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| Acorn saddlebag on a 1948 Raleigh |
Acorn bags, an American company that built high-quality canvas and leather saddlebags for bicycles, is closing down. I am told the owners are ready to move on in life to other things, so the company is closing.
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Close-up of a brown Acorn small saddlebag - very nice work
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| Acorn saddlebag on a 1947 Schwinn |
Acorn made affordable, high-quality bags. Their small saddlebag retailed for under $100, about half the price of boutique, luxury saddlebags in the same size. The price was comparable to a Carradice (another respected bag maker), though the Acorn bags tended to be a little more luxurious compared to the more spartan Carradice.
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| Flap and zipper opening on an Acorn saddlebag |
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| Close up of an Acorn small saddlebag on a WWII era Schwinn |
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| Acorn small saddlebag on a 1940 Schwinn |
I bought an Acorn bag as a one-off experiment several years ago. I had long been happy with my Carradice bags and my Banjo Brothers bags. My Carradice bags were the "higher-end" bags on my bikes, while the Banjo Brothers bags were more compact and basic. When I received the Acorn bag, I was very impressed by how much quality could be squeezed into the roughly $75 price tag.
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| Acorn saddlebag on a 1970 Raleigh DL-1 roadster |
I liked the Acorn small saddlebag so much, I bought several more over the years. Acorn's business model was to produce bags in batches, sell them, then make another batch. The website often showed they were sold out. A notice would come in a few days before the next batch went on sale. I made it a point to buy one each time a batch would be made. I bought both their black and brown canvas bags.
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| Acorn small saddlebag on a 1947 Raleigh Model 35 touring bike |
I'm glad I stocked up on the bags before the company went out of business. They should serve nicely for me in the future. I am told the tools and supplies of the company are for sale. Hopefully an entrepreneurial buyer will get those and pick up where Acorn left off.
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| Brown Acorn saddlebag on a 1953 Raleigh |
I'm sad to see Acorn go, but I understand if they doesn't want to make bags anymore. It's a lot of work, and they probably did not make much off of each one as their prices were pretty low in comparison to their quality and materials. I'm amazed that they didn't increase the retail price much (if at all) over the years, especially since these bags were never the easiest to get.
ReplyDeleteI had a handlebar bag for a few years, gifted to me when a bag was stolen off the Superbe. It was very nice, well made, but after a few years it did not suit my needs so I sold it. There are a lot of bag makers these days, but not too many that make them in the more traditional ways of leather and canvas. Carradice is obviously the biggest one, but about 15 years ago there were more American-based alternatives.