Dropper seatposts have become an increasingly popular fitment on most bikes which venture off-road.
For decades the seatpost has been a location for bike packers to fasten oversized saddlebags. The dropper seatpost complicates this, due to the exposed stanchion surface and mechanical reality of a dropper having to cycle through its travel.
Two companies have now worked on a very original solution, which allows for a larger saddle bag function with your dropper seatpost. Bike packing expert Apidura commissioned 76 Projects to create a special collar which would allow a saddle bag to be mounted on a dropper seatpost, without completely impeding its function.
Apidura’s dropper post saddle bag fastens its top strap around the seat’s rails. Where the clever bit of this bag’s packaging comes into play, is the 76 Projects collar, featuring a silicone insert which clamps around the dropper post’s stanchion.
With a strap groove, the 76 Projects collar allows for secondary securing point of your Apidura saddlebag. The strap groove and presence of that collar will reduce the available travel of your dropper seatpost, by 40mm – at worst.
The Apidura saddlebag’s specification rates at 6-liters of stowage capacity and it is constructed from durable waterproof materials.
Where Apidura’s industrial designers have been particularly aware, is the shape of this saddlebag. Considering it will at times be sitting much closer to the rear tyre, when riders are descending with their seatposts dropped, it has a polyethylene skid patch. This prevents undue wear from those moments where it might glance a rear tyre, at full suspension compression, over technical terrain.
If you are an adventure rider who occasionally purposes your mountain bike for some big mileage weekend adventures, which requires an oversized saddlebag, Apidura appear to have a novel solution.
Pricing for the Apidura dropper saddle pack, including its 76 Projects collar, is set at £122.00.
