Handlebar Bags for Jones H-Bar and Surly Moloko

Alt bars solve a real problem. A wide, swept handlebar with a forward loop gives you several hand positions, a comfortable upright posture for long days, and a lot of real estate to hang things from. That is why they end up on touring bikes and expedition builds.

Then you go to buy a handlebar bag and discover that most of them assume a bar you do not have.

A loop bar such as the Jones H-Bar or the Surly Moloko has a short straight run beside the stem and a continuous tube in front of it. A standard handlebar bag is designed around the opposite arrangement — a long straight section and empty space ahead of it — which is why it usually mounts badly. A bag cut for a loop bar uses the loop as a third mounting point rather than working around it.

What a standard bar bag assumes

Almost every handlebar bag on the market is designed around the same picture: a straight section of bar either side of the stem, a hand's width of it, clear of cables, with open space in front.

A loop bar breaks that picture in two places. The straight run either side of the stem is short, and once brake levers, shifters, a light and a computer mount are on it, what remains is shorter still. And the space in front of the bar is not empty — the loop is there, exactly where a deep bag wants to go.

The usual result is a bag that mounts, sort of: strapped too close together, pressing against the loop, sitting at an angle, and slowly working loose because the straps are not doing what they were shaped to do. The general case for how handlebar bags are meant to sit is in handlebar bags: why they became one of the most popular bike bags.

Use the loop instead of fighting it

The better approach treats the loop as part of the mounting system rather than as something in the way.

The forward section of a loop bar is a continuous tube at a known distance in front of the main bar. Straps can run round it. A harness or a bag body can then be supported at the front as well as at the sides, spreading the load across three or four points instead of two — and spreading load across more points is the whole reason a bag stays where you put it.

A bag cut for that geometry can also be shallower and wider than a conventional bar bag, which suits the bar anyway: the width is there, the depth is not.

The four measurements

These bars vary more than people expect — between models, and between two bikes with the same bar depending on how they are set up. So the answer is always measurements, not a compatibility list.

• Usable straight run, each side of the stem. Measure what is actually free with your levers, lights and computer mounts in place, not what the bar would offer if it were bare.
• Bar to the front of the loop. This sets the maximum depth of the bag and whether the loop can carry a front strap.
• Bar down to the tyre. With any front rack or mudguard in place. This is the clearance the bag has to live inside, and it is what stops a bag rubbing on a compressed fork.
• Bar to the top of the head tube. For a stabiliser strap running down to stop the bag rotating. On a bike with a tall head tube there may be very little room for one.

Photographs from directly in front and directly from the side are worth as much as the numbers, because they show what is in the way. Send both.

Keep it light and bulky

Everything on a handlebar swings with the steering. A wide alt bar gives you more leverage to manage it, so a given weight feels better there than on a narrow drop bar, but the principle does not change: a heavy bar bag makes the front end feel vague and makes the bike want to fall into corners.

Put the sleeping bag, the insulated jacket and the spare clothes on the bar. Put the tools, the food, the battery and the water in the frame triangle, where weight sits between the wheels and does almost nothing to the handling — see in-frame bike bags for that half of the setup, and frame bag vs handlebar bag for which one to buy first.

The small bags earn their place here

One thing alt bars are genuinely better at than drop bars is carrying small bags. There is space beside the stem and along the sweep for a stem or feed bag without it fouling your hands, and the upright position makes them easy to reach. Bike stem bags and feeders goes into what they are good for.

For a lot of riders that combination — one shallow bar bag plus two feed bags — works better than a single large one. It keeps the weight spread, it keeps snacks and a bottle within reach, and nothing has to be unstrapped to get at anything.

Two setups that work on these bars

Riders who have lived with an alt bar for a while tend to end up at one of two arrangements.

The first is a shallow, wide bar bag mounted behind the loop, carrying the sleeping kit, plus a feed bag on each side of the stem for food, a bottle and a phone. Everything dense goes in the frame. This is the arrangement that keeps the front end feeling lightest.

The second is a harness arrangement: a dry bag held across the bar by straps, with a small accessory pocket in front of it hanging off the loop. It carries more, it packs down to nothing when the trip is over, and the trade is that you have to unstrap the whole thing to get at the contents.

Which one suits you comes down to how often you want to open it. Neither is a compromise forced by the bar — both use the loop rather than working around it.

Send us the bar

Most models can be made to your own measurements, so an unusual bar is a normal request rather than a special case. We work from measurements rather than from a list of supported bars, which means the process is the same for any shape — including bars we have not seen before.

Write to [email protected] with the four measurements above, photographs from the front and the side, and what you want to carry. The workshop will confirm the shape, where the straps should go, and whether a shallower bag plus feed bags would serve you better than one big one, before anything is cut — the ordering steps are on the custom bike bags page. The rest of the range is in handlebar bags, handmade in Ukraine in more than fifty colours and prints.

In short

• A loop bar leaves a short straight run beside the stem and puts a tube exactly where a deep bar bag wants to go.
• The fix is to use the loop as a third mounting point, and to make the bag shallower and wider.
• Four measurements decide it: usable straight run, bar to loop, bar to tyre, bar to head tube.
• Keep the bar load light and bulky; dense weight belongs in the frame triangle.
• One shallow bar bag plus two feed bags often beats a single large bag on these handlebars.

Questions we get asked

Why does a normal handlebar bag not fit a loop bar?

Because it is designed around a long straight section of bar with empty space in front of it, and a loop bar offers neither. The straight run beside the stem is short and mostly occupied by levers and mounts, and the loop sits exactly where a deep bag would go. The bag ends up strapped too close together and pressing on the loop.

Will a bag fit a Jones H-Bar or a Surly Moloko?

It depends less on the bar model than on how your bike is set up — levers, lights and computer mounts change the usable space more than the bar itself does. That is why the answer comes from four measurements and two photographs rather than from a compatibility list.

What should I measure on an alt bar?

The usable straight run each side of the stem with everything installed, the distance from the bar to the front of the loop, the clearance from the bar down to the tyre with any rack or mudguard in place, and the distance from the bar to the top of the head tube for a stabiliser strap.

How much weight can I put on a loop bar?

More comfortably than on a narrow drop bar, because the width gives you leverage — but the principle is the same. Keep it light and bulky: sleeping kit and clothing on the bar, tools, food, battery and water in the frame triangle where they do not affect the steering.

Is a harness better than a bag body on these bars?

A harness carries more and packs down to nothing after the trip, but you have to unstrap the whole thing to reach anything. A shallow bag body plus a feed bag each side of the stem is easier to live with day to day. It comes down to how often you want to open it.

Can you make a bag for a bar you have not seen before?

Yes — we work from measurements rather than from a list of supported bars, so the process is the same for any shape. Send the four measurements, a photograph from the front and one from the side, and the workshop will confirm the shape before cutting.

About LESENOK

LESENOK makes handmade Colorful Cycling Systems — bike bags for commuting, touring, family rides and bikepacking. Over 100 models, more than 50 colours and prints, custom sizes cut to your own bicycle, and worldwide shipping with tracking. Handmade in Ukraine. In-stock items are processed in 1–3 business days; made-to-order and custom bags are typically produced in 7–12 business days. Questions: [email protected].