I have made my bike bag decision and I am sticking with the Topeak RX Trunk Bag DXP (with the fold-out panniers) that I purchased at REI yesterday.
I like the size and I love the Topeak QuickTrack™ system to attach and remove the bag.
Topeak RX Trunk Bag Expanded
I was a little undecided about whether or not I wanted to stick with the more compact Topeak “RX” Trunk bag or if I wanted to move up to the larger Topeak “MTX” bike bag.
For my purposes, I am sticking with the smaller (“RX”) version. I like to keep my bike bag permanently on my bike and for 95% of my riding, I only carry a few items with me. The other 5% of the time I bring some extra things for longer trips (a camera and camcorder, some tools, lunch and maybe a light jacket) and I believe that the RX Trunk bag, with the fold-out panniers should be able to handle this.
Actually, I was not really interested in the fold out panniers until I started to look into them and checked them out in the store. You lose most of the space in the 2 side compartments but with the extra space that you get when you fold out the panniers (or side pockets), I think that it is well worth it.
For those who prefer more space (for touring, longer trips, commuting, etc.), I would recommend the larger Topeak Trunk Bags (the “MTX” is a pretty good size trunk bag that has the fold out pannier option) and/or full size panniers.
If you are not familiar with the Topeak QuickTrack™ system, it is a patented mounting system that allows you to quickly and easily attach and detach the bike bag from the bike rack.
Topeak RX Trunk Bag Closed/Compacted
By lining up the rail on the bottom of the bag with the rail in the bike rack you slide the bag onto the rack until it clicks into place. To remove the bag you just press the yellow clip. It really does work quite well. No more messing around with Velcro straps.
Note: You do have to have a Topeak QuickTrack bike rack if you are going to use a Topeak bike bag but the racks are no more expensive than other brands and can also be used with bike bags from other manufacturers.
Since this bag is brand new, I don’t have any first hand experiences with it yet, but I know I will, in time, and I’ll be sure to update the about-bicycles blog or website pages with my experiences.
I am pretty particular about bike bags and I have learned quite a bit in the process of searching for this one so I have updated the Bike Bags Page on this site with the latest information.
OK, so I am a little partial to Topeak now and I have also favored REI a little too, but having preferences and making honest and helpful (hopefully) recommendations are part of what this site is about. 🙂
I’m sure I will have more on this topic soon, but that’s it for now.
OK, I wanted to do a follow-up on my Topeak RX Trunk Bag now that I have had it and used it for about 3 weeks now.
I am very happy with this bag for my particular needs. As I’ve mentioned above, I do not need a very large bag for my typical rides.
I have already had a few chances to use the Quicktrack release system. It came in handy when I stopped for a hotdog just off of the Silver Glen trail when I was checking out the construction on the Fox River Trail. The quick track release was just really easy to use and then since this is a small bag it was easy to bring with me (although it might have looked a little like a “man purse” if people didn’t know that it was a bike bag and I that was a tough biker 🙂 )
I have also used the zip out extention for the main compartment quite a few times. In this cool spring riding weather, I often wear a light jacket that I like to take off sometimes. I can roll up my jacket and easily fit it in the bag with the additional zip out space.
I haven’t been on a long trip with the bag yet and really haven’t used the fold out side bags (panniers) yet but it’s nice to know that I have that space when I need it.
That’s it for now.
Here’s another follow-up on my Topeak RX Trunk Bag now that I’ve had it for almost a few months now.
I still haven’t done a long trip this year (maybe tomorrow actually) so I haven’t used the zip out panniers yet except to store a few things while they are closed (there is still some space there when they are closed).
Yesterday, my legs were pretty sore from some recent long rides but I still wanted to get outside a little, so I decided to take a walk in a nearby forest preserve. Well, I decided to ride there for my walk (about 4 miles, one way).
After I got to the bike path in the FP, I dropped my bike off in some tall grass, in the woods, where it could not be seem from the path and locked it to a tree.
Then I grabbed my bike computer and water and unclipped the bike bag. I used the sholder strap (for the first time) to bring my bike bag with me on my walk.
It worked out great! It was like a small/compact backpack and I was able to put my water bottle in the bungee like mesh on the top of the bag.
Well, that’s it for now. I just wanted to do this follow-up to mention that I am still happy with the Topeak bike bag and the Quicktrack clip on/off system is excellent!