Anyone who travels to ride or hitches their bike to the back of the car to head to the trailhead will be super excited about Thule’s new RoundTrip Bike Duffel. This 55-liter duffel features an in-built organizer that keeps all your bike gear organized and ready to throw in the car or take on the plane.
The large duffel holds around 3-5 days of cycling gear, including everything from gloves and socks to jackets and different kits. Each piece of apparel is organized into its own cell pocket so you can easily see that you have everything you need. There is a larger pocket for your helmet and a separate waterproof shoe pocket on the side that is lined with tarpaulin for easy cleaning.
On the lid of the duffel, there’s another tarpaulin-lined waterproof pocket for storing all your dirty and wet clothes once the ride is over. There is front zippered pocket with organization for all your tools, snacks, and bike computer.
The shoulder strap is designed so that when worn cross body, the duffel stays put on your back to make for easy wheeling of your bike bag through crowded airports and train stations. Thule also added plenty of grab handles to help throw it in your car, on the luggage rack, etc.
I got a preview of the bag at the Thule showroom during Outdoor Retailer last week. I asked if the internal organizer was both removable and sold as an accessory as it would be super cool to be able to switch out road gear to mountain biking gear and vice versa. This way you could also keep all your gear organized and ready to go at home. The answer was no but maybe in future versions…
Sure, you could just throw all your stuff in any old duffel but it’s so much more fun to be organized, isn’t it? The RoundTrip Bike Duffel retails for a great price of $119 and will start shipping in February. This one is definitely on my want list.