The Polaris Bikewear Bike Rug is a quick and easy to fit cover that protects your bike in transit and storage. While it’s certainly effective, the fit is a little awkward on some bikes, and the level of protection will vary depending on the size of your bike.
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Polaris Bikewear’s Bike Rug is a pretty simple bit of kit, but if you’re often travelling with multiple bikes, or store your pride and joy in a tight and busy area, it performs an important job.
The Bike Rug’s outer is lined with a 600D Polyester. Inside there’s a wipe clean interior, ideal if you’re wrapping a wet and muddy bike. At both ends, two hook and loop straps keep the Rug firmly in place. Finally, around the edges there’s a binding that’s been added for durability.
Popping the Bike Rug over each bike I’ve tried is really simple. You just drape it over and line it up with the fork and rear end of the bike to cover as much as possible then use the hook and loop straps to keep it in place. I’ve tested this with big e-bikes and smaller mountain bikes.
The Bike Rug is designed to fit a range of bikes but it doesn’t fit bikes with low standovers very well. Although, if you have a gravel bike in your fleet, the cut of the rug will cover it comfortably. It's worth noting that the level of protection does vary depending on the size of your bike, so keep that in mind if you're considering buying one.
For example, if you own a modern bike with super progressive geometry or a bike with a very large frame, the rug won’t cover as much as it would on a smaller frame. Bigger bikes may have their head tubes and parts of the top tube poking out a little more, but generally, the sides provide ample protection.
I’ve tested the Bike Rug for a number of months and used it primarily to protect my medium size Canyon Spectral in storage with one or two others. I’ve found it really useful when moving bikes around my rather small storage space. I’ve not had to be as painstakingly careful to avoid knocking things against my frame.
My medium Canyon Spectral is fully covered by the rug. If it were any longer, it would be pushing the coverage. I did also manage to fit this over a large Vitus E-Sommet covering the whole wheelbase, but the headtube and part of the top tube weren't as well covered.
While useful for protecting my bike, I found that the hard-wearing piping that runs around the edges of the cover weren't very hard-wearing at all. Following lots of use, the binding is fraying where the hook and loop on the straps have engaged with it.
As far as padded bike covers go, there isn’t an awful lot on the market, but against what is available, Polaris Bikewear’s rug is on par with EVOC’s Bike Rug, which is very similar. Nukeproof has a cover in its range called the Horizon Universal Bike Cover that will set you back £100. It does offer a different shape that looks like it might work with mountain bikes of varying sizes a little better to cover the front and rear wheels.
If you’re regularly transporting bikes or storing them in tight spaces, the Polaris Bikewear Bike Rug is a useful bit of kit to have in your arsenal. It’s easy to use and provides effective protection for a range of bike shapes. Although, If you have a very long, mega progressive bike it's wise to double-check it will fit properly.
