Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

review

Fidlock PUSH saddle bag 400 + saddle base

7
£44.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Very good saddle bag, but it is expensive and the design means you get a rattle over rough ground
Easy to attach and remove
Big enough for essential kit
Rattle can get annoying
Weight: 
110g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

The Fidlock PUSH Saddle Bag 400 is useful and practical, with some innovative features that mean it can be removed/attached really quickly, although it can rattle on rougher surfaces.

Most saddle bags are fairly simple things, attached with three straps: one to the seatpost, and the other two go around the saddle rails. The Fidlock PUSH works differently, having a base that stays attached to the saddle rails and then the bag itself is attached or removed from the base.

> Find your nearest dealer here

> Buy this online here

There are a couple of reasons why this is fairly useful. Firstly, it means that it's easier to get into the bag without having to remove lots of straps and so on, and secondly you can easily take it with you if you've stored important things inside it, like your wallet, when you get to the cafe stop. Sadly, I couldn't test this in a cafe for obvious reasons, but I can see that it works without a flat white and slice of lemon drizzle.

Fidlock PUSH saddle bag 400 and saddle base - connector.jpg

Attaching the base to the saddle is simple: it consists of two plates (a large one on the bottom and small one on the top) with a bolt between them. You put the top plate inside the rails and the bottom plate outside, then tighten the bolt. Having the bolt in the centre means you can also get enough torque to tighten it up for a secure fit.

Fidlock PUSH saddle bag 400 and saddle base - bracket.jpg

Once this is done, attaching the bag to the base is just a case of pushing it in place, then magnets pull it in and a latch secures it. To remove it, you press a large button at the back of the base that releases the latch.

The bag itself has a 400ml capacity, which allowed me to fit in a spare tube, two tyre levers, a CO2 inflator, a spare CO2 cartridge, and a multi-tool. Once these were inside there wasn't a huge amount of room left, but I could fit a couple of cards if I didn't fancy having them loose in my pockets.

> Emergency essentials: 10 things to take with you every ride

Fidlock also offers a larger 600ml size, but this one fitted in everything that I would typically take on a ride without issue.

The material used is relatively flexible, which allows for a degree of 'stuffing', but still feels durable and likely to last. It is also waterproof, and although I didn't use it too much in the rain, after spraying it with the hose for a few minutes everything inside stayed dry. It also has a fully lined zip and pull tag which helps to keep everything dry and also makes it easy to use, especially when wearing full finger winter gloves.

Fidlock PUSH saddle bag 400 and saddle base - zip.jpg

At the back of the bag Fidlock has included a tab for a rear light to be attached, surrounded by some high-vis material to help in darker conditions.

Fidlock PUSH saddle bag 400 and saddle base - bag.jpg

On the bike, the bag stays in place very well and at no point was I ever worried about it falling off. However, one thing that was a bit irritating was the rattle that came from the plastic of the base and the plastic of the connector on top of the bag. On regular roads this wasn't much of an issue, but on rougher roads it became pretty irritating on longer rides.

Its RRP of £44.99 is steep for a saddle bag, although the innovative base goes some way to explaining this. For instance, the Arundel Pico Seatbag that Dave looked at in December costs £20 less, though it is smaller and doesn't have the same innovative base. The PRO Discover Saddle Bag that Jim tried out in January is made of a similar material with a larger capacity, but again without the quick release base, and comes in £5 cheaper. 

> Beginner's guide to carrying stuff on your bike

Overall, it's a very good little saddle bag, although there is no doubt that it is expensive and the rattle is annoying. I like its innovative attachment, and the build quality is excellent, but whether these are enough to justify the high price is questionable.

Verdict

Very good saddle bag, but it is expensive and the design means you get a rattle over rough ground

road.cc test report

Make and model: Fidlock PUSH saddle bag 400 + saddle base

Size tested: 0.4L

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Fidlock says: "Thanks to the small push saddle bag 400, you only take the essentials you really need. It is easily removed with one push of a button on the base and just as easily re-attached by bringing the magnets together.'

This is an accurate description of how the saddlebag works, it's easy to attach and remove when needed.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

From Fidlock:

For patches, tubes and Co.

Easy release with the PUSH button

Waterproof material and zipper

Tab for attaching light

Reflective FIDLOCK logo

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
7/10

Well made with robust and effective material.

Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10

Did everything it needed to, fitted in the essentials I needed, easy to use, and waterproof, although it does rattle.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

Likely to last a long time, no straps to break and the bag itself is made with robust materials.

Rate the product for value:
 
4/10

It is very expensive for a saddle bag.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

It performed well, it was easy to attach and remove, stayed secure throughout, and fitted all the essentials I needed.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The simplicity of removal – it's a real differentiator compared to other saddlebags, and meant I could get back in the saddle that much quicker.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The rattle over rough ground.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

The Arundel Pico Seatbag costs £20 less, but is smaller and doesn't have the same innovative base. The PRO Discover Saddle Bag is made of a similar material with a larger capacity but without the quick release base, and comes in £5 cheaper. 

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Maybe

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Maybe

Use this box to explain your overall score

It's a bag that performs really well and fits in everything that's needed, but there is no getting around the price and the rattle that comes from the base.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 32  Height: 6 ft  Weight:

I usually ride: CAAD13  My best bike is: Cannondale Supersix Evo

I've been riding for: Under 5 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

George is the host of the road.cc podcast and has been writing for road.cc since 2014. He has reviewed everything from a saddle with a shark fin through to a set of glasses with a HUD and everything in between. 

Although, ironically, spending more time writing and talking about cycling than on the bike nowadays, he still manages to do a couple of decent rides every week on his ever changing number of bikes.

Add new comment

5 comments

Avatar
EddyBerckx | 4 years ago
1 like

The millisecond I saw this review, I knew rattling would be a problem.

 

Ortlieb have a very similar bag, albeit not magnetic. It's a great idea but the rattling got on my nerves. Blu-tac can help but then that comes off and is messy every time you unattach/reattach it. Should be easily fixable really, especially on something this expensive.

Avatar
kevvjj | 4 years ago
0 likes

rattling is easily fixed, just use some old inner tube around the gas canister etc, and if you stuff a rag in there too, problem solved.

Avatar
Sriracha replied to kevvjj | 4 years ago
0 likes

But it's not your stuff rattling inside the bag:
"irritating was the rattle that came from the plastic of the base and the plastic of the connector on top of the bag."

Avatar
Sriracha | 4 years ago
1 like

Looks good, but at that price it can't afford to be rattling by design.

Avatar
zero_trooper replied to Sriracha | 4 years ago
0 likes

I've seen this style of 'base plate' design quite a bit. Someone must have nailed the rattle issue?

Latest Comments