Wizard Works Lil Presto

£65 Compact barrel bag for your bar or saddle

WIZARD WORKS STARTED as a partnership between Veronica Lowe and Harry Major, two long-distance cyclists who met on the road. It was founded in Veronica’s home country of New Zealand in 2015 before relocating to Peckham, in Harry’s hometown of London. The company makes a range of bike-ready bags using sustainable materials and even offers full-custom versions of each bag in its range.

The Lil Presto has a capacity of 2.15l, weighs just 250g and, at 22cm long and with a diameter of 14cm, it’s compact. There’s a removable HDPE – high-density polyethylene – plastic sheet that inserts into the gap between the tough Cordura outer and light and bright yellow fabric lining. This makes the Lil Presto semi-rigid, unlike many bar bags, which gives it stability on the bar when you hit bumpy gravel trails. It also means you can open it one-handed more easily as you pedal.

Semi-circular pockets on each end are big enough to stow small items and stuff empty wrappers, while I found the single main compartment was generous enough to hold all my gravel-riding essentials: pump, multitool, spare tubes, sealant, repair kit, energy bars, phone, wallet, packable jacket and even my trusty compact camera.

The Lil Presto attaches to your bar using twin rubber Voile Nano straps, which offer loads of adjustment and come with foam spacers so the bag sits away from the bar and doesn’t interfere with cables. These rubber straps won’t scuff your bar either. For extra stability, there’s a strap with a quick-release cord lock that wraps around your stem/steerer/head tube and keeps the compact carrier in place. A ribbon of canvas across the front provides loops to attach a light (or something else) from it.

You can also mount the bag to the saddle by threading the Voile loops through the rails of your saddle and securing the cord around the seatpost. If you have a Brooks saddle with its saddle-bag loops, the mounting will be even more secure.

The Cordura fabric is hard-wearing and weatherproof and the YKK AquaGuard zip keeps the bag’s contents dry no matter how foul the weather.

The Lil Presto is one of the best bar bags I’ve tried. It’s compact but still big enough for your essentials, superbly stable on the bike and handmade in the UK using topgrade fabrics. There’s even a repair service.

“The Lil Presto is semirigid, unlike many bar bags, which gives it stability on the trails”