Arundel is an American company best known for its carbon fibre bottle cages, but its Dual seat bags are equally clever and a bit more affordable at US$14.
The no-nonsense, slightly oval bag nestles snugly under the seat rails in a vertical fashion. The pill-box shaped ballistic bag has a simple leather patch sewn on to keep the bag from rubbing against the seat clamp, extending the life of the bag and maintaining some semblance of silence down there. A durable zip keeps everything inside, and a straightforward Velcro strap snakes its way around the bag and through a clip, eliminating sway while allowing a touch of expandability.
Verdict
Personal storage can fill up quickly on a bike, and if your pockets are full of essentials (food, spare change, mobile and a spanner or two), it's up to a seat bag to store the needful things in case of a roadside repair: two tubes, puncture repair kit (if you're that way inclined, which I'm not), spoke key, tyre levers, and a shop cloth to lay out on the tarmac or grass. The Arundel Dual does this well, and the best thing is not having your thighs chafing against a swinging storage bag. To paraphrase our elders, a seatbag should be seen but not heard and this one represents great value in a tidy package.
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