I have all of the bags just named, and I think my favorite is the Acorn, of which I have several. The current issue of Bicycle Quarterly has a review of the Acorn. It is handmade in So. California and recent demand has exceeded supply, so the price has increased a couple of times to now I think $170. The best price I've seen on the comparable Berthoud is about $200. The VO is I believe made in Taiwan, and is IMHO not quite as nice as the Acorn or Berthoud, but at about $100 it is a good value.
Darcy, your bag in the photos looks pretty nice. I think there is a market, but given the competition, it probably needs to be priced at about the $100 that the VO bag sells for. Also, though such a bag should have straps for attaching to the handlebars, many buyers will not want to clutter the bars and will use a decaleur instead. So it is extremely desirable to have a reinforced strip along the top rear of the bag where a decaleur would mount. Another good feature is strap(s) to hold the bottom of the bag to the rack, even though the expensive Berthoud bag lacks this. The Acorn is by far the best for attaching the bottom to the rack.
You also need to have the right size. IMHO if one is only going to make one size, it is best to make a small/medium bag like the Acorn, VO or Berthoud model 22. Taller bags may interfere with the bars or bar-mounted accessories like lights and computers on bikes smaller than 56 cm. Wider bags may not fit well between bars 40 cm or smaller. So it is better to have a bag smaller than optimal for a given bike than to have too large a bag. I'd study the dimemsions of the Acorn and the Berthoud model 22 to establish the best size.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Big Spring, Texas, USA
> From: Ken Freeman <kenfreeman096@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [CR] is there a market for this bag?
> To: "Darcy Warn" <bolddisaster@hotmail.com>
> Cc: "CR List" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Date: Friday, December 18, 2009, 12:42 PM
> Yes, there is competition: Acorn,
> Berthoud, Ostrich, VO Campagne, maybe
> others. But several used and NOS TA bags went for a
> pretty penny on Ebay
> lately. I'd be interested in a TA-style bag of some
> size for less than an
> Ostrich. Your flap opens from the back, right?
> That alone would place it
> ahead of the Ostrich, in my book.
>
> What are you doing other than the bag?
>
> On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 9:54 PM, Darcy Warn <bolddisaster@hotmail.com>wrote:
>
> >
> > Howdy listers,
> >
> >
> >
> > I've been making some bags and whatnot in between job
> hunting (yes I'm one
> > of those weird guys that likes to sew as much as using
> oxy-acetylene
> > torches...). This link is to a bar bag I copied
> from pictures I think from
> > the CR site or another T.A. collector.
> >
> >
> >
> > http://tiny.cc/
> >
> > I would use cotton boat cover canvas and naughahyde
> trim. What's a fair
> > price? Do I need to include decaleurs or racks? What
> colors? how about
> > panniers? I'd like to know if there's enough interest
> in them to justify the
> > cost of a purchasing an expensive sewing machine to do
> them right. (The
> > single foot machine I use is infurating to sew canvas
> with) I imagine
> > anybody would be nervous about investing materials in
> this economy-even ebay
> > has been skunky from my POV. Anyway I'd like to bounce
> the idea off the list
> > members although I didn't get much response from a
> previous question.
> >
> >
> >
> > ciao,
> >
> > Darcy Warn
> >
> > Nampa ID
> >
> >
> >
> _________________________________________________________________
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> >
>
>
>
> --
> Ken Freeman
> Ann Arbor, MI USA