Functional and durable expandable under-seat pack features a built-in rain cover to protect contents from the elements. Constructed of bombproof DuPont Cordura Plus(R) nylon for durability. Features a unique, positive locking 2-piece rail fixer that securely attaches bag to seat and allows for quick removal. Built-in rain cover is stored in its own pocket. 3M reflective stripe on 3 sides as an added measure of safety. Features a fitting for tail light attachment.
Submitted by
Undervalued Consumer
a Weekend Warrior
from Grand Rivers, Kentucky, US
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2010
Strengths: None
Weaknesses: All
Bottom Line:
Topeak products are very poorly made. Cheap zippers and single stiched seams. The bag I bought fell apart after one ride. Too make matters worse the company did not exchange the bag after giving me the run around. Do not waste your money!!!
Submitted by
SuperNev
a Racer
from Adelaide Australia
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2009
Strengths: None that I can think of. Suitable only for road use
Weaknesses: The zips jam, the fabric got a gole in it from my multi tool on the first ride. The rain cover is a useless accesseory and the under seat mount broke on the bag broke in the fist few months and the clips under the seat broke in the first year. The bag does not attach to the seat post so rattle a round.
Bottom Line:
A useless product not suitable the rough trails and off road MTB use. You risk losing your spare tubes and tools if you use this bag. Forget bags with the fancy plastic clips and go for straps. They will never break.
Submitted by
Parrot of Doom
a Cross Country Rider
from manchester ,uk
Date Reviewed: February 4, 2009
Strengths: Nice design, clean lines, the yellow protective bag is ok but needs a hole for your light.
Weaknesses: Cheap materials - the plastics are prone to breaking, the zips are made from cheese, and Topeak customer services don't respond to emails. There is nowhere to hide the ripcord that holds the yellow bag on.
Bottom Line:
If you're a sunny-day cyclist, one of these will be fine. If however you ride every day and regularly drop off large kerbs and thunk through holes, don't bother. The rainproof cover has no hole for a rear light, so you have to either tear one into it, or mount your light elsewhere. The zips will break - without fail. The plastic clip to the saddle will break - I'm not the only one who has experienced this.
The worst thing is that there is no failsafe design - if you're out riding, and the zip breaks - you will have no idea that your expensive multitool, your spare tube, and all the other little things you keep in there including housekeys - they're all gone.
This isn't the only poor quality Topeak product I've had. Their mudguards are even worse.
Submitted by
Paul Scrutton
a Cross Country Rider
from Durham
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2003
Strengths: Attachment mechanism is neat.
Weaknesses: Seat loop stitching fails easily when more items are put into pack. I've broken the attachment mech on top once. Zipper seam came apart.
Bottom Line:
Seat packs don't work well. I'm switching to a Camelback type system, where the load is spread better.
Having said that, this is one of the nicest seat packs that I have seen in the stores.
Nevertheless, I've destroyed 4 of these now. Thank goodness for the 5 year warranty. I'm about three years into my warranty period now. Here's the history:-
1) First one failed at the seatpost loop. This came about from stuffing the pack with a rain-poncho without removing it from seatpost first.
2) Second one failed at seatpost loop also during a ride.
3) Third one failed on zip seam. Seam came apart. I attribute this to putting Alien key in rear pouch which puts a lot of stress on zipper seam.
4) Fourth one failed on first ride! This time, it was the attachment mechanism that holds it to the seat. The plastic attachment mechanism broke on both sides! Must have been one of those waterbar jumps I'm thinking.
Having said that, the warranty / customer support is excellent. They have sent me new packs each time, and even included a tool with the latest warranty replacement.
I wouldn't recomend any seatpack to a trail rider that likes to get any air, or carry any substantial weight, like an Alien key. This might be OK for carry tire levers in, but not much else. It would probably be fine for commuting.
Submitted by
Jeff
a Weekend Warrior
from Brewster, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2003
Strengths: Quick removal system, Raincover included, Expandable. I am probably asking for trouble, but I dont even use the safty loop that goes around the seatpost, thats how much faith I have in the mechinism.
Weaknesses: Bracket not compatable with all seats, esp. WTB, although a little hammering of the aluminum half on my anvil took care of that. Would be nice if the tailight loop was about a half inch wider.
Bottom Line:
I am big fan of Topeak stuff. I like being able to take my stuff off the bike when I park and not worry if it will be there when I get back. This is a rugged well made piece with as much thought and engineering as you can put in a seat bag. Heck, it's even got a reflective stripe. I read in another review about the zipper coming undone. Now I don't claim to be doing two and three foot drops. I do plenty of singletrack strewn with roots and good size rocks though. Maybe that one was defective, or that just happens in more extreme riding conditions. All I can say is that I also have a medium size and neither has had a failure. I give this bag 5 for value (I've seen it on sale with the tool kit for as little as $19)and 5 overall
Weaknesses: Receiver Clip does not work with all seats. Rubs hole in seat post after a long time.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those items that no one seems to care about one way or the other until something goes wrong. You can tell by the number of reviews on this product. The Topeak seat bags are a great product. I have the Performance version that comes with a tool kit embedded in foam. You can easily clip the bag on the bike within seconds and you can buy additional receivers so you can use the same bag on different bikes.
The bags are expandable and come with a built in reflector strip and a loop for attaching a taillight. For epic rides I have stuffed my Topeak full of tools: Allen Pack, Spoke wrench, cassette puller, chain tool, Patch kit, wrenches, tire levers wrapped in duct tape, spare tube, cleat wrench, compass, knife, and a crescent wrench. I can get all of that in with the bag compressed. If you need more room the bag is expandable.
I have used my Topeak seat bag for more than a year now with only minor problems. I had to sew up some of the stitching and the plastic buckle on the seat post strap has started to rub through my seat post. If you have an expensive seat post you may want to cut a section of inner tube to slip over the post for protection.
Bike Setup: Specialied FSR with Ritchey Seat post and Bontrager FS+10 seat
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Alexander G
a Cross Country Rider
from Wilmington, DE
Date Reviewed: September 23, 2002
Strengths: It holds your stuff until it falls out.
Weaknesses: The zipper constantly unzips from vibration
Bottom Line:
This is an example of a good idea poorly implemented. The design of the bag is great, the attachment system is awesome, the bag is roomy. But the bean-counters at Topeak put the low-quality zippers on this bag. They unzip from vibration all the time. It may be OK if you have this bag on a road bike but totally unacceptable off-road. I just lost my wallet, Alien and Letherman tools and a spare on a 50-mile off-road ride. Do you want that happen to you too?
Similar Products Used: Arkel, Carradice and Jandd products
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Sprocketeer
a Cross Country Rider
from Narashino, Chiba, Japan (native New Yorker)
Date Reviewed: May 13, 2002
Strengths: They must have had a brain storming team working on this thing. I mean, it's just a little bag to go under your seat, but whatever possible cool thing you could do to design one as best as humanly possible, they did it. Without going into details, I'll just say that the quick release is one of it's best features.
Weaknesses: There's nothing about this product that I would call fluff, a waist, or of low quality.
Bottom Line:
It may seem strange to rave about this kind of product, but I swear the people at Toppeak are geniuses. This is just a little bag that goes under your seat, right? No, this is a bag which is totally out of the way, quickly removeable and attachable, comes with a little rain cover which is completely waterproof, has a little loop for a rear light, a very generous easy to see stripe that beams back at cars, is very expandable, very tough, and doesn't weigh too much.
I easily choose this product over anything remotely similar.
Favorite Trail: Ya know, that one with the dirt and rocks, which is real hilly. No? You should try that one.
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Price Paid:
$10.00
Purchased At: Seo Cycle, LalaPort Tokyo Bay shopping mall
Similar Products Used: Lots. Nothing like this though.
Bike Setup: Two Treks; the newer one is a Trek 8000, 2002 model.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Tom Massey
a Weekend Warrior
from Philadelphia
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2002
Strengths: Water resistante, compact size, removable, inexpensive
Weaknesses: npne so far
Bottom Line:
This is a great pack ive got the micro the medium wedge and the larger pack, pending on the ride im going to take I just switch one off and replace it with another in about 1/2 a sec. none of that strap crap, the med. holds my cell, wallet, and keys: the largest holds that plus a bottle of juice and a tool kit or my digital elph cam. In addition the small pocket(underneath) is good for holding change, tokens or a battery and a cf card.I highly reccomend this to anyone, looking to get a quality hike pack. dont forget its removable, it comes with straps too, so strap it to your belthoop (velcro) and forget about it.
