During the winter when I am riding my Surly Necromancer Pugsley in the snow I really don’t care about the weight of any gear I add to the bike—it’s a 42-pound bike and a few extra ounces (or even pounds) isn’t even noticeable. However, when the snow melts and I’m back on my carbon fiber Trek Madone I try to keep it as lightweight as possible—nothing goes on the bike that is not absolutely necessary. If you find yourself in a similar situation and are looking for an easy way to shave some weight off your gear then I would highly recommend the new Scicon Aeronaut Saddlebag. This saddlebag is not only lightweight, but it is the easiest and fastest way I’ve seen to get to your spare inner tube (something of special interest to triathletes and other competitive cyclists).

Scicon Aeronaut Bicycle Saddlebag

A few weeks ago the folks at Scicon were kind enough to send me an Aeronaut Saddlebag for review purposes and as soon as I opened the package I was impressed! The hard shell body of Scicon Aeronaut Saddlebag is made of ultralight polymers (the black object in the photos) and weighs only 99 grams. Even though this is a very small case I was able to carry a spare inner tube, two tire levers, patch kit, a CO2 cartridge with a small air chuck, and a small multitool. Scicon includes a pair of red tire levers with the bag and they work as well as any other tire lever I’ve used. This bag is about 5.25 inches long wide by 3.25 inches wide.

Aeronaut Saddlebag (cover, body and contents)

The Aeronaut bag easily attaches to the seat rails with Scicon’s unique Roller 2.1 Fitting System without the need of any tools. Since the bag does not have zippers or Velcro straps there is nothing to scratch your carbon fiber bike or ruin your cycling shorts. All you have to do to remove the bag from the rails is to twist it a quarter of a turn! The only easier way to carry a spare tube is to put one in your jersey pocket—of course, that is also the easiest way to ruin a new tube before you have a chance to use it.

The cover of the Scicon Aeronaut Saddlebag is made of stretchy silicone (the yellow piece in the photos) and is only available in two color choices (Black or Yellow Neon). This cover comes off easily, yet while riding it stays put—and since it is made of silicone it is easy to wash.

SciconAeronaut Saddlebag loaded with tube and tire levers

Since the Aeronaut bag was designed with aerodynamics in mind it significantly reduces drag as compared to other cycling saddlebags. Scicon has been designing and manufacturing cycling bags for over 30 years and this product benefits from their years of research and development—there is absolutely no wasted space in this bag!

The Scicon Aeronaut Saddlebag retails for around $40 and if your local bike shop does not have it in stock they can order it for you. At the moment this product is not yet available on Amazon.com.

Scicon is the official supplier of bags to the Italian Cycling Federation and their products have been used by such pro cycling teams as Liquigas Cannondale, Team Saxobank, Garmin Cervelo, and Radio Shack Nissan Trek.