The larger Fernhill Co LTL Frame Bag, strapped to a Specialized Stumpjumper Evo Alloy, Size S2 (27.5)
If you look at any of our trail bikes these days, you’ll see a black Fernhill Co LTL Frame bag strapped stepped to the frame. Inside this bag is a spare tube, tire lever or two, tire plugs, and a small multi-tool. Paired with a matching waist pack, I can carry everything I need for a ride several hours in length.
Neither of us enjoys the bulk of a hydration pack and have shifted to wearing a waist pack for the majority of our trail rides. Unless we’re headed out for a big day in the backcountry, we limit our carry to essentials in order to maximize fun on the trails. Strapping the LTL Frame bag to our bike means we can remove a bit of weight from our hips and place it on the bike; the frame bag is sized to fit a tube, plus whatever else you can squeeze into it.
The smaller frame bag, as seen on a recent review bike, the Norco Sight. (2020, Size Large)
The best part of having that frame bag on the bike is that we never have to be concerned with that spare tube, as it’s already safely mounted on the bike should we need it.
Features
The LTL frame bag is available in two sizes that fit a wide range of frames. Webbing attachment points encompass the bag, allowing it to be strapped on your frame wherever it will fit.
- Large bag dimensions: 8.5″ x 3.25″ x 2″
- Small bag dimensions: 6.75″ x 3.25 x 2″
- Includes 4x hook and loop straps for attachment
Riding my BMC Agonist in the local woods.
On the trail
The Fernhill Co LTL Frame Bag does exactly as promised. It’s a bag, strapped to your bike that stays in place, looks as clean and elegant as a bag strapped to a frame can look, and ensures your spare tube is there and intact for you when you need it.
While I utilize mine to house a spare tube, tire lever, a few stick-on patches and a micro-mini-tool, some of the crew have experimented with what they can fit. We think they look the best if you have space to fit it inside the frame, but functionally, they work equally well strapped to the seat post and top tube junction. At 2″ wide, its just wide enough to fit a tube, without protruding and interfering with your leg movement.
Hers; the small LTL Frame Bag Mounted on my BMC Trailfox.
His. The small LTL Frame Bag mounted on Jason’s size medium Transition Sentinel Carbon.
The coolest thing about this bag is that I’ve had the opportunity to ride with them for some time now, as the Bermstyle team has been contributing to the design and testing of the frame bags.
We’ve run them on every bike in our quiver; if there isn’t space inside the frame, we’ve found they work very well strapped to the top tube at the seat post, and the design of the bag (it’s only 2″ wide for this reason) keeps it from contacting our legs… provided you take your time packing your tube in. As it doesn’t have a firm internal structure to save heft, poorly packing it or overstuffing it can cause the material to bulge.
The LTL Frame Bag Story
Admittedly I have a bit of bias when it comes to these bags, as my partner here at Bermstyle has contributed to the design and development of the product. (Those who know me know that I don’t use products I don’t like though, and I like to think my input partially influenced some of the direction in the final look of it) Jason is obsessed with optimizing his ride carry, having tested and reviewed countless of backpacks, frame bags, and waist packs looking for that ideal setup. He’s gone so far as to partner up with a friend to help design something from scratch, which has been followed by a waist pack that’s become a system ideal for carrying the ride essentials while maximizing the fun. After stacks of prototypes, tested on a wide range of frames they came up with bags in two sizes ideal for carrying essential gear on the bike that fit a wide range of frames, in a number of locations.
There were a few design stipulations they set out to meet:
- They needed to carry ride essentials
- No rattling, no noise, no movement
- They couldn’t interfere with pedaling or impede the riding experience in any way
- They needed to fit a wide range of frames
- They had to be aesthetically pleasing
Check out FernhillCo.com for more info on the bags and waist pack – (the sweet waist pack deserves its own post) Sewn in small batches locally here in Portland, Oregon, the LTL Frame bags sell for $59.99. Learn more and get your own Fernhill Co frame bag at www.fernhillco.com
*Disclaimer — If you purchase a Fernhill Co product, part of your purchase will go towards funding this website.
