Reader Review: Oxford Aqua 30 Roll Top Bag | Reader review

Name: Graham Mudd From: Bedfordshire Riding for: 17 years

Price paid for it: It costs £49.99, but I was given it by MoreBikes.co.uk one month ago to review

What type of riding do you do: I ride year round in all weathers. Commuting, touring, days on the back roads and greenlaning all on my trusty Versys workhorse.

Tell us about it: I’ve been testing the Oxford Aqua 30 roll bag for a month now, and have done just over 1000 miles, on my daily commute, on a few days out on the bike and even on some byways. 

It attaches to the bike by means of a Velcro strap passing under the pillion seat and four utility straps through loops on the bag. The Velcro fastening was easy, quick and kept the bag secure without interfering with the fit of the pillion seat. The four utility straps I attached to my subframe and pannier frames – though they’re easily long enough to go around anything on the bike if you don’t have panniers. The only downside to them is the D rings don’t have a grip so I found you have to put a lock knot in the loose bit of strap to stop them coming undone (I put it down to parallel twin vibes!).

On all journeys the bag held the contents secure and I couldn’t feel any difference in the handling of my bike even when it was fully loaded and I was riding some twisties in a “spirited” fashion! So full marks there. My Versys needed a service and even with 5 litre bottles of oil, coolant and distilled water I was only aware of the bag’s presence under hard braking, when it just touched my back but being very tall and heavy I think this is perfectly acceptable!

Capacity wise if you’re a frugal packer like myself you could easily fit a weeks worth of touring kit into it, a “comprehensive” packer probably a long weekend.  If you’re taking the wife, you’ll need panniers.

The bag seals by rolling the top over itself and fastens with clips on the side to stop it unrolling, with clips over the top to hold it as flat as possible. Admittedly the weather this month has been uncharacteristically good with only a couple of showers, but I’ve given the bag a thorough hose down while washing the bike, which I think is a more than adequate test! The contents remained dry so full marks for weather proofing too. Even covered in mud from greenlaning (and falling off) the bag cleans really easily and looks like new with a wipe from a sponge, even when it’s white!

Overall I think this is a really good bit of kit that has a quality feel, is easy and quick to fit, is a good size holding lots of gear without being too bulky and most importantly protects your gear from the elements.  However at £50 it is on the pricey side, there are cheaper alternatives out there (like my Aldi dry bag secured with a cargo net) though they may not perform as well as the Oxford!

Give us three good points: Totally waterproof; Quick and easy to fit; Stable and holds kit secure

And three bad ones: Utility straps come loose without a lock knot; A bit pricey

More info: www.oxprod.com

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