Bar harness advice

[JamesT]

Hi everyone
I'm thinking about making a bar harness - I have no sewing skills or machine - but know someone who can help me - I just need to plan it and buy materials - my questions are around
1. Materials - I thought I might use ripstop nylon , layered up with something (thin plastic ?) in the middle to add strength - has anyone done this ? How could I fix it all together ?
2. Sizing - what dimensions would work width and length wise for the main 'roll' bit?
3 . Would a standard sewing machine be able to handle seeing ripstop and 25mm webbing straps?
Lastly Can anyone offer ideas on what material could go in the middle section?
All ideas are welcome !
Thanks James

[HaYWiRe]

I can't help you with design or sizing (that's the fun bit) but look around all the major manufactures and you'll,find your own ideas, its all experimenting. Though as a starter, Wildcats harness and mounting around the fork crown is a godsend for stability so a good starting point.

As for materials, ripstop is good but can be a bit heavy depending on what denier you use, more expensive diamond grid nylons, Xpac, or even Cuban are light and tough but the cost can be crazy.
I've made all my bags out of 500d and 1005d ballistic nylon, partially because its what I work with daily amongst other milspec fabrics, and mostly because i think it looks badass and will outlast my me. So aslong as its synthetic, durable and doesn't soak up water, go for whatever you like or think is pretty

As for the machine, I use a singer heavy duty, its not industrial but its pretty good at sewing through upto 7 layers cordura and webbing (and it looks like it came out of the soviet union) so you shouldn't have a problem with a home machine.
Though I have learnt that modern digital fancy machines break fast and a good old fashioned analogue machine lasts and usually has more power. Lastly, decent needles are worth every penny, I only use German Organ needles for both sewing and embroidery.

Now good luck and enjoy!

[JamesT]

Firstly thanks for the reply - after I posted my question I saw a really good example of a bar harness on this same page of the forum - this also points to 1000d Cordura as a good mix of value / durability etc . Agree it looks badass too, and I plan to cover it in molle straps as these seem a good idea . Would a single layer of it be adequate or would i need to layer it up? Also if I cut it to shape do I need to 'seal' the edges to stop it fraying ?
Thanks James

[HaYWiRe]

A single layer might be a bit thin as it depends on your design, but if your using a plastic stiffener, HDPE, or some 3mm craft foam to give it shape you can use 2 layers to make a pocket/pillow of sorts to cover the stiffener. Any more layers could just be redundant.

If not sealed it will fray, unravel, tear, so you need to either hem all the edges first or sew binding around all exposed edges when complete.
Hemming is easy and cheap, a double rolled hell giving you a nice firm edge to work with. Sewing binding isn't too hard but you need to factor the cost of binding, it does however give it a more finished look.

Molle is good for adding extras but if you start mounting military pouches* your weight will hit the roof. Small loops in the corners are very good for running shock cord in an X to stash things.

Also remember to measure twice, cut once! And its better to give yourself extra fabric than coming up short.
1000d is completely overkill for this job, but I buy it in by the 50m so I used what I had and know, if you can get 330d it'll be lighter and a bit easier to sew with the same bombproof military feel, but who am I to judge

**someone really needs to create MOLLE compatible lightweight pouches in VX21 or something...

[JamesT]

Thanks Haywire - all good points - I am going to try some 500 denier I think - I also like your ideas re shock cord points , cheers

[HaYWiRe]

Enjoy the project! Need anything else (regarding sewing) just ask.
If you get around to it, most up how you get on

[JamesT]

Haywire - I have just ordered the 500 denier Cordura - I now have a good idea of where I'm heading with this- what material would you recommend I use as binding for the edges ?
Cheers
James

[HaYWiRe]

You've got a couple options:
Save money and make you're own out of ripstop, using a hemming foot to make 1" strips.

Buy nylon or polyester binding in 3/4", sometimes referred to as Grosgrain.


Or ofcourse skip the binding for neat hemming around all edges, I've always chose this option because I'm cheap, and make so many changes that nearly all my bags are still called "prototypes" not finished designs, maybe one day

[gypsumfantastic]

Don't forget the pictures!

Youtube is great for picking up tips and tricks. Remember if you don't like this version of the bar roll then you can always improve the design with your next one

[Alpinum]

My latest harness for a solid but lightweight setup:








sorry, some are upside down

After the first ride I realised it's not a good idea to have the stem touch the ultra sil type dry bag, so I made a protective cover out to some Chikara left overs and about 90 g/m2 PU Nylon.
Unfortunately I only had wide, thick and heavy webbing left for the straps that go around the dry bag. That's where probably most of the weight can be saved. On other harnesses I used the narrow (15 mm PE) webbing I also used for the straps that go around the bars and crown for this harness and they don't slip.
This harness weighs in at 84 g as in pictures and have seen about 1200 km.
So there's some straps, some buckles and ladder locks, then fabric (go with X-Pac VX 21 or 420D Nylon or other sturdy types) and a thin plastic sheet (stole the cat's food mat). The widest section holding the plastic sheet measures 27.5 cm across.
I also like some elastic cords on top to hold food for short and smooth sections, or gloves etc.

For dry bags I prefer the Exped Fold Dry Bag - I quite like the balance of weight and durability.

Taking it where it ought to go:

[gypsumfantastic]

Oh! Something else I remembered - buy decent thread, it's slightly more expensive but worth it. There's one with a Germanic sounding name that the wife recommends however I can't remember the name of it

[Alpinum]

Oh! Something else I remembered - buy decent thread, it's slightly more expensive but worth it. There's one with a Germanic sounding name that the wife recommends however I can't remember the name of it

Good point. I tend to use Alterfil at 50 Nm (not torque but thread weight). 100 Nm is already too weak for long lasting daisy chains in my experience.

[gypsumfantastic]

gutermann - I remembered

[JamesT]

Thanks for all the advice - I now have all the bits I need - had already bought some Guterman upholstery twine so good to know that's the one I want . I have a huge piece of 500d Cordura and a piece of 4mm foam to pad it out . I have about a mile of webbing strap and some buckles - they don't look really good quality - but I can always upgrade later. Now just need to find my friend with the sewing machine and skills - it's a bit frustrating as I'd quite like to crack on myself but have no machine at the mo and have never sewn anything beyond a button - can anyone recommend a budget machine that could handle seeing webbing etc ? Pics of finished project to follow.

[gypsumfantastic]

Not really sure on the machine side of things as I just borrowed my wifes, as far as I can tell it's a bog standard analogue one that I bought some strong needles for. It's nothing fancy but it'll go through webbing and 2 layers of 1000D cordura.

A nice lady in the sewing shop took pity on me and told me what I would need after I explained what I was planning to do