Description
The Wildcat Gear Lion comprises of a padded harness to retain your own dry bag under the bars. Our unique and secure retention system provides maximum stability and resists working loose over rough terrain.
The Lion delivers a solid storage solution with minimal interference to your riding. This helps to maintaining predictable handling, and compliments our frame bag and seat system storage solutions.
Wildcat Gear Lion Features
- Unique retention system eliminates movement when loaded.
- Padded VX21 and ballistic nylon fabric construction protects your dry bag.
-
NEW: now features a removable tongue to distribute strap pressure and protect underside of dry bag from trail debris.
- Scaleable storage: use your own dry bags sized for your trip.
- Optimised for 8 to 13 litre dry bags.
- Lightweight: Only 140g (minimum weight, without tongue)
Compatibility
- The Wildcat Gear Lion will fit a wide range of handlebar types, including road bars.
- The retention system fits around all types of conventional forks, rigid or suspension. Not compatible with the Cannondale Lefty “fork”.
- It may be necessary to lengthen gear cables to provide a smoother curve around your luggage for an optimum fit.
In The Press
- Singletrack World – Issue 83: Wildcat Gear Lion.
– Digital copy for Premier Singletrack World users here.
– Our blog entry here.
Questions
Which colour options are there on the Lion?
The standard in-stock colour is black. Colour options are available with a custom frame bag order, allowing you to have coordinated luggage across the whole bike.
Does the Lion come with a dry bag?
The Lion is priced excluding a dry bag. However, we now stock Exped dry bags in a range of sizes that can be purchased at the same time at additional cost.
What size dry bag would recommend?
The Lion will take a dry bag between approx 5 – 13 litres in size. Select a size that will fit under your handlebar without coming in contact with your front wheel. If using suspension forks, make sure you allow or clearance when the fork is fully compressed.
I have a long head tube on my bike. Will the Lion fit?
The Lion straps allow you accommodate an overall stack height (from crown race to under stem, including headset and any spacers) of __ cm
I have dropped handlebars – will the Lion fit?
Yes, the padded panel of the Lion measures approximately 35 cm wide and so will easily fit between the controls on drop bars. The internal width of most drop bars limits the dry bag capacity to approx. 8 litres.
Will the Lion fit around my brake and gear cables?
The Lion is designed to generally sit under your cables, leaving space between the padded panel and the head tube for cables to be routed without significant difficulty. Depending on you precise set-up and load size, it may be necessary to lengthen cable outers to maintain a smooth curve for cables and hoses.
Is the Lion compatible with v-brakes/ calliper/ cantilever brakes?
In the vast majority of cases, we have have found the Lion to fit behind these types of brakes. Some road bikes with tight clearances between the calliper brake and a carbon fork can cause a problem.
Is the Lion compatible with a Jones Truss fork?
Yes, it is. Instead of attaching the lower strap to where a conventional fork crown would be, they can be strapped to the triangular braces just forward of the head tube.
Is the Lion compatible with a Cannondale Lefty fork?
No, it isn’t.
Will it mark my forks and handlebars?
As with most accessories attached directly to the bike, we recommend using some protective tape to preserve you anodised/ painted/ carbon finish. We stock genuine transparent 3M Helicopter Tape, available separately.
Dave Warnock (verified owner) –
I bought my Mountain Lion to fit my Shand Stoater with Jones Loop H-Bar for my upcoming 3 month sabbatical which includes 1500 miles and The Welsh Ride Thing. I’ll also be using it on the Ford Fiesta Winter Event.
However, I have also been using it a lot on my Whyte Suffolk Road bike. It fits easily and I have been using an Exped 13 litre drybag on this.
I used it as group leader on for a 3 day 160 mile group road ride and it was great, allowing me to carry extra clothing for others. It was easy to access, kept things dry over 3 very wet days and coped with widely varying loads. Some pics at http://42bikes.warnock.me.uk/2014/05/23/bikes-ready-pilgrimage/
I also used it for my longest day ride so far. Over 125 miles with a business meeting in the middle, so it was carrying my work clothes. Did the job without any fuss despite some horrible weather. This time it was partnered with a Lioness. See a picture at https://www.flickr.com/photos/davew42/15294590155
It does take a few minutes to set up on a bike, getting the straps down to the fork just right is a little fiddle. However, once on it is very reliable and convenient. I haven’t had to adjust brake or gear cables on either bike.
James O –
Like the Tiger seatbag I’ve had for a couple of years the Mtn Lion bar harness uses a clever strapping system to be more stable without any added weight. It does take longer to fit than my other harness (which is little more than 2 straps and a fabric bag-to-bar cushion) but it’s worth it for the stability. It means the harness clears the head tube and cables of my road bike consistently and when well-tensioned it’s a really solid base for the drybag to strap to. It also fits the Jones truss fork nicely, the fork braces are ideal mount points for the tension strap. Forks will need protecting against strap wear but that goes for any bags. I’d say that if you want your bags attached in a way that minimises or even eliminates the distractions of bag movement, Wildcat have got it figured out.
Alasdair McLean –
I used to carry my stuff in a dry bag with a couple of straps around the bars, and this would bounce up and almost back over the bars when the going got rough, even when tied down as tight as possible. No such problem with this harness. Once you attach it to the bars and the fork crown, no further adjustment is required. The dry bag sits tightly in the two straps, and the convenient placement of the buckles mean you can tighten it on the move if the bag contents move around or whatever.
The harness is meant to be used with dry bags, but I frequently find myself attaching other things to it, parcels from the post office, a boxed bike tyre etc etc, instead of taking a bigger rucksack.
Mine has been through several multi-day races, with the dry bag removed and replaced daily, and no adjustment required. It is easy to set up on all manner of bikes (mine has been through suspension forks, rigid forks, fat bike with no issues in setup. Highly recommended.
Dave Stewart (verified owner) –
I’ve had this harness for a couple of years now and it has done the off-road coast to coast, South Downs Way and Cairngorn loop among others. Once set-up correctly (which is not hard but woth making sure you get it right) it has always been rock solid. I have used mine with a drybag with loops to link with the straps of the Lion Harness to absolute peace of mind over rough terrain.
Detaching and re-attaching the drybad at camp takes seconds.
I have had no problem integrating the harness with two different hope brake designs and ‘normal’ handlebars as well as Jones loop bars.
An absolutely brilliant bit of kit.
Craig McGhee (verified owner) –
This is my most used bikepacking accessory, and has been on every trip since the 2014 WRT. It has been rolled out on 4 different bikes, from fully rigid to fully sussed, straight bars to Jones bars. I generally use it with an 8L dry bag, but it has also had a 13L bag without any problems.
Once you have worked out the best method of attaching to any particular bar and fork, it is relatively easy to swap between bikes without too much fuss. Once in place it is rock solid secure, with very little requirement to adjust or re-tighten straps, other than the quick release buckles used to attach the dry bag. I have even rested my forearms on it to get a more aero position on long flat stages without any problems.
I definitely prefer having a harness plus dry bag than an integrated system as it offers greater flexibility. I like to take the bag off the bike at night and unpack it under my bivi. It also makes it easier to replace the dry bag when it eventually wears out (and it will, before the harness). My only issue is the need to have my brakes at a steeper angle than I would like in order for the hose to go behind the harness. This isn’t an issue on the Jones bars, and I hope the new wider bar I have ordered for the other bike will also sort out that problem.
The build quality is excellent and whilst other bits of luggage that have seen less use are now looking quite tatty, this harness appears to have a lot of trips left in it. I would definitely recommend this to anybody and will not hesitate to buy more stuff from Wildcat in the future.
Chris Allison –
Excellent quality. Rock solid on-road and off. Makes repeated packing/unpacking very easy. The tongue provides extra protection from dirt & abrasion. The top torsion straps provide a handy place to carry tent poles.