Color
Often I'm asked to make a bag that compliments the a customer's bike and naturally I like to offer suggestions. Color preferences are subjective and I continue to keep a keen eye out for arrangements that strike me as particularly appealing. You can read here how one customer decided on both his bag size and color choices.
-Generally I think that complimentary colors, colors that harmonize rather than contrast, are what I'm drawn to. A light tan on a cool light blue frame, for instance, or a cream color for a green hued frame such as Mark's bike (right below, image courtesy of Mark Guglielmana/Flickr). On the other hand contrast can work well too: a blue bag on a cream frame, an orange bag on a blue frame, etc.. (bottom left)
-Trim and details come into play. Sometimes there is a detail color on a frame that's fun to pickup on in the bag somehow. Additionally, if there are leather elements on the bike, such as the saddle or handlebar tape, the leather on the bag can be dyed to match.
-Its worth considering elements beyond the frame color. What color are the tires? The components? Bar tape? Sometimes the overall impression is an assembly of all these elements. The bike image (center below) demonstrates this pretty well. If you ignore the blue front bag, you can see that the cream tires, natural colored saddlebag, silver parts and the medium blue frame all sit nicely together.
The color swatch images below are rudimentary, but give an idea of some options and combinations--not all colors shown are available--check to see what current options are. Better images to come soon.
Materials
Waxwing bags are made of durable heavyweight canvas and leather of various thicknesses as needed. Waxed canvas is an option, although the color range is limited. The standard fabric offering is commercial water repellent finish impregnated into the fabric. All hardware is solid brass.
Waxwing bags are made of durable heavyweight canvas and leather of various thicknesses as needed. Waxed canvas is an option, although the color range is limited. The standard fabric offering is commercial water repellent finish impregnated into the fabric. All hardware is solid brass.
Sizing
Sizing depends on many factors, first of which, is how much capacity and what style bag are you looking for? Is this a daily use, all conditions kind of bag, or a bag big enough to carry a few essentials on a warm summer day.
The next consideration is the configuration of your bike--taller bikes easily accommodate taller bags, narrow drop bars might constrain the width of the bag, and the location of a light or the size of your rack might be factors to look at. You can read one customer's sizing (and color selection) story here.
Sizing depends on many factors, first of which, is how much capacity and what style bag are you looking for? Is this a daily use, all conditions kind of bag, or a bag big enough to carry a few essentials on a warm summer day.
The next consideration is the configuration of your bike--taller bikes easily accommodate taller bags, narrow drop bars might constrain the width of the bag, and the location of a light or the size of your rack might be factors to look at. You can read one customer's sizing (and color selection) story here.
