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Lidl Supermarkets in the UK have recently announced that they will be selling bikepacking bags! From March 8th, a seat pack, handlebar harness and frame pack will be available for just £9.99 (a piece) under the Crivit bike accessory brand.
This is actually not the first time Lidl has offered incredibly cheap bike gear. These new bikepacking bags sell alongside £9.99 panniers (each), £6.99 floor pumps and £4.99 travel floor pumps.
So are these bikepacking bags actually worth buying?
NewBoler, Roswheel, Sahoo, Pod Sacs
The supplier who is making bikepacking bags for Lidl is also making bags for half a dozen other brands (most well-known on Aliexpress and Amazon). All of the bikepacking bags produced vary slightly, in both materials and features. The Lidl bikepacking gear definitely looks to be the cheapest in quality, with very simple clips, low-cost bag attachments and fewer straps overall.
Given that virtually the same products have been out in the wild for many years now, we have a pretty good idea if these products are worth a try.
Should You Buy The Crivit Bikepacking Handlebar Harness?
Maybe, on sealed roads preferably.
The Crivit Handlebar Harness looks to use a lower-quality fabric and less webbing than any of the other similar options. The main issue with this bag is that the handlebar straps don’t actually do a good job of providing a firm bag fit to your handlebars because there is a gap between the webbing and harness fabric. Some users have resorted to using an extra strap around the harness to pull the entire dry bag inward for a proper fit.
Essentially, the bag will hold onto your bars, but it will be a floppy. This may not be too much of an issue on sealed roads, but it will be really annoying on the dirt. The bag also doesn’t have any handlebar strap spacers, so expect it to rob you of the inner hand hold of your drop bar.
Specs:
Waterproof dry bag
L49 x W15cm
9L Capacity (Closed)
4.5kg Capacity
Should You Buy The Crivit Bikepacking Seat Pack?
Nah, it’s terrible.
NewBoler makes a similar seat pack to the Crivit, and it’s a hunk of junk. Well, it works… but the seat post strap is not adequately grippy, which results in the bag slowly slipping upwards towards the seat, tilting the rear of the bag down towards the wheel. The seat rail straps also like to cut into the soft bag material (especially after a few uses) which further tilts the bag towards your wheel (HERE is a pic of what I mean).
Should you have a magically grippy seatpost and you pack your bag well – you will still have to deal with some bag wag. If you’re looking for a bombproof budget option, just strap a dry bag to an aluminium rack. 👍🏻
Specs:
Waterproof
L58 x W29.5 x H14cm
8L Capacity (Closed)
5kg Capacity
Should You Buy The Crivit Bikepacking Frame Pack?
Yeah, if the dimensions are ok (40cm under your top tube).
If I were buying any bikepacking gear from Lidl, this would be it. It’s 2-litre half-frame pack that is seam-sealed with a waterproof zip. In general, the fabrics used look like they’ll handle some abuse – just be careful with that zipper, especially around the mud.
Specs:
Waterproof
L40 x W5 x H10.5cm
2L Capacity
2kg Capacity
