Sci-Con Saddle Bags

We all need to carry things when we are on the bike, spare inner-tubes, tire levers and a little bit of loose change in case of an unexpected phone call or coffee stop.

You can put all these things in the back pocket of your jersey, but it stretches the jersey and carrying weight on your body is harder than carrying it on the bike. The best thing to do is to get a small saddle bag and the best ones we have seen are from Sci-Con, here we look at three of there best and most useful saddle bags.

The "Roller System"

All the bags have the same amazing function that is the "Roller System" this is the system of fitting the bag under the saddle, it's a brilliant idea and so easy to fit and secure. The system is a clamp which grips to the saddle rails, fitting any size of rails, you don't need any tools as there is a wheel that can be tightened with your fingers.

When the clamp is fitted you then fit the bag with a half turn onto the bracket, its secure, light and very safe. Other bags use straps or clamps that need to be screwed on with nuts and bolts, with the "Roller System" you can remove the bag and the clamp in minutes, and so if you are racing or cleaning the bike, the bag is off in no time.

Three Sci-Con Bags

The Borsello Soft 350, Dragon Tattoo

The Borsello Soft 350 is the smallest of the three bags on test, obviously it has the Roller System and reflective strip, the one we have also has a Tattoo Dragon stitched on to the bag on the back of the bag with Dragon style flashes on the sides, very classy!

The bag is for daily training use, you can fit two inner tubes, a set of tire levers, a few loose Allen keys and some coins or paper money. The bag is perfect to fit to your bike and forget about it, just get on and go for your daily few hours or commute to work. It also came with a very handy mini light.

Dragon Tattoo with Mini Light

The Borsello Sottosella Pro Carbon Compact 430

The Sottosella Pro Carbon 450 is slightly bigger than the Soft 350 and with its carbon side panels and reflective piping it's also a very stylish bag. You can fit more into the Sottosella, small multi tool, wallet, mobile phone or an energy bar, perfect for the all day ride when you might be too far away from civilization. Inside the bag there is an extra Velcro strap to hold an item separately from your other bits, like iPod, perhaps! The compact design lends its self to Italian styling with an aerodynamic shape with a slight wedge tapering in towards the saddle. Also with the easy fit Roller System for convenience and came with a waterproof saddle cover.

Pro Carbon

The Borsello Pin Roller 695

This is the biggest of the three, very sturdily made, strongly stitched Cordura with a plastic stiffener inside and a reflective strip for safety round the edge and of course the "Roller System" fitting. The Borsello 695 can hold all the things you might need, tools and inner tubes, a small tightly rolled rain jacket or camera could also be fitted in this compact but very roomy saddle bag. This bag is made for a long day out and this well made bag will give you years of dependable use.

The Pin Roller 695

All the Other Sci-Con Bags

Sci-Con has four sections of small under the saddle bags, the Champion's Saddlebags Collection, the Mainstream saddlebags Collection, the Premium Saddlebags Collection and the Specialty Saddlebag Collection.

From the Champion's Selection there are three different styles to choose from and signed by five different stars of cycle sport, Danilo Di Luca, Damiano Cunego, Gilberto Simoni, Alessandro Petacchi and Jan Ulrich, the three bags are the Phantom 230 (small and neat), the Compact 430 (same style as the Pro Carbon that we reviewed) and the larger Vortex 480.

The Mainstream Collection has six different sized bags from the 210cc to the 700cc, two of the bags are Velcro strap fitting and the others are the "Roller System", the Borsello Saddlebag Pin Roller 695 is from this range.

The Tattoo Dragon 350 is from the Premium range, there are three Tattoo versions, Tribal, Flowers and the Dragon and they come in two different sizes, the neat 350 and the more commodious 695, the Tattoo bags come with a mini light. Then there is the Smart which has a weather resistant semi-rigid shell, but light with multi compartments for all your bike bits and mobile phone or iPod, the Smart comes in two versions, the standard 1050cc capacity and the expandable 1350cc size, both have an integrated LED light.

The fourth Collection is the Specialty range, six very different bags, a Tubo Bag to fit into your bottle cage and a mobile phone stem bag along with four saddle bags that could hold just about anything as they are expandable or have external pockets or mini pump fittings.

Dragon Tattoo

What Do We Think?

These have to be the best bags on the market, covering all needs that you might have. They are strong, stylish and exceptionally well designed. You don't have to look anywhere else than Sci-Con for saddle bags and soon we will be taking a look at their top of the line Bike Transportation case, The Aerotech Evolution, so come back for that soon.

Marks out of 10; It has to be 9, they are great!

Pro Carbon with Saddle Cover

Check out the Sci-Con web-site for further info - http://www.scicon.it/index2.php