San Util Design Roly Poly Handlebar Bag Review – Spencer Harding | The Radavist | A group of individuals who share a love of cycling and the outdoors.

San Util Design‘s Roly Poly is just at home on the Colorado Trail as your local gravel ride. The Roly Poly is a simple roll top handlebar bag that is adaptable and lightweight for wherever your bike adventure takes you. Check out Spencer’s review below…

Quick Hits

Capacity: 2.5-5L
Fabric: EPX200 (reviewed), EPX400, Waved Canvas, Cordura
10″ wide, 7″- 12″ tall, 4.5″ deep
$145.00
Weight: 250 grams (no straps)

I love me some bike bags to the point that it has become a storage issue in my life. But it’s not just the bags that I love – bike bag makers always seem to be the best folks in my experience. Adam from San Util Design is no exception. He passed off his new (at the time unnamed) handlebar bag to me at Sedona MTB Fest earlier this year. I’ve found the now-named Roly Poly to be a versatile and useful bag for almost any kind of bike or riding situation. It’s a roll-top and it’s called Roly Poly… get it? Get it? Hopefully he won’t get a cease and desist letter from Roly Poly Coffee after the name change.

The Roly Poly isn’t some crazy, new-fangled, ultra-double-triple-weave fabric, rackless, everything-proof bag, but it doesn’t have to be. The Roly Poly is simple, with some thoughtful details, and it does what it needs to do just well enough.

First off, it’s a roll-top. You already know I don’t like zippers, so points here for simplicity. There is one zippered front pocket, but as that will see considerably less stress than the main closure, a zipper makes perfectly good sense here. The sides of the bag have stretchy pockets that I really adore, but they are hard to access with the roll-top closure without unraveling the whole bag.

Inside the main pocket, there are two small sleeves to keep smaller items from rolling around when the bag is not full. For any bag makers out there: add these kinds of pockets to all your bags. It saves me the anxiety of my phone rattling around and getting damaged in a bag full of stuff. Safe to say, there are a multitude of pockets on the Roly Poly to satiate your stuffing needs without being superfluous.

It took me a few days to realize why I adored the Roly Poly so much, then it hit me: it’s a close match to one of my favorite bike bags of all time, the Roadrunner Jammer bag. The Roly Poly is similar in shape and form factor, but slimmed down and with lighter fabrics.

The Roly Poly lacks an HDPE stiffener around the bag and along the handlebar mounting points like the Jammer. The Roly Poly’s lack of stiffeners can be a pro and con depending on how it is being mounted. I didn’t find any trouble mounting the bag as the supple shape could conform around bends and edges. This also means you’ll really need to use the roll top closure tension to give the bag some form. The lack of stiffeners also means a lighter bag, which depending on application can be a large factor. The Roly Poly weighed about 200 grams less than my Roadrunner Jammer.

The Roly Poly has a simple side buckle system to tension the bag once it is rolled down. This system unfortunately leaves the sweet stretchy pockets on the side of the bag inaccessible without unrolling the bag. Adam was nice enough to craft me a dual male buckled thingumabob to try to roll the bag so I could access the side pockets. In my head, it would help, but in reality, it left the bag too floppy without an additional tension strap. Instead of reinventing the wheel, I left good enough alone and accepted the lack of side pocket access. Thanks for letting me test my silly ideas, Adam.

The bag also features two rows of daisy chains on the front of the bag and two adjustable straps on the bottom of the bag. The daisy chains come with shock cord laced up to provide a great spot to ditch a windbreaker while riding. The two lower straps are substantial enough to carry a sleeping pad or bivy while not being overly long and flopping all over the place when not carrying anything.

The Roly Poly is light enough to be used on a long gravel ride or packed to the brim for an overnight trip. However, I doubt it would be my go-to for a sustained touring handlebar bag at this capacity. The bag has been in heavy rotation on various bikes depending on the ride and how much I need to carry.

While it isn’t perfect and I can gripe about wanting easier access to the side pockets, the front pocket works just fine for riding. This simple and effective bag fits on almost any bike for a plethora of situations. Like all things with the San Util label, it’s sewn in Winter Park, Colorado with the highest quality parts and fabrics. The Roly Poly is available in an array of colors and fabrics, and San Util offers a fully custom version as well.