Roadbikerider reviews RH Roll Bag

We started making components because nobody made what we needed for our rides. Way back, it started with supple, wide tires. I still remember the incredulous look of the engineers at one supplier when we showed them the specs for the tires we wanted to make. “What kind of rider will want ultra-fast 54 mm-wide tires?” they asked. Our answer was: “Riders like us.”

More recently, we’ve been looking for bags to carry a few essentials on our day rides. After finding a puddle of water in one bag after a brief shower and seeing the straps rip off another brand-new bag on a friend’s bike, we gave up on finding a handlebar roll bag that met our requirements: simple, strong, waterproof—and affordable.

We’re not the only ones—Stan Purdum from roadbikerider.com contacted us and asked for a review sample. We’ve known roadbikerider.com for many years, and we appreciate that they tests products thoroughly before writing honest reviews. Stan recently published his report.

He starts by recounting the same dilemma we’ve had: “Several bags I’ve tried have proven too small, too bulky, not sufficiently water repellent, droopy, or have inadequate straps for attaching the bag to the handlebars.”

Stan tested the bag with roadbikerider’s usual thoroughness: To assess whether it’s really waterproof, he filled the bag with paper towels (to detect any moisture) and then “used the faucet sprayer to shoot water directly onto the bag for a full minute.” He reports that the paper towels remained dry, except a tiny moist spot where the two zipper sliders meet. He points out that you need a roll closure to get a bag that’s 100% waterproof, but that zippers are much easier to operate. He concludes: “I’d put this bag’s waterproofness at 99.9%.”

Stan liked the light weight of the bag. He mentioned that “its construction is impressive.” He concluded: “On the moving bike, the bag is steady, neither swaying nor drooping, and I like it a lot.”

Thanks, Stan. We hope your bag will accompany you on many more rides and adventures.

More information:

• Read the full review on roadbikerider.com
• Bags in the Rene Herse program