Developed with gravel racers and refined in the wind tunnel, Apidura now offers a nearly universal fit Aero System pair of compact bikepacking bags that promise to make your bike faster. 5 watts saved “at real-world race speeds”, the partial frame bag and low toptube bag smooth airflow over the front of your bike to reduce drag, whether you stuff them full of snacks and spare clothes or not. We’ve been riding the new bags for about a month now on road & gravel, so read on to find our first impression pros & cons…
Apidura Aero System aerodynamic gravel racing frame bags
Apidura has been developing aero bikepacking bags for years, first working on their universal-fit Racing Series, before fine-tuning smoother aero dynamics with bike-specific bags created to make Ridley’s gravel race bike faster. The idea simply has been to fill in the open shape of your bike with a more aerodynamic cowl that doubles as a place to carry the necessities you need anyway.
Now their Aero System combines two small bikepacking ‘module’ bags that simply strap on to make more bikes more aero. They fit many bikes by including extended skirts to fit tightly against your frame for cleaner integration and reduced aerodynamic drag, no matter your exact frame shape.
And Apidura assures us that their “aero-optimised design delivers average 5 watt saving at real-world race speeds” of 36 & 44 km/h, backing those claims up with a White Paper detailing their testing protocol and results.
Tech details
- lightweight, compact bikepacking bags designed to smooth airflow over most all-road & gravel bikes
- grippy rubberized skirts conform to your headtube, side panels extend up with internal stiffeners to hug the toptube, and toptube side panels extend forward to wrap against the back of your stem while not restricting steering
- constructed from mix of translucent Hexagrid and solid Hexalon laminated nylon & TPU fabrics
- hollowed-out internal HDPE plastic stiffeners to maintain their narrow shape
- features welded seams, waterproof zipper, internal strap, and bright yellow padded inserts to quiet & protect contents
- toptube module features full-length ‘fast-entry’ magnetic clamshell closure
- held securely with 3 grippy toptube straps, 1 velcro downtube strap & 2 or 3 stretchy headtube rubber bands
- adjustable strapping points to fit various frame tube shapes
- 305g claimed for S/M pair (307g actual; 99g for Top Tube Module & 208g for the Frame Module); 335g for L/XL pair
- 2.2L capacity for S/M; 3.2L capacity for L/XL
First Setup Impressions
The new bags are designed as a pair and come in two different sizes, just for the frame bag. I generally ride medium to large bikes, but opted for the smaller of the two bags, as it looked like it would fit more bikes that I ride. The S/M size only requires about 3-4cm of straight section at the back of the headtube (which is helpful on curvy modern carbon bikes) and the aero skirts can still cover almost 10cm of headtube. By contrast, the L/XL needs ~7+cm at the back of the headtube, too big for many medium aero carbon bikes. Thankfully, Apidura has a great sizing tool that helps get the best fit.
Fitting the lightweight bags to my bike was simple. But it still feels like there are lots of straps & buckles to deal with. And it is nearly impossible to totally hide them from the wind. The Top Tube Module has 4 strap points, and the Frame Module 1 fixed rear point & 3 longer adjustable points to align with the toptube bag. I settled on a setup that manages to hide at least the middle buckle, with the rear one on top of the toptube. All the contact points & straps have printed-on silicone grippers, so everything sits securely in place. But it does mean it’s all a bit sticky and takes an extra minute to get it set how you want.
One note, the skirt panels on the headtube mean these bags are not friendly to conventional internal cable routing that enters on the side of your headtube or downtube.
Top Tube Module thoughts
Being used to Apidura’s great Racing Top Tube Pack where I can fit my phone, it took a while to get used to the shallow magnetic closure pack that only fits snacks or items up to 5cm tall. But it turns out that I can stuff a lot of snacks in there, and they are quite easy to get to while riding.
My only real issue with the toptube bag is that I sweat a lot, and I feel like the majority of sweat that comes off of me while riding manages to aim directly for the ‘mostly-closed’ magnetic opening on the top of this bag. It isn’t really a big issue. Every time I pull a snack out of the slimy bag, I do feel like it is being enriched by my recycled sweat. But the magnetic closure is surprisingly mostly air & water tight, so even in the rain, its contents tend to stay mostly dry.
Frame Module thoughts
As for the frame bag, between the internal structure and the zip being just 20cm long (for the 30cm bag), it isn’t the easiest to fill or access everything inside while on the bike. But there was plenty of room to stash all the repair kit out of a regular saddlebag, plus a compact rain jacket.
The bag does also limit access to a full-size conventional water bottle on the downtube on most bikes I tried. But even when it did fit, I noticed that it was quite uncomfortable to remove the bottle while riding, as the lower edge of the frame bag forms a sharp 90° angle with a heat-sealed edge that slightly scraped my hand each time I would pull a bottle out. In the end, the close fit is surely good for both aerodynamics and efficient use of frame space, but I will need to swap to a side load cage or another solution like a Fidlock bottle mount to make bottle access easier while pedaling.
Riding Review
Like any good set of bikepacking bags, the Apidura Aero System does well by disappearing underneath you while riding. The bags are narrow (6cm for the Top Tube Module, 6-6.5cm wide for the Frame Module when empty, swelling to ~7.5-8cm wide when stuffed full). And I did not have any issue with scraping them while pedaling.
Once on the bike, they stayed mostly out of the way, allowing me to empty my pockets and get rid of a saddlebag. It’s a small detail, but I really like how the translucent fabric allows me to see what is inside.
And who can say no to an extra 5W that I don’t have to crank out with my own legs!
Apidura Aero System – Pricing, options & availability
The new Apidura Aero System aerodynamic bikepacking bags sell only as a 2-piece pair of bags for £188 / $278 / 218€. It is the same price for either the S/M or L/XL system, both of which share the same size toptube module. Pick a pair up now directly from Apidura or one of their partner retailers. The sizing tab on the Aero System product page includes a link to their fit tool, where you can either upload a photo of your bike to their site or use a smartphone for augmented reality sizing to determine the best fit.
