Stainless Steel Expedition Bagman

The Bagman clamps to the parallel rails on your saddle so there has to be space behind the seat post clamp for it, you’ll need about 5/8″. The wonderful thing is just how simple the Bagman is to install, a single 6mm allen screw holds the clamp tight, although I would like to see a lock washer on that allen screw for some insurance against it loosening. It took me 20secs to get the aluminium clamp aligned with the rails and the screw tightened. Contrast this to the minutes of fiddling with screws, nuts and P-clamps required to install most racks. There have been some reports of the rack’s steel frame loosening from the block that attaches to the saddle rails as it is held in my a couple of set screws that can loosen over time. The Bagman I received has blue Loctite on those screws and I’ll keep a close eye on them. I also put a dab of superglue around where the frame enters the mounting block as some insurance. We’ll see how things go.

The Bagman attaches to the saddle rails with an aluminum clamp and a 6mm allen screw to

6mm allen screw under the saddle

Once the clamp is tightened the Bagman provides a very stable, minimalist platform for the saddlebag. The bag attaches to the saddle loops in the normal way and the bottom leather strap is buckled around the vertical section of the Bagman

The bag is held in a horizontal position well back from the saddle and when you stand back from the bike you can’t even see the Bagman giving the whole setup a wonderfully lightweight appearance. The bag is cantilevered out over the rear wheel and seems to float, I think we can all appreciate a good cantilever.

http://www.fallingwater.org/

The Bagman is not an all purpose rack as it doesn’t have places to attach straps and has a small platform. But it does one thing superbly and that is support a saddlebag. In fact it does this so well that you can’t even see it doing it’s job, now that’s stylish!

I got my touring gear together just to see how it would go on the bike without my normal small Nitto racks. Without the front rack I had to strap my sleeping pad and cooking equipment to the top of the saddlebag, but that was the only change. The bike rides very well as all the weight is close to the center of gravity ie me. I estimate using the Bagman will save me about a pound in the weight of my gear. Of course I could easily loose 20lbs myself so maybe I’ll work on that next.

No visible means of support