Aero bar bag attachment

[Lentamentalisk]

Hi guys,

I've got a problem. My new bike has break and shifter cable routing that makes it nearly impossible to attach a handlebar bag in the normal way. The straps that go around the handlebar are fine, but the cables get smashed up against the head tube when I use the 3rd strap to tighten in to the head tube (Revelate Sweet Roll, for reference). No matter how many spacers I use, it still squashes the cables, and ruins shifting and breaking. Talking it over with my mechanic, it sounds like due to the cable stop locations, this is totally unavoidable.

Then I realized most cases where I'll be wanting that capacity I'll also be riding long hours, so I'll want my aero bars, so why not strap a dry bag to those. That could help pull the bag away from the head tube, while still being solidly mounted. Have any of you done this, or know of people who have done this? I imagine it could be done pretty easily with a simple dry bag, or maybe even there are special handlebar rolls people make for this?

[RonK]

I think the usual solution is to route the cables in front of the sweetroll. This may mean fitting longer cables.

[bpeschka]

I think the usual solution is to route the cables in front of the sweetroll. This may mean fitting longer cables.

That's what my shop guy did.  Ran the longest stock cables so that they could be replaced during the race if needed.  Everything fits fine.

[Lentamentalisk]

Unfortunately, like I mentioned, the cable stop locations make it such that it doesn't matter how long the cables are, they will still be bent too far.

My best approach right now is to actually totally skip the harness. 2 Rok straps and a dry bag seem to be working just fine. I may add some old inner tube over the straps to keep them from slipping on the super slick drybag. Right now I only have my sleeping bag in there, but I could add in a down jacket and maybe another warm layer or two without problem. This system 100% will not work if the bag isn't fully stuffed, but since it holds my sleeping bag and down jacket, that shouldn't be an issue. I'll probably also stick my ground cloth under the drybag to help distribute the load and reduce any rubbing on it.

[Iowagriz]

I've seen several run it this way in photos.  Some strap the dry bag the direction that you did and others turn it 90 degrees so the cylinder is pointed forward.  Check out photos from the Trans Am Bike Race, those are all road bikes and several strapped bags the aero bars (if I remember correctly).

[Lentamentalisk]

I considered putting it the other way, but my aero bars don't stick out very far, and it is a relatively large drybag, so I feel like it might get a bit unicorn-y or narwhal-y. If I replace the sleeping bag with just a bivy in the summer, I may see if I can get a smaller drybag pointing the other way. On the road, I can see the aero advantages of streamlining it all, but off road, keeping the weight in closer to reduce the moment of inertia seems like the bigger win.