Over the last year, the cargo slings that came with my Haul a Day were gradually wearing out.
Finally, I broke down and ordered a new set from Carsick Designs. They came last week, and I installed them this morning. I needed to remove the deck so I took the opportunity to do a bit of frame cleaning, as well as adjusting the rear disc brake.
Here’s a comparison between the old and new bags. The new bags are a little wider, and they have a zippered pocket, but the pocket is considerably shallower than the old ones so it won’t function as a lock holster.
On the plus side, the new bags look much sturdier. I went all the way and paid an extra $30 for a custom colour: safety orange cordura.
Here they are all installed.
One thing I don’t quite understand about the design is that the fastening straps for the upper corners are sewn very far in board of the corners of the bag. I’ll see if this ends up being an issue.
Once the bags were installed, it was time to shop. Here is today’s load.
After getting back to the bike, I thought that I had bought too much. However, with the use of an extra cardboard box, I was able to cart everything home. What I didn’t fully appreciate is that the straps on the Carsick slings are much longer than the originals, and so I was able to strap a fairly wide box to the bike. Bottom line: I think that I can carry at least 30% more with the new slings, with the extra load being about the volume of the box in the picture below.
So far so good. We’ll see how they hold up, but for now, I’m really happy with my purchase.
Obligatory Hallowe’en themed update.
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