Two Unique Bullmoose Soft Goods Bags: Basket Boss and City Slicker – Spencer Harding | The Radavist | A group of individuals who share a love of cycling and the outdoors.

Today, Spencer takes a look at two bags from Bullmoose Soft Goods, sewn in Cambridge, MA. The Basket Boss ($95) is a utility belt for the basket bike nerd that already has everything, and the City Slicker ($90) is a creative blending of a wedge framebag and top tube pad. Let’s dive into these two fun bags below…

When Wes Holland reached out with some of his bags, sewn in Massachusetts under the name Bullmoose Soft Goods, I was immediately enamored with his entirely original takes on the Basket Boss basket bag and City Slicker wedge framebag. Midway through my review, Wes and I had a very nice chat, during which I mentioned some nitpicks about his bags (I can get quite granular, as I have a penchant for bike baggage). Before we got too far into the conversation, Wes commented that he simply wanted to make fun bags, and Bullmoose was a very personal project for him. In that moment, a good chunk of my objectivity about the performance or utilitarian aspects of a bag melted away, and I saw his perspective. In that regard, I believe Wes has very much succeeded in making fun bags.

The Basket Boss is one of the most complicated bags I have ever installed, and I can’t imagine the time and energy that went into prototyping such a bag. In contrast, the City Slicker is a familiar wedge framebag combined with a top tube bag, two ubiquitous bags deftly made to play with one another. Wes has spent a considerable amount of time considering these bags and even refined them during my review process. I’ve enjoyed both bags thoroughly.

City Slicker Quick Hits

Bag: 10.5″ x 5.75″ x 2.5″
Weatherproof construction and zippers
U-lock holder on non-drive side (fits most ‘mini’ sized locks)
Frame pad fits straight tube bikes 1-1.5″ in diameter
Comes in all kinds of colors and patterns!
$7o without pad/ $90 with pad

Let’s start with the City Slicker since it is the more simple and straightforward of the two bags. With the City Slicker, Wes has combined the classic top tube pad that was popular during the fixed gear explosion of the aughts with a simple wedge framebag. Besides just combining the two accessories, Bullmoose puts their own twist by adding a u-lock holster to the non-drive side of the framebag. One of the panels on the Basket Boss is similarly dedicated to holding a u-lock. In order to fit a wide variety of u-locks, the two loops of webbing are loose fitting; thus, the lock has room to flop and clang. This was my initial issue with the bag, but I came to realize that a system that didn’t sway and fit a range of locks would be very hard to make into a framebag and would be undoubtedly complex. The u-lock holster is just fun and easy for cruising around town. I found it worked best with a small and lightweight Palmy lock – even a small hardened steel Kryptonite lock felt a bit too heavy for the system. I’ll qualify that with the fact that I greatly dislike rattling u-locks on bikes.

The zipper is a bit hard to pull while riding as there is no strap around the head tube, but that’s no matter, just pull over and get into your bag. Initially, I had some fitment issues The top tube pad needed more velcro to wrap properly around the narrow tubes of my Surly Steamroller. After Wes and I chatted, he cooked up an updated version. Now it works great!

Pros

Fun combination of top tube bag and framebag
U-lock holster
Fun patterns and color combinations are available
Bonus nostalgia feels for the days of top tube pads on fixed gears

Cons

U-lock holster lets lock flop around

Basket Boss Quick Hits

Two sizes: Wald 137 (reviewed) or 139
Made with water-resistant fabric
Two cargo straps included
Collapsible drink holder
U-lock holder
Small Velcro pocket
Clip for front light
Tons of color combinations and fun pattern fabrics
$95

The Basket Boss was the bag that really caught my eye when cruising through the Bullmoose shop. It is a “bag” unlike anything I’ve seen from another maker. I fell deeply in love with basketpacking many years ago, so this bag holds similar nostalgia as the top tube protector. The Basket Boss is, at its core, three bi-fold panels laced with two long straps of nylon webbing. The two pieces of webbing weave between the basket lattice and straps in the inside of the bi-fold panels to lash securely to your basket.

When I first got the bag, Wes hadn’t formalized a set of instructions, and it was quite an endeavor to get the panels all laced up. Wes now has proper instructions, and I reinstalled my improperly installed bag recently. The instructions require a sharp eye and some patience. Safe to say this is not a bag you will want to take on and off all the time. I’d recommend this be a semi-permanent addition to your basket.

Speaking of baskets, this Basket Boss comes in both Wald 137 and 139 flavors, depending on your desired hauling capacity. The Basket Boss allows for storage around the edge of your basket to free up space in the inside of your basket. It adds a drink holster, a small velcro pocket, and a U-lock holster to the outside of your basket. The panels also have small MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) panels to lash a load in the main part of the basket.

I know you are probably thinking: just put all your shit in a tote in the basket. Yeah, sure, you can totally do that, but we are chasing fun here, and the Basket Boss is FUN. If you were ever wondering what to get that deep basket-bike nerd in your life who seems to already have everything from Rivendell, they probably need a Basket Boss.

The Basket Boss is a luxury, and if you love riding a bike with a basket, you should check it out. I wasn’t sure about the Basket Boss when I first got it, and after commuting with it for a few months, I’ve become enamored with it. The same issue I noted before with the u-lock holster on the City Slicker applies to this bag as well, but it’s fine. This is meant to be fun.

For some hard-hitting review testing, I took the Basket Boss on the annual Pound of Shame ride in Tucson. The 69-mile route circles Tucson, visiting three Costco locations where competitors eat four 1/4-pound hot dogs. It’s the half eating contest, half endurance ride, half social event of the season. The Basket Boss easily held my fountain drink between Costcos for near-constant Pepsi refueling on the grueling 69-mile bike path ride. If it can survive the pound of shame, it will survive your ride to the coffee shop to intimidate all the other bike nerds with your sweet basket accessory.