Brooklyn Bicycle Co. entered the market several years ago with stylish entry-level city bikes with high value complete builds. In addition to growing and fleshing out its bike line for this seas, the brand has branched out into other accessories. Two bags at the booth really caught our eye. The first: a wristlet/bar bag that could as easily be put to work as a purse on a casual night out as it could gear caddy on a urban exposition. If you’re looking for something bigger, the multipurpose Humboldt pannier/tote/backpack has you covered without advertising that you’re a cyclist off the bike.
The wristlet, called the Oxford Bag, was done in conjunction with EvenOdd Creative, a woman-owned company that uses reclaimed materials such as bicycle inner tubes for their products. The products are hand made in New York.
The bag has two subtle velcro straps on the back side, allowing you to mount them to your bars for easy accessibility and visibility (so you can see your stuff). The wristlet strap is removable, allowing you to wear the bag as a simple clutch. The outside is recycled inner tube with waxed canvas. While those materials are pretty weather resilient on their own, the bag liner is water and tear-proof sail fabric.
The other accessory surprise was the Humboldt tote/pannier/backpack. When on the bike, it attaches via standard hardware. When off the bike, the pannier interface is covered by a zipper panel allowing you to hide it away when you are off the bike. Another nice feature, the rigid pannier interface panel actually sits outward when you wear it as a backpack, so the pack panel isn’t overly stiff and hardware doesn’t jab your back.
For 2017, the Bedford has benefited from a subtle geometry revision that helps to level out the top tube. It is available in a 3-speed internal version at $500 MSRP and 7-speed external at $480 MSRP.
The Franklin has been upgraded with puncture resistant tires and now comes complete, with paint to match fenders, in matte pink and sea gloss (not shown) at $500 MSRP.
The Roebling launched as an entry level long-range commuter. Unlike bikes at similar price points, the crank features bolt on chainrings, allowing the user to modify the group later on if they wish. This model is available in black for $520 MSRP.
