Going Long With The Slice Top Tube Bag From Detours

With my upcoming 400k Brevet on June 22^nd and The 508 in October, most weekends are going to have training rides well over the century mark.  Rides this long require a little more planning and also require me to carry more food and supplies.  There is only so much room in jersey pockets.  Besides, I find overstuffed jersey pockets to be annoying.  Because of this, I’ve recently been making good use of the extra storage space provided by The Slice Top Tube Bag from Detours.

This bag, as advertised, is perfectly sized to hold plenty of gels to keep you going. In fact, I just stuffed 8 Honey Stinger gels in there with room to spare.  As an added bonus, the placement of the bag on the top-tube keeps the food within easy reach. My normal loading of the bag, however, is more for assurance that I’m not going to be stranded a long, long way from home.  I’ve been filling my Slice with extra extras.  I use the bag to house a second spare tube, a patch kit, 3 additional gels, my ID and credit card, some cash, and my house key which is held securely on the internal key clip.

The bag is also a great alternative to traditional saddle bags.  The long narrow shape of the Detours Slice Top Tube Bag allows it to house items that are hard to fit in many saddle bags.  This is especially true in regards to longer, narrow items such as many smart phones.  The bag easily holds an iPhone, spare tube, patch kit, key, CO2, and multi-tool.  In addition, the bag being on the top tube guarantees that its straps won’t wear on your shorts like some Velcro saddle bag straps have been known to do.

The mounting is simple yet secure.  A Velcro strap on the bottom of the bag wraps around the top tube, while an elastic cord wraps under the stem around the steerer/head tube.  Additionally, I found that with my internal cable routing, the bag could even be mounted upside down as a wedge in my frame.  Not that this is necessary, but it does mean I could add a second bag if I wanted.  It also gives a different aesthetic, and acts to somewhat camouflage the bag for a sleeker look, if that kind of thing is important to you.

So whether you are going long, need a little extra storage, or simply like the idea of a top tube bag as opposed to a saddle bag, give this one a serious look.  You can purchase it directly from the Detours website.  With its storage capability and ease of use still coming in at a price of under 20 bucks, The Slice Top Tube Bag begs the question, “Who couldn’t use one?”

– Alex (Steak Sauce)