The Waxwing Weigle Sportif

Photo: courtesy of Joe Kopera

"New Bag Design..." read the email subject line from Peter Weigle. The attached photo showed a curious cardboard silhouette standing tall on one his fine front racks. 

“Would I be interested in making a bag something like this?” he inquired. 

“Of course” I replied, already curious about this new direction. The next image showed a bottle of milk on the same lovely rack, and then another with a bottle of wine. I wasn't sure what this was about as my curiosity grew...

It was easy to see the elegance in his concept and I was immediately taken with the bold shape. And given that I always enjoy a challenge I wanted to know more. Intrigued, I let him know I was excited to be a part of this project. 

Photo: courtesy of JP Weigle

​​“Could it be ready to test at D2R2?” came the next inquiry.

“Of course” I replied, casually ignoring the tight timeline with a previously-planned vacation smack dab in the middle of it. We agreed to have it ready for it’s inaugural shakedown at D2R2 a few weeks away.

Peter had a few ideas informing this design; his aim was to have a shape that lightened up the bag form visually and perhaps shaved a bit of weight in the process. Handlebar bags are commonly some variation of a rectangular box, and, when mounted, obscure the rack on which they sit. In contrast, the wedge shape allows the graceful lines of Peters racks to remain visible.  The bag retains the area and usefulness of the map case found on a conventionally shaped handlebar bag. The shape informs function; lesser-used items such as the tool kit and spare tube sit at the bottom of the bag, keeping the weight low and centered in the small footprint. Jackets, food and other bulky, light objects go in the upper portion of the bag creating a self-organizing arrangement. The goal here was to pare down the form but not constrain the functionality. The bottle of milk would happily sit within the bag proving its usefulness for a quick run to the market. The design was soon referred to as the Sportif, reflecting its slimmed down sporty disposition. ​

Photo: courtesy of JP Weigle

Peter is widely acknowledged as one of the preeminent constructeurs of our day; an artist whose medium is steel, silver and brass. To witness one of his bikes is to see a form reduced to its essence; an alignment of shape and purpose distilled into supremely clean, functional beauty. 

While he solicited my input and was open to suggestions, he’d already defined the profile that would become the new bag. Our job together was to refine the details. I translated the cardboard cut-out into a 3d SketchUp model which is handy to allow the customer and me the opportunity to look at the overall shape and proportionality while considering the relationship of the parts to make any changes when something looks amiss.

Questions were considered: ​Should we continue the tapered shape up to the very top (as seen above on the left) or bring the upper portion of the bag square where the leather edge band is located? What shape should the pocket cover be? Ought we try to make dimensional pockets on the sides? How deep should the bag be front-to-back? We had a productive back-and-forth with sketches, mock-ups and refinements. I experimented with creating a pattern for the tapered and pleated front pocket. To finalize the concept I sent Peter a mocked up front panel which provided a reasonable facsimile of the finished product without making the whole bag in case we decided to change anything. Peter hung the panel in place on his bike to give it a look.

Photo: courtesy of JP Weigle

​With the design nearly complete Nancy and I went on vacation. Peter and I sorted out the last details via email as we enjoyed a tour along the St. Lawrence seaway in Quebec. We returned from vacation on Sunday, I made the bag on Monday and shipped it late that day, leaving Peter just enough time fit the bag and be ready to head to Deerfield, MA on Saturday. 
​

D2R2 is famous in the cycling world for its demanding, rugged climbs (and descents) through the wild beauty of western Massachusetts. If there were ever an event to test a bag, this would be it, and the shakedown ride was a great success. After the challenging ride, Peter was pleased with how the bag handled the rigors of the event and stayed in place well.  Shortly afterwards he made a couple of changes; he moved the hook for the elastic higher up on the center band (it is always a challenge to find the perfect location for this detail!) and added two magnetic buttons to the top flap to act as an automatic closure system with the decaleur bracket. Peter has long used a small pencil case inside his handlebar bag and so we made him one for this bag with tapered sides to fit appropriately inside the shape of the Sportif. It rests at the top of the back panel for quick access to small items while riding and is held in place by the decaleur mounting bracket mounting bolts. This little bag-within-a-bag is particularly useful with this design since there is limited exterior pocket storage. 

​Short of a full handlebar bag the sportif is perfectly suited to many (if not most) daily excursions. I’ve since made this bag in three different heights, the same as my regular handlebar bags, 8”, 9.5”, and 11”. I was curious to see if the shape maintained its attractiveness in shortened versions (Peter’s design is 11” tall) and I am glad that it translates well. Versions have included ones made of Dyneema and xPac, and one requiring a special sleeve to work with the unusual backstop found on Jack Taylor racks. You can order a Sportif here. The 8" version can also be configured to mount rackless--attached to the bars and supported by adjustable cord to the hoods. A few variations are shown below.

Photo: courtesy of JP Weigle

​Peter periodically posts pictures of rides around his rural Connecticut home.  I’m always proud to see the bag we came up with, it looks elegant and at home on his bike; both familiar with its traditional styling and yet strikingly uncommon. It was an honor to get to work with him on this project.