[Jstaylor]

This summer I will be commuting to school (with my first road bike ). I am wondering if any of you guys or ladies know of a bag or backpack that would be large enough to fit an extra pair of shoes/ shorts (or even jeans)/ and other important items.

I have a normal school backpack that might work, but I was thinking I might need one with a chest strap so it will stay on. I saw a backpack at my LBS that came with a camelback...but it was like $120!

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Pablo]

Try a search with different key words.

A lot of people prefer messenger bags over backpack and vice versa.

Other people prefer using a rack and panniers.

Another trick is leaving as much as you can (and especially heavy items like shoes) at your destination.

 

[Mr. Versatile]

IME the biggest problem (no pun intended) you're going to face is the shoes. They take up a huge amount of room, and in addition they're heavy. I have a trunk rack with a very large bag, a decent sized handlebar bag, a small frame bag and a backpack. Unlike most others, I prefer wearing the backpack for my normal daily commute of 36 mi.

My backpack is a Camel Back type bag. It's kind of minimalist.s soon as I got it home I removed the bladder and all the tubing. I found it at Costco for $39.00. It'll easily hold the items you mention, except for shoes. If I were looking now, I'd try K Mart, Target, Dicks, Sam's Club, etc. to see what they had. I'd certainly look on line, too. BTW, mine does have a chest strap. I can't think of the brand name right now. I'd go to the garage to look, but it's pouring here (like it seems to do 4-5 days/week).