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Top tube storage box - what to buy
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Hi,

Need to buy a food storage container for the top tube. (Cervelo P2)

What do you all like better?

Soft bag with zipper? (lots of options from xlab, zipp, profile design, etc)

OR

Hard case that mounts to frame (torhans, topeak, bontrager, profile design, etc)

I know you all have opinions, likes/dislikes.

Any thoughts are welcome!

Thanks!
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [curdog16] [ In reply to ]
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Dark Speed Works. End of discussion...

https://darkspeedworks.com/

;)

Search the forum. The guys from DSW are on ST frequently.
-j
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [curdog16] [ In reply to ]
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I ride a speed concept, so it's kind of a no brainer to use the Bontrager one for me.

@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [curdog16] [ In reply to ]
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Can't claim total objectivity here, but, as mentioned above, we make a range of both bolt-mount and universal mount packs, and we make them ourselves in the USA.

Ours are kind of soft-type packs, but we have snug and rigid HDPE custom fit inserts that give you the best of both worlds. And, if you need strap-mount, we have a strap system that we devloped that is super secure, with absolutely ZERO slipping or sliding. Right now we have 5 different Speedpacks, and we will have 7 different models/sizes by mid-June, so there will be a size and pack for almost every situation.

Lots more info at the links below.

Greg @ dsw

Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook

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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [DarkSpeedWorks] [ In reply to ]
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Just bought one of yours last month for my road bike as my seat bag was interfering with radar. Well made, works great. I took the plastic insert out for more room as it's plenty sturdy without it.
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [DarkSpeedWorks] [ In reply to ]
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Any plans on making bigger frame bags for gravel adventures?

@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [cloy] [ In reply to ]
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cloy wrote:
Any plans on making bigger frame bags for gravel adventures?

Do you mean frame bags that fit inside the main triangle?

Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook

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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [DarkSpeedWorks] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah, or even handlebar bags.

@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [cloy] [ In reply to ]
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We do have a behind-the-saddle-bag in the works, although that is still a ways off.

Frame bags are not imminent. Only because, to get them to work well, they really should be customized for every frame and then every size of frame. And that is an enormous task for a small outfit like us. Some bike manufacturers make such bags for their frames and those solutions are decent, so it is hard to see right off how that could be massively improved.

Handlebar bags are definitely an area worth looking at. But a downside with those (even for gravel) is that more gravel riders are using shorty type aerobars which prevents the use of a handlebar bag. Or the trend would require several models of bag to accommodate bikes with standard drops and drops with aerobars.

Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook

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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [ In reply to ]
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- Soft bag with a zipper
You have to unzip to get stuff and put the trash back in and zip.
Sometimes you have to go through the trash to get the gel packet.
You can store Clif blocks, salt pills, car key and lots of stuff.

- Hard case
Easy to use and no need to deal with a zipper. I don't feel comfortable riding with one hand and that's one of the main reasons I use this.
I simply put gel packets one by one, pull it out, eat and shove the trash back in.
I use it for gel packets only.
You have to remove and clean inside from time to time as it gets dirty and sticky.
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [s13tx] [ In reply to ]
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Really good analysis between the 2 types!

I would also add - hard case you cannot overstuff, but a soft bag you can. Positives and negatives. The hard case will maintain its aero-ness, but you do have a space capacity that you cannot exceed unless you risk spillage. Soft bags you can maximize space, but too wide and you might hit your knees. Both XLAB and DarkSpeedWorks offer a variety of sizes to help accommodate everyone's needs & desires :)

For the issues with Soft bags and trash - XLAB made a couple bag models with external pockets on the outside for this very reason. Personally I don't want my sticky packets getting onto anything inside. You can also keep your smalls (salt pills etc) on the outside so you don't have to dig around in the inside abyss lol

Candice Turner
CEO
XLAB - Aerodynamic Triathlon Accessories
Dawn to Dusk - Off-road Specific Storage Accessories
http://www.XLAB-USA.com http://www.dawntodusk.bike
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [curdog16] [ In reply to ]
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I've been using a Dark Speed Works strap on bag on my cannondale slice for 7 plus years now. Still working great.
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [Old man driving] [ In reply to ]
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I have had one for about 5 years but all the damn sweat is finally about to kill the zipper. A great product otherwise.

Next races on the schedule: none at the moment
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [alex_korr] [ In reply to ]
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Same issue for me. I really liked the DSW bag but the zipper died as well after 2 years.
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [Epong] [ In reply to ]
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All good feedback, thanks.

If it helps, we've had a Speedpack 483 with the identical YKK zipper in year-round (well, minus 2 winter months) gravel bike use for 10 years with zero zipper issues. But, that said, the zipper slider itself is made of metal, so tons of sweat (especially from heavy indoor training) can eventually damage it. Corrosion from the salt in sweat is pernicious. However, if you follow these cleaning suggestions, getting a decade of use from these zippers is doable:
https://www.darkspeedworks.com/cleaning.htm

Our smaller and most aero packs (Speedpacks 480, 483, 483D) use the same small aero YKK zippers, but our bigger and more gravel-oriented packs (Speedpacks 693, 693D, 915, 915D) use a bigger and beefier YKK zipper that will likely last even longer with reasonable care.

We have a 1 year warranty, but if a Speedpack and/or zipper fails soon after that for no visible reason, you can always reach out to us and we will try to do most anything reasonable to address the issue.

Greg @ dsw

Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook

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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [DarkSpeedWorks] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks Greg. I must say I probably didn’t give it much TLC with all the sweat on the bag and zipper.
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [Epong] [ In reply to ]
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Epong wrote:
Thanks Greg. I must say I probably didn’t give it much TLC with all the sweat on the bag and zipper.


I also have had a speedback for over 4 years.

The first year I had it, I neglected the zipper completely, and the sweat corrosion really locked it up. I thought I was going to have to throw it away (with its contents!) but after some water, then spray lube, it loosened up enough for me to open up again.

Since then, I just open and close the zipper after every ride, not even completely, just so it won't corrode. I haven't cleaned it or done any extra TLC, and it's holding up fine even through countless sweatfests.

Def do the same if you have full-zip booties as well - those will lock up big time if you don't zip/unzip them at least once after a few weeks of nonuse.
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [curdog16] [ In reply to ]
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I have the darkspeedworks 483 on my gravel bike and I've been very happy with it. I have the one with straps so i can also run it on other bikes without top tube bosses, but i also put some holes in it so i can direct mount it on my gravel bike for extra security. I've had it for 3 years i think, and the zipper is great.

I also have an xlab. The xlab sort of "falls over" by default now and looks cheap as it sits on my (in my opinion) very nice 3T Exploro. I would definitely buy another DSW in the future, and i'm looking forward to the new pack they are launching that is a size in between the 483 and the 915.
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Re: Top tube storage box - what to buy [rob_bell] [ In reply to ]
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rob_bell wrote:
I would definitely buy another DSW in the future, and i'm looking forward to the new pack they are launching that is a size in between the 483 and the 915.


All good, we are still looking at a mid-June release for the Speedpack 693 and 693D. Here is a photo of a prototype 693 with our ZeroSlip straps. The pack is for road, gravel, and tri, and it should fit plenty, up to eight 2.4oz clif bars (bars unwrapped & halved). Click to enlarge photo:



Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook

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Last edited by: DarkSpeedWorks: May 7, 21 8:46
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