The 5 Best Bike Handlebar Bags of 2024 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Sam Schild

Our top pick, the Ornot Handlebar Bag, is back in stock in most colors.

A bike handlebar bag is simple.

It’s a fanny pack for your bike, built with consideration for all of your bike-specific needs, like being able to open it while you’re riding, or having access to a subway card or a key.

Although a good one can’t change your life, it can save you from showing up with a sweaty back after pedaling across town to the office, the party, or the office party. And maybe showing up less sweaty to that party will change your life.

After spending more than 30 hours interviewing cycling professionals and researching handlebar bags, we picked 20 bags, put them on our bikes, and started riding. And now we’re sure that the Ornot Handlebar Bag is the best choice for anyone looking to change their ride.

This nylon handlebar bag balances simplicity with thoughtful carry features. It has the space to hold the essentials with well-placed pockets for keeping everything organized and accessible while you ride. It’s hard to carry off the bike, though.

Spacious without taking up too much real estate on your handlebars, this Cordura-nylon bag is simple, easy to use, and capable of holding all the essentials. It’s more expensive than our top pick, though, and has fewer exterior pockets.

Sleek and low-profile, this polyurethane-coated polyester handlebar bag is just the right size to go with you all day long. Its handlebar-mounting system could be better, though.

Built with recycled laminate nylon sailcloth material, the Catalyst is a high-capacity and solidly constructed bag that works just as well on and off a bike. It is quite pricey, though.

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This high-tech quick-release mounted bag is made of a fully waterproof, polyurethane-coated Cordura nylon and offers easy access on a bike. It doesn’t come with a handlebar mount, though—that’ll cost you at least another $30.

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This small, solidly built polyurethane-coated polyester bag can keep you light while carrying the essentials.

The Ornot Handlebar Bag is a simple tube-shaped handlebar bag, made of recycled nylon, that makes accessing your gear quick and easy. This 3.1-liter handlebar bag can carry three large burritos as well as bike tools, a phone, a light jacket, a wallet, and keys.

This bag improves on our former top pick (and now our runner-up), the Road Runner Bags California Burrito, by adding four accessible and secure exterior pockets made of stretch mesh, as well as an interior zipper pocket to safely hold your wallet and keys.

Two of the exterior pockets reside on the rear of the bag, facing you when you’re on your bike; a third sits on the right side and has an elastic cord to secure a smartphone in place, and a final pocket crosses the front of the bag. That front pocket is the perfect place to stash a light jacket for quick access as the weather changes, while you’re at a stoplight, for instance.

The zipper closure for the main compartment wraps across the top of the bag and onto the side, making the main compartment easier to access than that of our runner-up. This design choice makes a big difference when you’re stuffing the bag full, and as a result the bag seems bigger than it is.

The main drawback we’ve found is that Ornot doesn’t include (or sell separately) a strap for converting it to a shoulder bag for when you’re off the bike, so you’ll have to rig up your own. In addition, the bag comes in only three colors, and the stretchy mesh exterior pockets might eventually rip if you tend to carry hard, sharp objects in them.

The Road Runner Bags California Burrito is simply designed in a way that’s effective, elegant, and durable all at once. This 3.3-liter, tube-shaped bag, which is about the size of a six-pack, holds as much as our top pick, though it lacks the exterior pockets that we like on the Ornot bag.

This bag has a single zipper that’s easy to operate while you’re on your bike and side pockets for small items you might want to access quickly, though it doesn’t wrap around the bag like the zipper on the Ornot bag. Made of durable Cordura nylon, it comes in eight fun colors to match your bike, more than our top pick. The California Burrito also readily converts into a shoulder bag with Road Runner’s universal shoulder strap (sold separately for $17).

Sleek and low-profile, this polyurethane-coated polyester handlebar bag is just the right size to go with you all day long. Its handlebar-mounting system could be better, though.

The Chrome Helix Handlebar Bag is sleek enough to bring with you anywhere, but in our tests we found that its Velcro harness attachment system wasn’t quite as functional on our bike as the buckles on our top pick and runner-up. Though some people might balk at a $65 bag being considered a “budget pick,” we determined that the $50 to $60 range was the least that one could expect to spend on a bag and still have it be sturdy enough not to bounce around on the handlebars.

This 3-liter rectangular bag is the size of two takeout containers (the classic white folding-box kind). Accessing items while you’re on your bike is easy since the lid opens toward you; while that feature isn’t unique, it isn’t common to all handlebar bags. The Helix doesn’t have any exterior pockets but does have two interior mesh pockets. It’s made of a durable and very water-resistant polyurethane-coated polyester material that’s stiff enough to keep its shape even when empty. This bag’s stowable sling belt makes it carry well off a bike, too.

Built with recycled laminate nylon sailcloth material, the Catalyst is a high-capacity and solidly constructed bag that works just as well on and off a bike. It is quite pricey, though.

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The Swift Industries Catalyst Pack is the only bag that looks like a messenger bag off a bike yet still functions as a handlebar bag on a bike. Rectangular in shape, it has a top flap that clips down over the front of the pack, as well as an internal cinch closure, much like a shoulder bag you might see someone wearing. This is an expensive bag, but it’s unrivaled in thoughtful features for commuting by bike. It’s made of the sturdy and waterproof Ecopak EPLX400 fabric, a recycled nylon material originally designed for sailcloths.

This bag has a 7.5-liter capacity, just big enough to fit a Yorkshire terrier or other small dog breed—in fact, this is the only bag we tested that felt sturdy enough to confidently carry a furry friend on a bike’s handlebars. We managed to stuff an entire 3-liter box of wine into this bag, along with a warm jacket, snacks, tools, and a book. Even though the Catalyst is quite large, it’s just small enough to fit on pretty much any set of handlebars and is surprisingly lightweight. The expandable lid works great for quickly stuffing a jacket underneath while you’re riding, too.

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The Ortlieb Ultimate Urban handlebar bag looks like a surprisingly fashionable lunch box, but this lunch box is easy to use while you’re on your bike, and the 5-liter capacity can hold a lot. We easily fit a six-pack of cans in this bag, with room for a few sandwiches to complete the picnic.

The lid uses a magnetic closure and flips open away from the rider, so it doesn’t sit between you and the bag’s opening, which faces the rider; as a result, you can open the lid with one hand while you’re on your bike and dig around inside. (This was the only bag we felt confident enough to do that with.)

It also has a clear touchscreen-compatible pocket on the top of the lid so you can have your phone viewable at all times—handy if you’re using your phone for maps. Note that you have to purchase this bag’s mounting system separately (starting at $30), but it offers multiple mount options for different rider needs and for various types of bikes, including e-bikes.

This small, solidly built polyurethane-coated polyester bag can keep you light while carrying the essentials.

The Rapha Bar Bag is a lower-capacity bag that’s remarkably well constructed. Everything about this bag screams excellent craftsmanship—from the immaculate construction obvious upon close inspection of the interior lining to the way the straps are tacked onto the outside of the bag. The rigid polyurethane-coated nylon material keeps it from sagging on your bars, which is uncommon in smaller handlebar bags.

The main compartment remains especially accessible while the bag is on a bike, thanks to zippers that are the easiest to operate of any bag we tested. The bag has two interior mesh pockets for small items plus a second, zippered exterior pocket for anything you want to keep separate during a ride. This bag is only just big enough to fit the necessities—a light jacket, a multitool, a tube, and a bar or two—so it’s better suited for recreational riding or fair-weather commuting.

This is a guide for commuters who use their bikes for utility and transportation. Our picks are perfect for people who want to carry the daily essentials with them as they move through the city by bike. Most handlebar bags aren’t big enough for laptops, and those that are big enough don’t carry a laptop very well (see the Competition section below). Laptops are too big to transport on your handlebars anyway; you should haul yours in a backpack or pannier instead.

Our picks also work well for recreational road and gravel cyclists. The same features that make a great handlebar bag for commuters work well to add some extra storage on longer rides or on colder days to accommodate more layers. However, our picks here are not for bikepackers or touring cyclists—if you’re touring by bike, you’re likely to want a larger-capacity handlebar pack.

I’ve ridden a bike at least 50,000 miles over the past decade, commuting everywhere around Denver, bike touring across the United States, and bikepacking all over the Southwest. Road, cyclocross, gravel, mountain biking—I’ve done it all, and I do it often. I’ve also backpacked nearly 10,000 miles; a typical year for me has me living out of the bag(s) I’ve strapped to myself or my bike for at least a month. I’ve even designed and sewn my own bags for bikepacking, commuting, and backpacking.

After reading dozens of handlebar bag buyer reviews, doing online research, and factoring in my own experience and that of a working bike messenger, we outlined the following criteria:

Size: A bike commuter wants a handlebar bag to hold life’s daily essential items. We defined those essentials as a cell phone, keys, a spare tube, a tire lever, a multi-tool, snacks (for testing, we used an 8-ounce bag of trail mix), and a light jacket. We found that any bag less than 2 liters was too small to carry all these items, and at least 3 liters was ideal. We also found that bags over 8 liters took up too much space on the handlebars; a bigger bag is likely to be heavy, too, and a heavy handlebar bag causes steering issues. Within that 2- to 8-liter range, your choice depends on how you want to use the bag.

Mounting system: A bag’s mounting system attaches it to the bike. If you plan to lock your bike and leave it outside, you probably won’t want to spend 10 minutes taking your bag off every time, but you also won’t want the bag to fall off while you’re riding. A good mounting system makes a bag easy to attach and easy to remove, and it can securely fit a variety of handlebars.

On the best handlebar bags, the mounting system consists of three straps—two that attach to the handlebars and one that secures the bottom of the bag to the bike frame at the head tube. Some handlebar bags come with a bracket that you install on the bike to allow for quick and easy mounting and removal. These brackets usually work well, but not all are created equal, and they do require you to have something mounted to the bike at all times. For this reason, we concluded that 5 liters is the minimum-size bag you’re likely to want to use with a dedicated bracket installed on your bike.

Stability and durability: A handlebar bag should be more than just a bag that attaches to a bike’s handlebars. It should also maintain its shape so that it doesn’t sag when it’s empty or flop around while you ride. Most handlebar bags are either constructed with stiff fabric or designed with some sort of stiff sheet sandwiched between layers of fabric so they don’t sag. A good handlebar bag feels almost rigid, like a box, but still has some of the malleability of a soft bag.

Accessibility and pockets: You also need to consider how accessible your stuff will be while you’re riding. Outside pockets allow you to quickly grab smaller items without opening the bag. A main compartment that remains accessible without your getting off your bike is great, too. Some bags have lids that flip away from the rider to reveal an opening that faces the rider; these are the best for accessibility since the lid doesn’t sit between you and the bag.

Another important consideration here is whether a bag has small pockets for storing valuables. Usually, these come in the form of a small zipper pocket inside the main compartment.

Off-bike carrying: In our tests we assessed how well we could carry a handlebar bag off the bike. If you can attach a strap to a bag, it will be much easier to carry while you’re out and about after locking your bike.

If you’re commuting and don’t need to carry everything in your handlebar bag, we recommend the Ornot Handlebar Bag.

Its capacity is ideal for both commuting and recreational rides. A great handlebar bag strikes that magical balance of fitting all of your daily carry without needing to be the size of a backpack. For us, about 3 liters is the right size to fit a wallet, keys, lunch, bike tools, and a light jacket; this bag’s capacity is 3.1 liters. The top zipper opening goes across the top and around onto the left side of the bag, which makes it easier to stuff gear into the main compartment and makes the bag feel bigger than 3 liters.

It has a great array of pockets, inside and out. The stretch-mesh exterior pockets add a lot more storage capacity. The front pocket, which you can access while on the bike by reaching around the bag with your right hand, stretches enough to securely hold a jacket. The rear pockets face toward the rider, and you can easily access them by reaching under the handlebars on either side of the bike’s stem. These pockets are perfect for small items and snacks that you want to grab quickly while riding, without having to dig inside the main compartment. Inside the main compartment is a zipper pocket with a key clip; it’s big enough for a wallet and keys, plus any other small items.

It even has a pocket for your phone. This bag has a dedicated smartphone pocket on the right side. The pocket, which is designed to hold a phone upright, employs a piece of stretch cord that loops over the top of the phone to secure it in place.

Its attachment system fits securely while keeping the bag out of the way. The mounting system is a set of Viole straps, which are simple elastomer straps with belt-style buckle closures. These straps make it easy to mount onto handlebars of any size. They loop through a piece of daisy-chained webbing on the bag and around the bars, so you can move them in or out to fit your particular handlebar setup. The bag’s tube shape lets it fit underneath the handlebars without blocking a headlight. The straps come in two lengths: You can choose them in 6 inches or 9 inches.

It’s made of durable recycled materials. The recycled Ecopak laminate fabric is extremely durable and abrasion-resistant. The plastic sheet sandwiched between the exterior fabric and the interior lining material keeps the bag stiff, so it doesn’t sag when you load it full. Plastic is also sandwiched on the sides of the bag, which sets this bag apart from many other tube-shaped handlebar bags by further stiffening it.

If our top pick is unavailable or you know you’ll want to carry your bag on your shoulder regularly, the Road Runner Bags California Burrito is the bag we recommend.

This handlebar bag is pretty similar to the Ornot Handlebar Bag, our top pick, but it has fewer exterior pockets. If durability and simplicity are your top priorities, this is the handlebar bag to get. If you want more exterior pockets, we recommend the Ornot bag.

Similar in size and shape to our top pick, the California Burrito nests neatly beneath handlebars without blocking a headlight. The mounting system, a set of cam buckles paired with nylon straps, lets you easily attach this bag or remove it from any bike. The straps readily adjust to any handlebar diameter, and you can move them in or out on a daisy chain depending on your bar width.

Road Runner’s shoulder strap (sold separately for $17) quickly turns the California Burrito into a functional bag for off-bike carrying, too—our top pick doesn’t have this option. This bag has one main compartment with a single zipper and two small side pockets that remain accessible while you’re riding. The side pockets are good for small items like sunscreen, lip balm, or a granola bar, but the four external pockets on our top pick provide much more storage. This bag also lacks the interior zippered pocket for small valuables that our top pick has.

The Cordura nylon is extremely abrasion-resistant, and a plastic sheet sandwiched between the external Cordura and the internal nylon packcloth helps maintain rigidity. On the front of the bag is another daisy chain, a simple yet elegant method of adding a little more storage for extras such as a pump or a jacket.

Sleek and low-profile, this polyurethane-coated polyester handlebar bag is just the right size to go with you all day long. Its handlebar-mounting system could be better, though.

If you want a handlebar bag that also works as a hip pack, the Chrome Helix Handlebar Bag is a sleek, urban-looking handlebar bag available at an affordable price. The included sling lets you carry it with you, too. But in choosing the Helix, you sacrifice the robust attachment systems of our top pick and runner-up—this bag uses Velcro to attach to the bars and is less adjustable.

The Helix fits all the day’s essentials with room to spare. The square shape and large opening let you easily access everything inside. This bag’s capacity is 3 liters, big enough to fit two takeout containers, and the top-opening lid makes it easier to fit things inside. This bag seemed bigger than some other 3-liter bags we tested, and we credit the large opening for that.

The mounting system consists of a simple set of three straps secured by easy-to-use Velcro. This bag sits underneath the handlebars, so it won’t block a headlight. The lid opens away from the rider to reveal a main compartment with an opening that faces the rider, making it easy for you to dig out whatever you need without getting off the bike. The two interior mesh pockets keep things organized inside the bag, too.

The Helix is constructed with polyurethane-coated nylon, a stiff, rubbery material that gives it a solid feel. When the bag is on the handlebars, these rigid materials and the padded back panel keep it from sagging and bouncing while you’re riding. You can tuck the stowable hip sling strap behind the back panel of the bag when you’re using it in handlebar bag mode, and you can tuck the attachment straps away when you’re carrying the bag off the bike. Beyond the attached hip straps, there isn’t much more to this bag, but the minimalist design is where this bag excels—its subtle good looks don’t stand out but instead blend into an urban landscape.

As for drawbacks, the Helix has no outside pockets, so you have to unzip the lid to access anything inside it. We found that we had to use two hands to open this bag every time, as the zipper wraps around the rectangular lid. Also, the Velcro on the mounting system’s attachment straps will wear out over time, and you can’t move these straps to different points on the bag to accommodate various handlebar widths.

Built with recycled laminate nylon sailcloth material, the Catalyst is a high-capacity and solidly constructed bag that works just as well on and off a bike. It is quite pricey, though.

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The thoughtful design of the lid and the spacious interior of the Swift Industries Catalyst Pack make it great for running a few errands. It’s shaped like a rectangular messenger bag, and it’s big enough to fit takeout, a six-pack, or whatever else you may want to grab on your way home. This bag’s even larger sibling, the Zeitgeist Pack, is popular in bikepacking circles and has been known to last for many thousands of miles.

The Catalyst is more expensive than we expected something as simple as a handlebar bag to cost. Initially we were skeptical that it was worth the price. But after carrying it on and off our bikes for months, we’re now convinced that it is the most versatile pack for cyclists who want to buy one bag that can do it all. We like this bag because it’s an ideal size for bike commuting, its casual retro look works on and off a bike, and it’s very durable. The Catalyst holds more stuff than our top picks. And it carries that stuff better than the other bags we tested. We couldn’t justify making it our top choice because of its high price, but if you can afford this bag, you’re likely to be as impressed with it as we are.

At 7.5 liters, the Catalyst is the biggest bag among our picks here, but it’s still small enough to fit on most handlebars, including most drop bars. Its rectangular messenger-bag shape is roomy enough to fit more than you would reasonably want to carry for long rides. But sometimes you have to make a stop or two on your way home, and that’s when the extra space comes in handy. You’ll find room in this bag for takeout, a six-pack, even a gallon of milk. And the lid has extra-long straps to secure it in place, which allows you to stuff more things under the lid outside the main compartment. The plastic sheet built into the bag gives it shape even if it isn’t full, too.

The simple elastomer straps with belt-style buckle closures make attaching the Catalyst to any set of handlebars easy. The straps are sturdy and have just enough stretch so you can cinch them tight on the bars. They loop underneath a flat polymer rod that runs the length of the bag from end to end and keeps the ends from sagging, making the bag feel solid on the handlebars. On top of the lid is a small zipper pocket that you can access while you’re on your bike. You can also stuff a jacket underneath the aforementioned lid without opening the bag, so you can take off a layer while riding.

Swift’s Catalyst Pack is similar in build quality to our top pick and runner-up. All three bags are impeccably well made, but the Catalyst bag has a more complex design consisting of two mechanisms for closing the top, an internal cinch top to keep everything secure, and an expandable top flap, which clips to the base of the bag to form a shell around your precious cargo.

The Catalyst feels solid, enough to immediately leave an impression when you pick it up. Whereas the Ornot and Road Runner bags stand out with their functional simplicity and value, the Catalyst makes you question whether it’s just a bike bag—it’s elegant and simple, yet it’s much more complex than a straightforward, tube-shaped bag. Plus, this bag is made with more expensive materials: The recycled Ecopak EPLX400 fabric that Swift Industries uses on the Catalyst costs almost twice as much per yard as, for instance, the Cordura that Road Runner uses.

The stitching on the Catalyst is solid, and the materials are sturdy. Every spot on this bag that could rub against your bike is reinforced with a durable rubber material, which protects both the bag and your bike. And even though this is a bigger bag, it didn’t feel heavy in our hands or on our bike, even compared with a bag of half the capacity, such as our top pick. After months of testing, the Catalyst is showing no signs of wearing out, either.

Our only criticisms: The bag has no inside pocket for storing smaller valuables, and the price tag is certainly too steep for many casual cyclists.

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The Ortlieb Ultimate Urban looks like a traditional, boxy handlebar bag with a fashionable urban touch. This bag is fully waterproof, its square shape and magnetic lid maximize usable interior space, and the mounting bracket makes securely attaching it a breeze. However, you have to buy the bracket separately—Ortlieb no longer includes one—and you have to not mind seeing the bracket mounted to your bike all the time. With the latest iteration of the Urban, Ortlieb now makes multiple mount options to choose from: locking ($35) and non-locking mounts ($30), as well as versions compatible with e-bikes.

The Ultimate Urban is big enough to carry everything you might need for a day around town. Its 5-liter capacity can hold a stack of paperback books, a six-pack of drinks, or a picnic for two. Its square shape allows for efficient packing—you won’t have any unused corners in this bag. The square shape also allows the lid to open fully (more on the lid below), which makes loading up this bag simple.

Other than its waterproofing, the next best feature of the Ultimate Urban is its magnetic-closure lid. We were able to consistently open the lid with one hand to access the bag while we were on our bike, even in motion. The clear touchscreen-compatible pocket on top lets you use your phone while it’s securely stored inside, and the bag has a zippered interior pocket for keeping small items separate. The lid stays nicely out of the way while you’re digging around, and the magnets let you close it easily. The quick-release mounting system allows the bag to come off the bike without a fuss and holds the bag securely on the bike; if the bracket is securely installed, this bag will not move on your handlebars at all. A locking version of the Ultimate Urban’s mount comes with a lock-and-key mechanism to secure the lid and prevent the bag from being removed from your bike.

The bag feels notably sturdy. It is made of many custom-molded pieces, and every seam is welded; you’ll find no stitches on this bag. A rigid plastic material built into the bottom and sides helps it keep its shape. This sheet is secured beneath polymer struts to reinforce the molded plastic mouth of the bag, and all of that plastic is encased in a fully waterproof material that looks more like denim than the rubbery nylon material you might expect on a waterproof bag.

However, the Ultimate Urban is pretty expensive, and the quick-release bracket (which, again, you have to buy separately) is challenging to install. If you aren’t mechanically inclined, you might need to get help. Also, the leave-on bracket makes riding the bike without the bag look slightly awkward, and this bag sits above the handlebars far enough that it could block a headlight if you aren’t careful with your light placement. The bag has no exterior pocket, but the interior is so readily accessible that this shortcoming isn’t a dealbreaker.

This small, solidly built polyurethane-coated polyester bag can keep you light while carrying the essentials.

A bike is simple, and loads of gear can eat away at that simplicity. Some days you want to feel the freedom that a bicycle can give, and you want to carry only your phone and wallet. For those rides when you want to carry less, the Rapha Bar Bag is perfect. It can fit a tire repair kit, a cell phone, a wallet, keys, and a few energy bars, but not much else.

If this bag were just a liter or two bigger, it would be our top pick, but it’s still a great bag: It’s simple, it’s unobtrusive on handlebars, and everything about it works strikingly well.

At only 2 liters, the Bar Bag is definitely small. It’s barely larger than a brick and shaped like one. You can cram three 12-ounce cans in here—two horizontal and one vertical—but since it’s so small, it nests nicely under handlebars, out of the way of lights, and is barely noticeable at all. The stiff polyurethane-coated nylon materials prevent the bag from sagging without the need for a plastic sheet to give it shape.

The Bar Bag attaches to handlebars with a simple webbing-and-buckle system. The side-release buckles on the straps that hold the bag onto the handlebars also have a cam lock so the webbing doesn’t loosen as you ride. In addition, these plastic clips have an extra lever built into both sides of one end to make releasing the small buckle easier; sometimes these small clips are hard to manipulate, a minor detail we noticed when removing the bag with gloves on.

The main compartment opens from the top, and the zipper is easy to open with one hand. Two mesh pockets inside the main compartment keep the little things organized, and an external zipper pocket accommodates small items such as a phone. Reflective webbing is daisy-chained across the front of the bag, so you can attach any extras to the outside, too.

After many months of testing, this bag shows no signs of wear. Though the external polyurethane-coated nylon material feels stiff and durable, the bag is still notably light. The included shoulder strap is made of seatbelt webbing and has aluminum hardware—it’s almost too nice to be an accessory that’s often an afterthought. But this detail is indicative of the bag as a whole: well designed and well crafted.

The only drawback of the Bar Bag is its small, 2-liter capacity. For road and gravel riders who are going long distances and are conscious about keeping weight down, however, that’s not a flaw.

If you prefer a slightly smaller bag and want to support a women-owned business: Consider the Fierce Hazel True Grit, which is another tube-shaped handlebar bag, like the Ornot Handlebar Bag and the Road Runner California Burrito. This bag is well made and works great, but at 2 liters, it’s slightly smaller than our top two picks. If you like the look of this bag, go for it.

If you use a bike computer on most of your rides: The Route Werks Handlebar Bag is a square-shaped handlebar bag with a hard plastic lid that has a built-in computer mount. This bag has a secure mounting system that easily attaches and detaches from the bike, as well as tons of other modular add-ons. This is a great bag, but it’s pretty expensive. It seems better suited for hardcore cyclists who are willing to pay for this premium handlebar bag, which costs twice as much as many of our picks.

The Handle Stash Big Mouth Burrito is a smaller-capacity tube-shaped bag with a wide-mouth opening that allows for cramming a little extra into the main compartment, but it ultimately wasn’t quite big enough for use as the only bike bag we’d need.

The Two Wheel Gear Clutch Bar Bag is a rectangular-box-shaped handlebar bag with a large zippered opening and a shoulder strap for easy off-the-bike carrying. This bag looks bigger than it is, however, and the 1.5-liter capacity was a little too small.

The Specialized/Fjallraven S/F Handlebar Bag is a massive 9-liter box-shaped handlebar bag with a lid that opens away from the rider for easy access. Unfortunately, you need a handlebar-mounted rack, sold separately, to use it—and the collaboration behind it appears not to be continuing.

The Inside Line Equipment Pilot Bar Bag is a triangular-tube-shaped bag with one main compartment and no exterior pockets. Although its capacity is listed as 2.6 liters, the zippered opening made it feel more like a 2-liter bag, and we couldn’t easily carry all our gear.

The Brooks Scape Handlebar Pouch lacks interior and exterior pockets and is difficult to install.

The Ortlieb E-Glow handlebar bag is a more expensive, sportier-looking sibling of the Ultimate Urban that has a string of LED lights built in. LED lights that didn’t come with a power source didn’t seem worth paying more for, however.

The Apidura City Handlebar Pack is a clean-looking handlebar bag that’s also fully waterproof. However, we found no easy way to carry this bag off a bike, which is an oversight for such an urban-style bag. The 2-liter capacity didn’t provide quite enough space, either.

We tested the Ornot Handlebar Bag Mini. This was a great bag for road cyclists, but the Rapha Bar Bag was slightly larger and just looked and felt better.

An even sportier-looking sibling of the Ultimate Urban and E-Glow, the Ortlieb Ultimate lacks outside pockets. The European bike tourist vibe it gave off made us like the look and feel of the Ultimate Urban even more.

At 10 liters, the Brooks Scape Handlebar Compact Bag was the highest-volume bag we tested—and also the bag that helped us decide what was simply too big for a handlebar bag. When we had this bag on our handlebars holding a laptop and enough other items to fill it to capacity, our bike steered poorly. The placement of the bracket puts this bag very high on the handlebars; higher loads on the front of a bike make steering extremely squirrely, and this bag made that fact apparent.

Though the Topeak Compact Handlebar Bag mounts to a bike with a quick-release bracket and converts to a hip pouch, that bracket made wearing it around our waists uncomfortable. And at only 3 liters, this bag isn’t big enough to warrant mounting a bracket to a bike.

The REI Co-op Junction Handlebar Bag, which doubles as a fanny pack, looks good in pictures. But when we got our hands on one for testing, we realized it was just a fanny pack with two extra Velcro straps—it had nothing to give it rigidity, and it sagged when we filled it with anything more than a light jacket.

This article was edited by Eve O’Neill and Christine Ryan.

Sam Schild

Sam Schild is a writer and outdoor adventurer based in Denver. A former academic, teacher, and bicycle mechanic, he now finds joy in adventures as often as possible. Whether he travels by bicycle or on foot, he uses his experience outside to bring inspiration to all the stories he tells.

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Size:Mounting system:Stability and durability:Accessibility and pockets:Off-bike carrying: Its capacity is ideal for both commuting and recreational rides.It has a great array of pockets, inside and out.It even has a pocket for your phone.Its attachment system fits securely while keeping the bag out of the way.It’s made of durable recycled materials.If you prefer a slightly smaller bag and want to support a women-owned business:If you use a bike computer on most of your rides: