Month: May 2011

More On Straps

The traditional mounting of the bag to the bike with leather straps and a dowel is still hard to do better.  Is light, strong, and relatively quick to get on and off if needed.  In the last post I mentioned my pet peeve with the buckle design, and now that my saddle bag design is in motion it was time to move on to the straps.  Many of the traditional strap designs that are still on the market today have the keeper integral with the buckle.  This will hold fast, but not lay flat around the tight bends the system uses.  The buckle stands proud rubbing against the bag and gear.

While this has worked for decades, and years for me, have had failures, and it made for some very long days.  Looking through what had been done before, I decided to go with a keeper that is soft, integral to the strap and holds the tag end of the strap flat to the bag. 

After completing one prototype yesterday I was still mulling over the design and made another set to put on my Acorn Hobo Bag.

I oiled them up, dried them overnight and mounted them up this morning.

There are no pokey sharp corners going after the cargo.  The tag ends are nice and flat, out-of-the-way.  The first impression is really good with these.  The leather I had on hand is a little thin for straps, but I will keep an eye on them. 

Now to make some time for “Testing”

Better Buckle?

Not trying to re-invent anything, just use an appropriate design, and sometimes the tried and true really do work best.  Other offerings never sit as flush as you would hope, and have even worn holes in water bladders and such.  Yes, that was a very long day to find out the 2L of backup water had been dripping down the road behind me.  The above is a test piece, as I refine the idea to meet the needs for mounting bicycle luggage.

Bikes In the Garage – 1983 Specialized Sequoia 47cm

This is a recent Ebay acquisition that we could not pass up.  It is the perfect size for my wife, and happens to be the closest to mint Sequoia I will likely ever see.  Every piece is the way it was the day it rolled off the showroom floor, and it was stored indoors for 27 years and only ridden a few times.  I had High hopes, but was stunned once I put it together and wiped it down.  Superbe brakes and pedals, Avocet crankset and Saddle, Suntour derailers, Specialized hubs smooth as butter, and the tires still have the mold witness lines with skin walls in great condition. 

She will ride it for a bit as it is, but it will quite likely get a set of Albatross bars, the 650b wheels and brakes off of her Miyata.  The build quality on the frame is incredible, as nice or nicer than my Rivendell.

Now if only I coud find a 62.5 like this one.