Better 20mm buckles for lomo seatpack

[nagasaki45]

Hi all!

I like my lomo seatpack, except for the buckles. Talking about the pair that attaches the bag to the saddle rails. They often release under pressure. This happens when I tighten the bag to the saddle rails, or when dropping the rear wheel on rough stuff.

Anyway, would love to hear your recommendation for quality 20mm side release buckles. I've seen the sea to summit field repair ones. Are they good? Note that I can sew the buckles, so no much need for the sea to summit trick. The stuff on wildcat's handlebar harness is amazing! Might be 25mm though. Anything similar to that in 20mm will do.

Cheers,
Tom

[Shewie]

ITW Nexus are good ...

https://www.acesupplies.co.uk/products/ ... se-buckle/

[Fordy]

I didn’t like the vinyl buckles on the Alpkit Koala and swapped them out for Velcro.

[arkay]

Hi Tom,
I can’t help with your question but wanted to ask something of a fellow Lomo seat pack owner. I like the pack but wonder if I am doing something wrong with the straps that attach to the saddle rails as they don’t seem to tighten up enough to stop swaying, even if you cinch them down as far as they will go there is still a bit of slack because of the way they are attached.

I tried crossing the straps over under the saddle to take up more of the slack but that doesn’t really work either as you can’t cross them over neatly.

Is there some trick to these straps that I am missing?

[nagasaki45]

Thanks for suggesting the ITW Nexus Shewie. Will have to dig in my DIY box, as I might have some of those.

Fordy. Didn't think about this option. I think I would rather stay with buckles if I manage to find some that hold well enough.

I like the pack but wonder if I am doing something wrong with the straps that attach to the saddle rails as they don’t seem to tighten up enough to stop swaying, even if you cinch them down as far as they will go there is still a bit of slack because of the way they are attached.

Didn't notice that problem. Two possible issues that come to mind.
- The bag must be stuffed quite densly. Otherwise, when tightening the straps they compress the bag. If your sleeping bag is in there, try to stuff it into the empty spaces around the rest of the stuff in the bag. Or alternatively stuff your clothes tightly in the gaps between stuff sacks and the edge of the bag. Hope it makes sense...
- Sorry if this is a stupid question, but are you sure you are connecting the correct pairs of buckles?

Maybe send a picture?

[arkay]

I’m pretty sure I am connecting the right buckles as there are only two on each side, one for the saddle rail strap and one for the closure strap.

Maybe I’m just not stuffing it enough.

One other thing that occurred to me is maybe I had the seatpost straps too high up. My seatpack seemed a bit more horizontal than many photos which show them more up at a 45 degree angle behind the seat. Dropping the front straps down the seatpost a bit would probably help with the angle.

I’ll have a play when I have time to get the bike out again (wife is away this weekend so I am on parent duty)

[belugabob]

I've not seen a limo seatpack but, despite being a fan of their kit, I suspect that the swaying is due to them not using the same strap arrangement as the wildcat seatpack.
I've not seen any other packs that do it the same way as wildcat - maybe it's patented?

[nagasaki45]

Dug through my sewing spares today and no nexus buckles. Will order some and let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the help again!
Tom

[nagasaki45]

Just got back from the South Downs Way. The ITW Nexus performed flawlessly. No more sudden releases when dropping the rear wheel or while tightening the straps. Thanks for the suggestion again Shewie

[stevenshand]

Late to the party but the 20mm ones we (Wildcat) use are YKK.

https://www.ykkfastening.com/products/s ... did1=LB-MV

Steven

[nagasaki45]

Late to the party but the 20mm ones we (Wildcat) use are YKK.

https://www.ykkfastening.com/products/s ... did1=LB-MV

Steven

Good to know! Wasn't aware YKK are doing buckles. Happy with the nexus (and got spares), but since getting the wildcat harness every other buckle is compared to these. Top quality

[arkay]

Just to illustrate what I mean about the buckles. The top part of the strap seems too long to really get it tight, as even when you pull the bottom strap as tight as it will go, there is still a bit of slack.



I sort-of fixed it by wrapping the top strap round the saddle rail to shorten it:



which allows for more tightening and less swayage:



But it still feels like a bit of a bodge job. Or is that how the straps are meant to go anyway?

(PS I know the pack is not packed very well in these pics!)

[nagasaki45]

(PS I know the pack is not packed very well in these pics!)

I think that's the key thing here. I get the straps quite close to the limit as well so stuffing the bag better is the key. Also, there's a chance that your straps are just a tad too long. Shortening them is not that complicated.