The weather was rubbish yesterday and now it’s not. Either way, if you’re as determined as me to cycle through the not so perfect days of autumn and winter, then you might find this post useful. That’s if you’re looking for an alternative to a basket, pannier or rucksack.
I already have a pretty pannier and a cool rucksack for my laptop but when I jump on my bike, sometimes all I want to do is take a handbag with me and not lug anything bigger around – especially if I’m meeting a friend.
I’ve shied away from a basket mainly because of once seeing a poor woman cycling as fast as she could through Chelsea, screaming at two guys on a moped who were speeding off with her handbag. They had clearly snatched it out of her front basket and it seemed they were getting away.
So a couple of weeks ago when I started to look for something to carry a handbag in, I kept this in mind. And eventually I found the handbag hugger on Beg Bicycles’ website.
The handlebar handbag hugger is essentially a bracket in which your handbag sits.
And because it is placed behind the handlebar, the handbag is nice and safe.
Admittedly, there have been some teething problems. The screws that arrived in the package were too short for my bike.
I picked up the longer set from Chelsea’s favourite hardware store, Farmer Brothers.
I love this place. Every time I get into a bit of pickle, needing something practical sorting out, the guys in the shop are always so helpful.
Another issue, which still needs to be fixed, is the height of the hugger, which I think would be easily suited to a bike that has a long stem, such as a Pashley. But for my hybrid, it sits a bit too low so my knees can sometimes knock against it.
The bf has put his inventor’s hat on and is going to try to find a way to raise the bracket higher so I don’t have to worry about hitting against it, each time I peddle. I’m keeping my fingers crossed because I really love the idea of having a handbag hugger, especially now that I have a handbag that is both sensible (for the rainy days) and pretty to match.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I have one of these Handbag-Huggers – they’re ace! Reading this I wondered if there would be an issue with the length of the screws for your stem, but I’m glad you got it sorted out.
Enjoy using it!
Lady V x
Thanks hon! I received a DM with a tip on how to raise the bracket higher, so keeping fingers crossed. I really think it’s a great thing. CG. xox
I just bought one of these and also love it – although I’m experiencing the same problem as you in that my knees are knocking against it. I’d love to know whether you were successful in raising it higher. Great blog!
Lolly
Thanks Lolly and I was – or more like the bf was successful in figuring out how to make it work. There’s a bit of a downpour happening at the moment but either tomorrow or over the weekend, I will take a photo of the hugger’s new position and add it to my post. x