Carradice Bagman2 QR Support - Expedition: A User's Experience

I ordered the Bagman2 QR Support - Expedition together with the Camper long flap after some deliberation. Here's a summary of the thought process:

• Bagman or saddle loop? Now that I was sure about getting a saddlebag, how was I going to attach it to the bike. Direct attachment to the saddle loops would be most budget friendly, but it would mean taking a risk with the bag nudging against the back of my thighs with every pedal stroke. Plus, I wasn't sure if it would "hang" nicely or end up resting on the plastic mudguard. Better bite the bullet and get a proper support...
• Quick release or standard? Well, since I was already in deep, why not go all the way and get the added convenience of being able to attach and remove the saddlebag quickly? Turned out to be a good decision as I like to take the bag with me when I lock up the bike.
• Sport or Expedition? After studying the Carradice website carefully and measuring the bicycle, I decided on the expedition model. Firstly, this is what Carradice recommends for the Camper long flap and secondly, I measured the clearance from the top of the rear mudguard (fender) to the attachment point on the saddle rails and found sufficient clearance to accommodate the 20cm height of the expedition. It turns out that the Camper long flap needs all of that height.

The official product page is found here. Because my old Principia Mac SL frame doesn't come with any eyelets, I had to order the Bagman2 seatpost collar. This little thingamajig clamps around the seatpost to provide attachment points for the two rods that help hold up the Bagman2 support. And if you're really observant, you'll notice that I used both rubber strips (shims) that came with the collar in order to fit my 27.2mm seatpost.

The other little thing you might want to take note of is that the sample photograph shown on the Carradice website appears to be that of a rather large mountain bike frame size. Look at the angle and length of the rods and compare that to my setup. In case it helps, mine is an 18" frame with 26" wheels. My guess it that you should be able to use this down to a 16" or perhaps even smaller frame size, but you should measure and check everything twice just to be sure.

Yet another important detail you'll want to pay attention to is that you have at least 15mm of parallel saddle rail exposed behind the seatpost clamp. This is where the Bagman2 support clamps onto your saddle. One of the reasons for selecting a Crank Brothers Cobalt 2 seatpost was the very short clamp length. A Brooks B17 has a very short section of parallel saddle rail and you may run into difficulties if you mount your saddle farther forward or if you have a seatpost with a wide clamp.

And finally, here's a photograph of the Quick Release attachment. The shiny bits are cylindrical pins that retract to accept the QR adaptor on the saddlebag. The knobs that retract the retaining pins are just visible, pointing downwards. Be sure to visually check that you have the retaining pins extended fully through the saddlebag quick release adaptor when you attach the bag to the Bagman2. One other thing: my sample of the Bagman2 isn't perfectly centered (left to right) with respect to the mounting clamp. This is visible when viewed from the rear of the bike. The support loop hangs a little further to the left, not quite enough to compromise functionality, but enough to drop it a notch in the quality rankings.