for carrying a jacket) to take your valuables when you need to leave your bike (eg. supermarket/cafe).
However, if you are using a backpack as well then you won’t need this feature.
GOODIE BAGS
These are pretty self explanatory, they fit a regular bottle well too. You can adjust the strap locations to fit and again hypalon protects your bars. The lining is invertible if you need to get rid of crumbs, the mesh pocket is great for wrappers. The stem area gets pretty busy especially if you have a speedo there, so I’ve put on narrow straps for going around the stem. The lower straps loop around the fork crown if they are way to long you can do an extra loop around the crown (they are only just long enough on some bikes). My best tip is to put these bags on last.
