Gear of the week

A roomy pannier bag, a dedicated gravel wheel with inbuilt flex and a carbon bottle cage that won’t break the bank

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Topeak Pannier Drybag DX £94.99

Weight 1,400g

Topeak’s 25-litre Drybag DX uses a combination of nylon waterproof fabrics, sonically welded seams and a watertight roll-top closure to achieve its ‘drybag’ status. I’ve had the pannier out in some foul conditions and the contents have been completely protected from all the elements.

It’s certainly the deepest pannier I have ever come across. Open the bag up and you’ll be reaching 65cm to the bottom of it. This cavernous capacity should suit anyone carrying bulky loads, from commuters with a change of clothing to tourers with plenty of kit. While the bag is pretty rigid – a great feature for tablets or laptops – the side panels can be removed, making it more accommodating and malleable.

There are no internal pockets or pouches. I wouldn’t miss this in a touring scenario, but for general use I’d prefer to have at least one pouch to hold valuables and essentials for direct access: in a pannier this big, things easily move about while you’re riding, so recovering items isn’t always easy.