How might I make this?

[matt_outandabout]

I've been using a bar bag on old bar ends for carrying things.

However, I've a couple of ideas for racks for bike packing. I expect someone's already done this.

Front - an alloy or carbon pair of tubes, that are perhaps about 6" apart, pointing forward like my bar ends, inside the brake levers. The inboard end goes over the bars, turns inwards and under the stem. These would just need Velcro straps to secure. You then have a simple, removable and stable bag mount, away from frame, bars and wheel.

Rear - a long half tube that lies on top of the top tube. The rear end splits around seatpost and upwardly kinks to rejoin leaving a micro rack to tie on or under above back wheel. Lashed on with Velcro again against top tube, fitted by removing the seatpost. At best it would stabilise a rear seat bag really well.

Suggestions on how to make a prototypes? I was thinking carbon, maybe make a wood mould of some kind.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I'm struggling a little to picture what you mean but with regard to prototyping, I'd start with cardboard / tape to get the general dimensions sorted and spot any flaws in your thinking.

When you're happy with that, I'd make a working prototype from either wood or metal depending where your skills lie ... it doesn't need to be that neat so glue and rivets are quite acceptable

If you're happy with the result from that you could then make a pattern for a carbon one. However, making a full carbon structure won't be easy or cheap, so I'd probably consider producing an alloy framework / skeleton and laying carbon over the top.

In reality, I'd be thinking very hard about whether the end result will be worth the effort / time / money required to produce it ... but good luck.

[atk]

I'd start with a drawing first!

The front sounds a bit like a larger version of this, or have I mis-read? http://www.bikeforums.net/general-cycli ... pport.html

[whitestone]

There's a couple of rear racks that are seat post mounted: Arkel Radonneur and the PDW Bindle, that are very similar to what you propose. I see the point of the half-tube running along the top tube in providing a longer attachment area but you have to deal with different shaped and sized tubing both between bikes and in some cases along the top tube itself.

The front mount sounds interesting, effectively a cantilever using the top of the handlebars as the fulcrum and the underside of the stem as the fixing point. I've a turbo trainer mount for the iPad that mounts in a similar fashion. Handlebars and stems are reasonably consistent in size (well apart from the 25.4mm retro guys ), the velcro would just be to stop rattling. Probably quite easy to make one in alloy tubing with a pipe bender, you'd need to crimp the tubing at the points where it contacts the stem and handlebars otherwise you'd get high pressure contact points.

[Bearbonesnorm]

The front sounds a bit like a larger version of this, or have I mis-read? http://www.bikeforums.net/general-cycli ... pport.html

If Andy's right and you want something like the above, you just need some 10mm bright bar, a set of bottles and some steel tube to use as a former.

Carradice used (still might) to make a tubular steel rear bag support that fastened to the saddle rails. I reacll it was quite neat / tidy.

[Mariner]

Can you get pipe formers that small?

[Bearbonesnorm]

Can you get pipe formers that small?

You can, although you don't need one and you want to use solid bar rather than tube, as tube will likely deform / crush / crease with the radius required.



The 2 uprights are the formers and the bar is 'simply' heated and formed round them.

[ScotRoutes]

Altura barbag mounts are "cantilevered" in the same way by use of a piece of metal wire under the stem.

However, I'd be asking "why" rather than "how", i.e. what's wrong with bar and saddle bag systems already available?

[Ray Young]

I had a handlebar bag with a mount as described but off road I had to attach a chord from the bag down to the fork otherwise it just bounced all over the place.

[matt_outandabout]

Cheers all - the front one is indeed like that bit of wire.

Front - Why? Because having watched folk struggle with complex bags and straps, which if not adjusted perfectly seem to either/and rub badly or bounce.

Rear - why? Similar observation of bags that wander and move, or heavy seatpost clamp racks that have broken a couple of my posts.

[Bearbonesnorm]

This might save making one: http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BANIF16/ni ... -supporter