Fidlock PUSH saddle bag 400 + saddle base

The Fidlock PUSH Saddle Bag 400 is useful and practical, with some innovative features that mean it can be removed/attached really quickly, although it can rattle on rougher surfaces.

Most saddle bags are fairly simple things, attached with three straps: one to the seatpost, and the other two go around the saddle rails. The Fidlock PUSH works differently, having a base that stays attached to the saddle rails and then the bag itself is attached or removed from the base.

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There are a couple of reasons why this is fairly useful. Firstly, it means that it's easier to get into the bag without having to remove lots of straps and so on, and secondly you can easily take it with you if you've stored important things inside it, like your wallet, when you get to the cafe stop. Sadly, I couldn't test this in a cafe for obvious reasons, but I can see that it works without a flat white and slice of lemon drizzle.

Attaching the base to the saddle is simple: it consists of two plates (a large one on the bottom and small one on the top) with a bolt between them. You put the top plate inside the rails and the bottom plate outside, then tighten the bolt. Having the bolt in the centre means you can also get enough torque to tighten it up for a secure fit.

Once this is done, attaching the bag to the base is just a case of pushing it in place, then magnets pull it in and a latch secures it. To remove it, you press a large button at the back of the base that releases the latch.

The bag itself has a 400ml capacity, which allowed me to fit in a spare tube, two tyre levers, a CO2 inflator, a spare CO2 cartridge, and a multi-tool. Once these were inside there wasn't a huge amount of room left, but I could fit a couple of cards if I didn't fancy having them loose in my pockets.

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Fidlock also offers a larger 600ml size, but this one fitted in everything that I would typically take on a ride without issue.

The material used is relatively flexible, which allows for a degree of 'stuffing', but still feels durable and likely to last. It is also waterproof, and although I didn't use it too much in the rain, after spraying it with the hose for a few minutes everything inside stayed dry. It also has a fully lined zip and pull tag which helps to keep everything dry and also makes it easy to use, especially when wearing full finger winter gloves.

At the back of the bag Fidlock has included a tab for a rear light to be attached, surrounded by some high-vis material to help in darker conditions.

On the bike, the bag stays in place very well and at no point was I ever worried about it falling off. However, one thing that was a bit irritating was the rattle that came from the plastic of the base and the plastic of the connector on top of the bag. On regular roads this wasn't much of an issue, but on rougher roads it became pretty irritating on longer rides.

Its RRP of £44.99 is steep for a saddle bag, although the innovative base goes some way to explaining this. For instance, the Arundel Pico Seatbag that Dave looked at in December costs £20 less, though it is smaller and doesn't have the same innovative base. The PRO Discover Saddle Bag that Jim tried out in January is made of a similar material with a larger capacity, but again without the quick release base, and comes in £5 cheaper. 

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Overall, it's a very good little saddle bag, although there is no doubt that it is expensive and the rattle is annoying. I like its innovative attachment, and the build quality is excellent, but whether these are enough to justify the high price is questionable.

Verdict

Very good saddle bag, but it is expensive and the design means you get a rattle over rough ground