The new Moab Handlebar Bag from Bedrock Bags was developed with the modern mountain bike in mind. Here’s a quick look at the new handlebar bag and some insight into its unique design…

Posted by Miles Arbour

Words and photos by Joey Ernst of Bedrock Bags

Mountain bikes have changed a lot in the last few years. Although modern trail bikes are more fun to ride than ever, mounting bikepacking gear to them has become more difficult. We rose to this challenge for seat bags with our groundbreaking Black Dragon Dropper Seat Bag. And with the Moab, we’ve taken a similarly radical approach to the handlebar bag. The Moab rides incredibly solidly on any trail, maintains your bike’s handling, and fits most modern trail bikes with minimum fuss. Drops and jumps? Okay. Backcountry chunder descents? Heck yes!

The issue with current MTB design and handlebar bags is simple. Traditional straight-cylinder handlebar bags – like our Entrada – ideally sit underneath the handlebar, against the head tube of the bike, and behind the brake levers. As handlebar stems get shorter, however, this channel between the head tube and the brake levers no longer accommodates straight cylinder bags. Other companies have responded with various systems that push the bag out beyond or below the brake levers (i.e. Salsa’s Anything Cradle, among others). While this does work, it has a major effect on handling. Weight pushed that far out from the steering axis exaggerates leverage on the handlebars. When you’re rallying singletrack, you don’t want your handlebar bag pulling your front wheel around. Alternately, moving the bag downward on long-travel bikes with short head tubes is asking for tire contact under full compression. Finally, we always design around situations requiring hard-mount systems that fatigue invisibly or can break in a crash.

We realized that the channel for handlebar bags didn’t disappear – it just changed shape. So, we spent months creating a bag that best took advantage of the available channel, and met our stringent ideals for solid ride quality and least possible impact on handling. The Moab is the final result. The delta shape fits perfectly on most modern trail bikes, and as the loaded weight literally wraps around the steering axis, handling is impeccable.

The Moab can be used with or without the included pocket, which the is quickly detachable, perfect for carrying valuables into the grocery store or roadside restaurant.

Weight ~450g (15.8oz)

Price $160

Volume ~13L

Place of Manufacture USA

The new Moab Handlebar Bag will be available for purchase on BedrockBags.com by February 5th!