This month we released the Teeny Houdini, a minimal saddle bag for cycling essentials. Here’s a little behind the scenes of what it takes to bring a bag to life.

Of all the questions we have recived about our Mag-Neato Tool Roll, the most popular is definitely “will she fit a gravel tube?” The answer is, “no”. We heard you though, and we wanted to deliver. But we wanted to DELIVER deliver. Instead of making a jumbo tool roll, we liked the idea of a small saddle bag that you could access while it was still on the bike. And so it began…

It all starts with an idea and a purpose, in this case a minimal saddle bag that can fit a gravel sized tube and a few tools. After some rough sketching the prototyping can begin, we had an idea what we wanted it to look like and how we wanted it to function but you really have to start making 3D versions to get an idea of what work and what doesn’t. What dimensions work? Is the shape cute? What would the opening look like and does it function well? The liner – to float or not to float? …But really, is the shape cute? And so on. Many MANY iterations were made and the pros and cons (and cuteness factor) weighed up.

Once the bag was at the point where we were happy with the shape, there was a lot of putting things in and then taking them out again, unbuckling and then re-buckling, on the bike and off the bike tests. The bag commuted with us to the studio and back for a few weeks and then we all sat around the cutting table and discussed SERIOUSLY THOUGH, IS IT CUTE?

We decided that not only is she cute, she is TOO cute to leave out our skinny tyred mates, so we made another size, a smaller size, an even teenier Teeny Houdini. This involved another pattern, some more samples, and some more putting in / taking out, aaaaaaaand after a few more tweaks of the main flap (how many ways can you fold over a piece of webbing? A lot of ways apparently) she was finally ready.

Ta Da! The Teeny Houdini, holds the essentials and a teeny bit more.

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