EB17: Restrap packs out new bike touring bags, rack, plus hip & messenger bags

Yorkshire bag maker Restrap are expanding their offerings beyond durable, lightweight bikepacking to include a couple of traditional bike touring bags, plus another pair of bags to hang on your body as well. Going back to the roots of bike touring a new Randonneur bag, a Pannier, and even a matching rack expand the possibilities to haul more. On your body, the new hip Bumbag and small Messenger bag are light ways to carry  gear on and off the bike. And their bikepacking setup even gets an update with a bigger, better handlebar Holster pack.

Restrap Randonneur bag

Coming at the start of 2018, Restrap previewed a near final prototype of a new Randonneur Bag. The traditional box-shaped bag mounts to a wide platform front rack and offers 17l of roomy storage space under a large flip top, secured by velcro closure, plus a smaller front facing zippered pocket.

Inside the £129 bag gets a light plastic liner for structure and a series of elastic straps for internal organization. On top the bag has a traditional clear vinyl map pocket (who wants a GPS on tour, aimirite?)

The cool Restrap finishing tech comes by way of how the Rando mounts to your bike. Like their bikepacking bags, Restrap uses magnets. Spring locking magnetic clasps lock the bag securely on two small posts bolted to their accompanying rack. If you want to use your existing rack, that’s an option too. Restrap has a modular mount that bolts to a rack if the spacing works out, or you can use their plastic tab that can just be zip-tied securely to your existing rack. Then to remove the Rando bag you just unbuckle the strap release at the back of the rack and pull the two magnetic tabs. It is both surprisingly secure when stuck to the rack frame, and comes off easily in a few seconds so you can quickly take your gear with you after a long day of randonneuring.

Restrap Pannier bag

To fill out that front end touring setup, Restrap needed some panniers. Their new Pannier bags sell for £65 each and incorporate their own quick release tech. The bag itself uses a fully waterproof, heat-sealed seam construction since it is more likely to get exposed to the elements hanging down next to the front wheel. The bags feature a typical roll top closure for the main pouch with lash-down loops on the sides, and have a secondary external pocket that is accessible through a waterproof zip.

On their back they feature a widely adjustable quick release hook/clamp setup that attaches to a variety of rack designs. Then the bulk of the back, covered with a long wearing velcro-loop type fabric, allows you to customize the third point of rack contact for any rack layout. The same magnetic closure found on the Rando bag is backed by velcro hooks so it is positioned anywhere along the pannier back for secure attachment to your rack.

Restrap Rack

Of course Restrap’s rack includes braze-ons at the locations that they think offer the best stability for hauling the new Pannier and Randonneur bags. It will also come with the magnetic pins pre-installed.

The tubular stainless steel rack doesn’t have a finalized price yet, but will hit in the £100-£120 range. It uses a wide top platform designed for a randonneur bag and also features adjustable mounts to work with a wide range of wheel sizes and fork mount positions. It can also be disassembled for easy packing with a bike box for travel.

The Rando, Pannier & Rack all will be available to buy in January 2018.

Restrap Bumbag

Restrap already makes a pretty cool large, modular backpack that you can snap more pouches and pockets onto with their quick release magnetic clasps, but they wanted some lighter weight, smaller options for carrying gear on the body. The first of those is the new Bumbag. A small, single pocket hip pack, the Bumbag sells for £45.

It includes a quick and easy magnetic waist belt clasp like their other packs, and features a mesh padded external pouch that you can use to carry a lock or maybe to stuff in a packable shell jacket. Restrap will have the full details on the new bag when it goes on sale together with the messenger bag next week.

Restrap Messenger bag

The Messenger bag is another light way to carry some gear on and off the bike. The £50 bag, also going on sale in the last week of September 2017, was designed primarily to carry things like a lightweight laptop.

The slim bag features a simple velcro closure, with a single zip pocket under the flap and a pair of mesh organizer pockets inside. Keeping its hauling capacity low was intentional by Restrap who wanted a bag that would remain light and wouldn’t even need a stabilizing strap on your back for riding around town.

Restrap Bar Bag Holster 2.0

Restrap’s mainstay rackless bikepacking bar bag is getting an update as well, with a new version 2.0 handlebar Holster that will be a running change, coming in about 1 month’s time. The most obvious difference vs. the current Holster is an increase in the size of the add-on Food Pouch and a new external lashing cord. Restrap received a lot of user feedback about the existing Food Pouch from riders asking for more space. As one of the easiest places to access gear while on the bike, this rear-facing, top of the bar bag is a popular place to store food for eating on the go. Riders just needed more storage capacity and Restrap was happy to oblige.

The added orange cord also helps strap down clothing like a rainshell, or as a common spot where multi-day bikepackers hang their laundry to dry while riding. With the increased size of the pouch, Restrap is also adding larger magnetic clasps that are more secure. The current pouch uses a magnetic clasp with pull tabs to release, and some off-road touring riders had issues with a clasp occasionally releasing. The new larger posts use a stronger magnet and twist to release in a manner that Restrap showed us is both much more secure and still easy to remove. No word if there will be an impact to the overall price, but for those already using the £75  Restrap Bar Bag Holster, you won’t be able to simply install the larger Food Pouch as is uses different magnet posts.

Restrap.co.uk