76Projects A.S.S. CLIP attaches a top tube bag to your steerer tube and prevents it from flapping around. It's super simple to fit, weighs nothing but may require removing your stem in some cases, hardly the end of the world.
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It only works with bags that have straps without fixed buckles. If yours has fixed buckles, you could cut them off, but there would be no going back with that option. Suppose your bag doesn't have adjustable straps and doesn't line up neatly under the stem. In that case, the 76Project A.S.S CLIP could well be the perfect solution, as in the case of my MackWorkshop top tube bag below.
The A.S.S CLIP is a 3D-printed bike bag product that offers an alternative way of attaching a top tube bag to your steerer tube. Suppose you have no spacers above your stem, and you're riding it slammed (none underneath). In that case, you cannot use this system, but if you have a minimum of 10mm of spacers either under or above the stem, you're in luck; just swap out the spacer with the CLIP.
Fitting the spacer above the stem couldn't be easier. Undo the top cap and swap out a for b. If you have a 10mm spacer below your stem, then the stem must come off - which is not difficult; just make sure you tighten everything as it should be afterwards.
Once that 'technical' bit is done, the rest is straightforward. Feed the straps through the CLIP, as per the instructions, and depending on whether you mounted the spacer above or below the stem, mount the clip to match. You don't have to trim the ends of the straps if you fold them tightly.
Once the CLIP is firmly attached and the strap held tight by the supplied rubber O-ring, the bag simply clips onto the grooved spacer under the stem, and that's it. Your bag is supported with no strap.
There is an initial slightly rough feel to the CLIP as you turn the bars when stationary, but after a 100-mile ride around the Severn Estuary, this was no longer noticeable. The CLIP held the bag absolutely still even when completely stuffed and with me hauling on the bars and occasionally knocking it with my knees when out of the saddle. Perfect.
It's reasonably priced at £19.50 and weighs pretty much nothing at <20g, and if you have a bag/strap that doesn't line up neatly, it could be your savour. Its nearest competitor is the drj0n DeWidget that Matt reviewed recently, which uses a buckled spacer rather than the CLIPS's slotted one and doesn't allow speedy removal.
The 76Projects A.S.S CLIP works as it should and fits most bikes as long as you have 10mm of spacers to play with. If not, then sorry, it won't. Also, it's much simpler and quicker to take the bag on and off if using the matching A.S.S. SLIDER - together, they make a great pair.
1 comments
Got one too. The perfect solution to prevent the bolts of a turning stem from displacing a top tube bag. Just what I needed as my top tube bag is fixated with straps.