Downsizing the spares kit: Topeak Burrito Pack

Not long after the KOM Cycling Saddle Tool Roll landed on my lap, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Taiwanese tool titan Topeak had its own spin on the tool roll made locally available. I decided to check it out for myself.

FEATURES

• Construction: Polyethylene material with durable water repellent coating; stain-resistant
• Three pockets; large enough to carry a 29″ x 2.35″ (700C x 60 mm) inner tube
• Closure: two elastic straps + wide Velcro strap with plastic tension loop
• Can strap to either saddle rails or top tube
• Weight: 91 g (claimed)
• Price: PhP1,588 via Coolstuff168ph

IMPRESSIONS

Outwardly the Burrito Pack is very similar to KOM Cycling’s offering. They are both tool rolls or wraps, where you stuff their three pockets with your stuff and smoosh them into a smaller form before securing them to your bike. A closer look reveals some key differences, however.

The Burrito Pack is physically larger, and it shows. The pockets have more width to them, making both folding them and accessing their contents easier, the latter helped by the bright yellow inner lining. On the Saddle Tool Roll, smaller items such as spare master links and valve core tools can very easily get lost inside its deep, narrow pockets, which are in the same black material as the rest of the bag. This exact thing happened to me when I removed its every-ride-carry contents for test relocation into the Burrito Pack.

Topeak’s user-friendliness of design extends to little touches like a Velcro patch on the inner flap to help secure the Burrito Pack’s contents. Said flap is triangular in shape, as opposed to the rectangular one on the KOM Cycling unit. I thought this might be a concern for smaller items falling out, but in practice it’s a non-issue.

Looking outward yields the other difference: the closure and mounting system. On the KOM Cycling Saddle Tool Roll, you pull a single wide elastic strap to bind the folded roll together lengthwise, then secure it with a Velcro closure. Once done, you pull an ATOP cable dial latch crosswise around the saddle rails and slide it into a hook, where the dial is then cranked down to add tension and snug it up to the bottom of the saddle.

Sophistication gets swapped for simplicity on the Topeak roll. To cinch up the contents, you pull two sewn-on elastic loops crosswise over the folded-over Burrito Pack. For mounting to either saddle rails or a frame tube, you thread the wide main center strap through its plastic tension loop, then pull through and mate it with the Velcro at the end. The top tube mounting possibility is a bonus, but note that on a smaller framed bike, it can interfere with water bottles on the downtube.

Photo credit: Topeak.com. Retrieved June 16, 2022

Both systems are effective, but the Topeak’s is a better design. Splitting binding duty between three crosswise straps helps the Burrito Wrap maintain a compact shape despite its larger footprint overall. In doubling down on the minimalist concept, the KOM Cycling roll tends to punish you for packing it full.

I stuffed both packs with…

• a spare 700C x 28-37 mm inner tube wrapped in a Ziploc bag
• a Crankbrothers F15 multitool
• three Zefal tire levers, stacked
• a Park Tool GP-2 glueless patch kit
• a Lezyne speed chuck for my Micro Floor Drive pump
• a Park Tool VC-1 valve core tool
• petty cash and identification
• some spare zip ties
• a spare 11-speed master link
• a spare rear derailleur hanger from Wheels Manufacturing

…and the Burrito Pack kept impressively compact.

On the KOM Cycling tool roll, the folds in the material tend to make pointy peaks that poke into the backs of my thighs as I pedal. To mitigate this annoyance, I resorted to pulling its elastic Velcro strap over the brand nameplate of my Selle SMP Drakon saddle so it would tilt downward and away from my legs. Maybe it’s the slightly softer material, or the larger pockets making for easier roll-up, or even the much wider securing strap – either way, this is much less of an issue with the Burrito Pack.

VERDICT

I’ve taken the KOM Cycling Saddle Tool Roll on outdoor rides, and it’s done a good job carrying my spares kit securely. That said, it hasn’t been as good at doing so without calling attention to itself. It’s proven very sensitive to how I pack it, and even then it can nag me with back-of-the-thigh rub.

Topeak’s Burrito Pack takes the same basic concept but refines it appreciably. Thoughtful touches like the yellow liner and Velcro on the flap, combined with the more effective volume control and better versatility of the closure system, add up to a better saddle bag replacement that just does its job of carrying your spares and keeping out of your way until you need it.

It’s hard to argue against the price difference, too. The Burrito Pack is a fair bit cheaper than the Saddle Tool Roll. While the ATOP cable dial design works great in practice, I suspect it’s also responsible for at least some of the cost delta. Add to that the local distribution and it’s an easy win.

Living with Livi: the first two months

My wife has been quite happy with her bike, the 2022 Liv Alight DD I gifted her with last Christmas. We’ve taken a few rides around with it and she’s really come to enjoy riding it, graduating from the 20″/406 mm wheel size of my folding bike Bino.

That said, there are a few tweaks she’s asked for, mainly to make the bike more her own. For starters, she gave her new steed a name: “Livi.” Also, I got her some name and flag decals to stick on the Alight’s frame, courtesy of VeloInk. Most of the first set of decals I bought from them in 2014 still look great today, eight years later. Even with the rigmarole of ordering from overseas, they were a very easy repeat purchase – and I got three dozen or so of them this time around.

The two bikes mounted to the Minoura Vergo-TF2-WH transport rack inside our GUN143 Toyota Innova. The wheel holder strut has to pivot to an angle to fit both front wheels, but otherwise this works great.

One persistent issue for her is a way of carrying small items and knick-knacks aboard. She’s never really been comfortable with carrying stuff in pockets on her person, and these days it’s also unwise to set out on a ride without spares for puncture repair. So on went one of my old trusty Giyo GP-61S mini pumps, plus one of my Topeak Wedge Drybag saddlebags to store her spares. Nestled inside are 700C inner tubes with Schrader valves – rather hard to find locally. I resorted to Amazon to keep a small stash of these on hand.

For small item storage, I got her a Revelate Designs Mag-Tank top tube bag. I’ve had very good results with mine, so this was a viable solution for her. She opted for one in purple for an added dash of color, and I took some extra steps to protect her frame’s paint from the grippy rubber dots that help keep the bag from sliding around. I bought strips of frame protecting tape (informally called “helicopter tape”) and cut them to size to sit where the Mag-Tank would. Some time with a water spray bottle later, the Alight’s top tube was fully protected from any ugly marks the Mag-Tank’s rubbery underside would leave.

If only I had thought of this when I got mine two years ago…

For improved visibility, I hooked up a Cat Eye Rapid Mini rear light, but was concerned as my wife’s saddle height is quite low. Any saddlebag-mounted light with this low of a saddle height runs the risk of getting obscured by the rear wheel. The Rapid Mini isn’t powerful enough to act as a main light in these scenarios.

The Cygolite Hotrod 90 rear light as mounted on my bike Hyro. This thing is seriously bright.

I decided to add lighting to the chainstay via Cygolite’s Hotrod 90. This made-in-USA item is very, very eye-catching due to its 90-lumen output, which is impressive for a rear light. At its higher intensity modes, it can be borderline annoying if you had to look at it while drafting another rider – it’s that powerful. The flip side is, this strong flashing output makes it a very good safety light to run in the daytime.

Look closely at the top tube and you can just about make out the helicopter tape I added.

After all this, there is still some scope for improvement on the Alight.

I’m waiting on a set of full-length fenders to fit onto the frame; that should arrive soon. As nice as the freebie bottle cage is, it’s not ideal given the Alight frame’s tight front triangle – especially with the short seat tube. A pair of side-loading bottle cages is a better fit. Third, the supplied plastic pedals are definitely going to break at some point.

The bigger concern is the front shifting. I believe I’ve set up the Shimano Tourney front derailleur as well as I could, but upshifts are simply harder and more inconsistent than they should be. I can shift to the big ring just fine on the workstand, but my wife may not necessarily have the thumb strength needed to do it successfully and/or consistently. I find it’s due to the stock Prowheel crank, and the shift ramps and pins on the inside of its big chainring just not doing their job well. This is one item which I think is ripe for an upgrade, but at the same time I don’t want to stray too far from its beginner-friendly 46/30T gearing.

Review: Topeak Wedge Drybag S saddle bag

As insurance against a punctured tire or some other mechanical mishap while riding, I’ve always installed a saddle bag on my bikes.

I still have the very first one I bought, a Deuter Bike Bag II. It’s a simple satchel with 1 L of capacity, which is enough to carry everything I need – and that’s without expanding it to 1.4 L by opening the bottom zipper. It secures to the saddle and seat post via one Velcro strap each, which meant that it fits around saddles with rails that are very wide at the rear, such as my old Selle SMP Hell saddle.

After almost four years of riding, though, it’s looking a little beat-up and tired. While Deuter says its material offers water resistance, it wasn’t enough to prevent my KMC master links from rusting.

I got the Topeak Wedge Drybag Small to replace it.

FEATURES

• Waterproof polyurethane material, sonically welded seams
• Roll-top closure secured with side buckles
• Attaches to saddle by clicking into mounting bracket installed on saddle rails
• Fits seat posts from 25.4 mm to 34.9 mm diameter
• Rear light loop and reflective material strip
• Volume: 0.6 L
• Weight: 140 g (bag only)

IMPRESSIONS

The Wedge Drybag is made of a similar polyurethane material to my Vincita B050WP-A panniers, except here it’s given shape and stiffness by a curved plastic plate. As such, it holds its distinct shape better than the Bike Bag II.

From experience with my panniers, I’m a believer in the waterproofing provided by a roll-top bag closure. Here, though, there isn’t enough material to let riders leverage another advantage of the roll-top closure: it is tolerant of overfilling. More on that in a minute.

Since changing to the Fabric Line saddle, the use of these saddlebags with a plastic quick-disconnect bracket has been restored to me. The QuickClick bracket on the Wedge Drybag attaches with just a 3 mm hex wrench.

A look at the inside of the bag reveals slim mesh pockets on the sides, as a way of organizing the contents. They’re not exactly deep, but they’re useful enough.

At 0.6 L, this Topeak bag is rated smaller in absolute capacity than the Deuter Bike Bag II. The old bag could fit two cyclocross inner tubes, a multi-tool, tire levers, a patch kit, master links, a spare rear derailleur hanger, and had space left over for some odds and ends. The new bag…isn’t as roomy, especially when trying to stuff it with two inner tubes.

Here it is with a Topeak Hexus II multi-tool with two included tire levers and one spare cyclocross inner tube side by side. Not seen, but packed in the side mesh pockets, are a ziplock bag with some cash; a tiny plastic bag with a KMC missing link and spare rear derailleur hanger; and a Park Tool GP-2 glueless patch kit.

It will manage to fit all this, but barely – mostly because of how bulky the inner tube is. Trying to fit two of these inner tubes is possible but requires a different strategy: skipping the use of the side mesh pockets altogether.

While one advantage of the roll-top closure is that it can tolerate some overfill, there just isn’t enough spare material for it. As it is, the roll-top closure folds over just once before the buckles come in to cinch the opening shut.

Moving all the small bits into the depths of the bag and covering them over with the two inner tubes jammed into the main cavity side by side proved the way to go. That left the multi-tool. I made it fit by making it sit sideways, and used whatever overfill capacity the bag had to cinch everything down shut.

…Like so.

Even stuffed to the gills, it’s much sleeker than the droopy Bike Bag II was. This is best illustrated by the Cat Eye Reflex Auto rear light I hung on its safety light loop. The Reflex Auto sits just a bit higher up, at a better angle, and it does this on its own.

Deuter Bike Bag II hung under Selle SMP Hell. Note the droop and angle of the Cat Eye Reflex Auto rear light.

On the Bike Bag II, I had to wrestle the saddle rail Velcro straps to combat the natural droopage of the material that conspired to make the Reflex Auto point downward.

There’s a finger-wide strip of reflective print, too, but I’m not sure how helpful it is given that it tends to face downward when the bag is mounted on the saddle.

Despite biting off more than it can swallow with my two fat tubes, the Wedge Drybag has done a pretty good job of ferrying my tools and spares around. The Velcro strap for the seat post isn’t strictly necessary for security, either. You could skip wrapping it if you regularly remove the saddle bag on and off the bike, since undoing it from the bag’s loop is more obtrusive than it should be. Riders who detest the thought of saddle bag straps catching on their bibshorts will welcome the option.

Overall, this is another good release from Topeak. If the Medium size was available, I’d opt for that, though.