Tag: canvas

Blessed

Today I was reminded by my wife to get out and go for a ride for myself.  This place is about a mile from home, sometimes I stop.  Most of the time it is a bridge to and from the other rides.  This is one of the many reasons my family works so hard to live here.  The beauty of our immediate surroundings is a blessing. 

Grabbing the coffee and heading out to enjoy a few minutes of the morning to myself, I made it to the bridge and decided it was a good day to just enjoy the view.  With all of the challenges of every day life it is easy to lose track of how fortunate we may actually be.  I have an incredible wife, a healthy 9 month old baby girl, extended family for support, food, shelter, and my own wits about me to keep things going.  Things are good, I am always striving to make it better, but things are always good.

Happy Friday, Play outside and enjoy your family!

Loadeo the Roadeo

I could not resist the title with all the love the Roadeo has had with its model name. 

Today was much nicer out than last weekend’s ride across town to the Channel Islands Harbor farmer’s market.  Partly cloudy, light breeze and in the upper 50’s not quite shorts weather.

With fair weather for the forecast and working out some touring ideas for the spring I spent some time in the morning putting the Jack Browns back on, pulling the fenders and Roughy Toughys off and rotating the Carradice Nelson longflap back on.  I have been dropping a little weight and figure that gives me more loading room on the bike without fear of overload and wonky handling. 

Market was a success with the dry weather the farmers are able to get more out of the field and not have as bad of mud to contend with.  All three bags, Acorn Hobo, the Frame Bag and Nelson were all stuffed to the max.

It would be a lie if I said there was NO change in handling, but nothing went terrible in any way, no wobbles, shimmy, weird pulling or such as can happen when the load is bigger than rider and bike were meant to transport.  Cruising speed through the fields was about the same loaded or not.

Riding no hands was easy as always.  All of the above needs to be considered in light of the fact that this bicycle is designed and intended to be a lightweight club racer.  I am not advocating that you all ditch the heavier touring bikes to load up the club racer, but knowing how and what you bike is made of and can do is a good thin in my opinion.

The Bounty: 2 Dozen eggs, 2 onions, 3 cloves of garlic, 3 heads of brocoli, 1 cauliflower, a bunch of carrots, bag of beet greens, bunch of collard greens, 7 avocados and a large bag of vegetable chips.  Not bad for a lightweight steed burdened with my 215 lb self and all that produce.

Next up is to work out some gear lists and see if I can get it in the bags for some quick S24O spring rides.

Frame Bag No. 01 Details

I can not belive I waited this long to make one of these. It has exceeded my expectations and taught me what I would do to make some minor tweaks for a final product.

Bag Specifications: Frame bag with No.8 Canvas duck side panels, Jr Ballistic perimeter strip for abrasion resistance, multi point reinforced hook and loop connections, waterproof zipper with double pull and storm flap.  Port for rear tail light battery wire.

Dimensions: 22″ long x 6″ high x 2″ wide (56cm x 15cm x 5cm)

Volume: 264 in³ (4.333 L)

The inspiration for this bag came from a synergy of the designs used on Swiss Army bikes, the designs coming out of the ultralight bikepacking work, and the traditional designs of the french touring bags.  While the volume is not particularly large, the design and placement make use of the previously empty space to carry things that might not fit as easily in traditional bags, e.g. hydration bladders, tripod or tent poles. 

On this weekend’s mixed terrain ride I carried a 2L Platypus water bag, Gorillapod mini tripod for the camera, wind breaker, knee warmers and a spare hat with room left over in the bag.  The centralization of the load had little detrimental affect on handling.  Both steep climbs and descents were not different from when riding with similar loads in larger bags at the front and rear, if any thing this was an improvement.  The largest gain was in the increased capacity and ability to better arrange gear for access during the ride.  The multiple attachment points kept the bag stable with no sway of the bag.  The bulk of the load is supported by the canvas reinforced 2″ hook and loop closure at the top tube:

The overall carrying capacity has even shocked me, as the water bag measured out at 7″ wide and 3″ thick when full, but was easily swallowed and zipped into the bag

Detail of the wiring port for my tail light battery pack. 

Details like this can be customized to suit different lighting arrangements, ports for hydration hoses, etc.  Likewise location and number of zippers or internal pockets and dividers could also be added.

I see these bags filling a niche for the self supported distance road rider, light weight touring, and transportational cyclists looking for that extra bit of space without having to resort to resort to full rack and panniers. 

It is my intent to offer frame bags of a similar design for sale by custom order in the near future.  If interested please contact me through the Contact page with the “Custom Frame Bag” in the subject line.