You don’t have to wear a back pack on a bike ride.
We see a lot of people on our rides with back packs. We also see a lot of people on our rides who don’t have what they might need to fix a mechanical. We wanted to team up with Harry and Vee from Wizard works to do a demo ride, where you can rig your bike up with one of their bags and see how it feels. Carry what you want and need, but let your bike do the heavy lifting.
So, early July, that’s exactly what we did.
You should really know about Wizard Works, they do great things.
All the bags are handmade in their studio in Greenwich.
All staff are paid London Living Wage.
Founders Harry and Vee are sound. Like, really decent people who are gently disrupting the bike bag scene. We like disrupters.
They support the Ultra Distance Scholarship,
They describe their brand as ‘cute’. In a scene where ‘bro’ is the soup de jour, we love to see it.
The names of the bags are brilliant.
They pay the models in their campaigns, in cash*
*We know this is a no brainer but not all brands do 🤯
Sad you missed out on the ride? We hope to do another next summer. In the mean time, we made a cute reel of the ride which you can see here.
Harry and Vee realised that as soon as you looked at well made, technical bike bags, you had to say goodbye to fun colours and playful designs. They decided this wasn’t good enough and started Wizard Works. The bike world has been a brighter, better place ever since.
The Wizards became our friends early doors . Vee and Harry came to the forest for a group ride first in July 2021, they came back for our birthday ride in October 2021 and we were buzzed to see them again in July 2022. We dream of collaborating with Wizard Works one day on a really cool project, we need ideas though so if you have any, send ‘em over.
We asked NFORC ride leaders what they thought of their Wizard Works bags. A note, all ride leaders paid for their bags apart from Leah who won hers at a raffle.
Meredith said this…
“Voila Stem bag - the ultimate snack carrier, plus great for holding my phone so I can record adventures!
Houdini tool bag - it’s great because it lives on my bike and I never have to think about it or remember to pack my tools and spares, Stores all my tools (I carry a lot of them) perfectly.”
Pat said this….”I've got a large voila bag. Great for snacks and phone holding. As I've also tried their basket bag, frame bag and the saddle bag, I have to say all of them have good capacity and the frame bag the way it's fitted with elastic on top tube it means there is no pressure on the zip like there is with other bags.”
Sue said this….”I’m slowly working towards my Surly being fully accessorised by WW!
Their bags adorning bikes are joyful to behold ( it’s all those colour combinations ) as well as provide room for essentials like snacks, water bottles or flasks, maps, tool kit, filming gear, first aid kit, additional layers…
Currently I have:
🧙Custom Lil Presto! Barrel bag
🧙🏻♂️2 Voila Stem Bags
Nic said this: “I love my Mini Shazam. It holds SO much including my mac book air that I use for work. One of the side pockets holds all my tools and the other side pockets fits my windproof layer. I would honestly recommend it to anyone. The quality is just summin’ else and I love that I get wizard magic on even the most basic commute.”
Kate said this: “I’ve got a Shazam bag which I LOVE. Holds all my sleeping essentials for bikepacking (sleeping bag, mat, thermals, and obvs hand knitted balaclava) I hang it from my saddle now. Its so robust and today I cleaned a load of mud and cow shit off it and it looks good as new! 😂 also works beautifully as a day bag on the front of my bike for snacks and a rain coat. Multi functional!”
Leonie said this: “My lil presto is always on whichever bike I'm riding and is the perfect size for any ride that doesn't require a full handlebar bag. Whether I need to take a lock to do my shopping, pack all the snacks for 100km, or a change of clothes for when I get to work, the lil presto is deceptively spacious! I also have the wiz viz version which has the bonus of keeping me seen in shitty winter riding. I love it!”
Leah said this: “I was fortunate enough to win the Shazam in our Christmas raffle. At the weekend I managed to fit everything I needed for a 4 day bike trip in that one bag. It comes with me on every journey and also excellent for my weekly grocery shop! I love it and would now not go on a ride without it!”
So there you have it. If you want to start looking at bike bags, we recommend you get involved in the magic and start with Wizard Works.
