Here is a second review after a few months of use. They have held up really well and their versatility was demonstrated in an incident that occurred when I lost the wooden cross-piece while riding on a city street. I easily saw where it landed and grabbed it. However, I lost its tie-down and I've since set both of them aside for use on special occasions only. For day-to-day goods hauling (these photos show a load of groceries), I bought some lightweight bungee cords at Home Depot and have been using them to keep the bags tightly closed. Depending on how much stuff is in the bag, there are many, many configurations to put the bungee cords in to keep the bags tightly closed. You can affix the ends to the brass rings, or to the leather loops. You can loop through the lower brass ring, or use it as an end-point. It works really well. So although I lose one tie-down, I am still very happy with these bags and highly recommend them as a great way to add functionality to your bike.