While it might not be quite as custom as the Bikerumor Rain Bags that we reviewed last fall and then gave away to a couple of lucky winners in our annual reader survey, Scicon has made good on their promise to bring availability to all cyclists. The new bags actually are even nicer than those we tested, with the new version getting some fabric and zip upgrades, and we spotted this new edition already in the back of the Etixx – Quick Step team car for the Spring Classics. Scicon is still customizing the consumer bags with the rider’s name though. And now even easier with their new online shop, it lets you pick your flag from a pull down that even includes Sufferlandria. Our Bikerumor Rain Bags get more use in our race and travel prep than any other bag we’ve used up to now. It just has been so convenient to know everything is packed well and easy to get to at the last-minute when the weather shifts. Take a closer look at the new bags after the break, and get pricing and availability…
The Race Rain Bags were developed over the last two years to keep a team’s worth of gear organized in the back of a chase car, so that when the weather turned for the worse it was always easy to find each rider’s spare kit. We’ve used the first generation bag both for hauling our cycling kit to events, where it is nice to just have all of your riding gear where it is easy to pick out instead of digging into the abyss of the usual duffel bag, but also throughout cyclocross season for just having a completely packed set of spare gear for when a race turned more muddy or wet unexpectedly. At this point, I don’t think I have been to an event or even a ride in the last six months that involved car, train, or plane travel where a fully packed Scicon Race Bag didn’t go with me. It really is convenient.
The new version of the Race Rain Bag uses a lighter weight ripstop-style nylon main body fabric vs. the heavier Cordura-style on the previous edition. That should make the bag a bit lighter and maybe more flexible than the one we tested. The zippers also go to a coil style with sewn-on pulls that will likely make it even easier to use. In addition to the lighter body fabric, the new Race Rain Bags use a rubberized bottom panel that looks like it will add a bit more durability for throwing it on the ground and should keep water out (although neither of which have been problems for us).
The labels on the pockets stay the same, although they get reshuffled a bit. (Ours has jackets and warmers on top.) We would have liked some labels for things like socks and caps, maybe even baselayers (although they are more everyday use and less rainy weather swaps.) We tend to stuff the former with gloves and the latter with jerseys, but the benefit of the bag is also that it requires no thought, so the more text the better.
The new Race Rain Bags are available direct from Scicon for 120€ and come with free worldwide shipping; you can even pay with Paypal. They are in stock now, but each bag gets custom printed before the last sewing step, so lead time should still be a couple of weeks from order to it showing up on your doorstep.
