My 55th birthday present (to myself) finally arrived today – a spanking new red Arkel Tailrider. Backordered for over a month, it was worth the wait. The sleek, aerodynamic design of this rear rack bag is beautiful, and naturally, I like the color, which matches my Little Red Bike.
The Tailrider features a main, padded center compartment and has an “expansion bellow” on the top which enables this space to balloon, holding several items of clothing, even shoes. The main compartment opens fully and easily, via two side waterproof zippers and a velcro back flap, and has some nice inner pockets for keys, money, etc. Two side-zip pockets on the Tailrider hold even more. I transferred all the stuff from my seat bag to one of the side pockets and stuck the little pump I’ve carried on the frame in the main compartment. I’ve got tons more room for jackets, gloves, a picnic lunch – even a few groceries.
I can’t wait to give it a whirl. A Candaian company, Arkel makes some nice bicycling gear – I got two rear panniers last summer (also via Adventure Cycling, see link in first paragraph), which will work nicely with the Tailrider, when I finally get out on a road trip. (France! Will it ever happen??) The Tailrider weighs about a pound, and has 700 cubic inches of volume. Nifty.
