Shock cord arrangement ideas for the Baggins handlebar bag

[William]

I acquired here on the list a handlebar bag setup that I have installed on my commuter bike.  It's a Nitto F-15 front rack ( http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/r8.htm ) and it came with a Baggins handlebar bag made to fit the rack.  

The bag has some brass loops and a couple of hooks to keep the lid closed with a shock cord.  The bag, however, came with no shock cord.  I have a bunch of shock cord on hand for repairing tent poles, so, I'm going to go ahead and invent my own arrangement, but I was curious if anyone can remember or show me what the original arrangement was supposed to be? 

The best clue I could find was this flickr photo:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9180352@N06/1806202651/

The other constraint I have is that the center leather tap thing with the Baggins logo has no brass ring.  My first instinct is to just do two short runs of cord.  Each cord will tie to two loops, and I'll stretch that cord over one hook.  Are there any old photos from old Readers?  None of this is rocket surgery, so please, no extreme efforts.  

[Frank]

William,

I do this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pguillam/7538383796/in/photostream

I don't even mess with the flap, though I used to simply run a piece of elastic tied to the two brass loops, and then hook it over the brass hook on the tab. The elastic wore out, and it didn't seem necessary, so I never replaced it. My approach is to simply release the adjustable cord stop, and once the tension is off, to pull it through the doubled cord. To secure, reverse the process, and thread the stop through the looped cord, then pull it tight, using the stop as the "latch". Cheap, easy, and I've used it this way for years with no trouble.

Frank

[William]

Thanks Frank.  I tied together something that I'll try for a bit, and maybe give this a shot, too.  Threading shock cords will give me something to do on the BART train home.  

Bill

[Jim Cloud]

William,

I just took a couple of photos from the original Rivendell catalogs of
the Baggins handlebar bag. These photos may allow you to see how the
closure system was originally designed. It's obvious that there would
be more than one way to use the elastic cords and barrel cord locks to
secure the top. Here's the photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37964304@N05/sets/72157630504415628/

I'll keep these photos available for a period on my Flickr
photostream, but they'll be deleted eventually. I hope you find them
useful.

Jim Cloud
Tucson, AZ

On Jul 9, 12:09 pm, William <tapebu...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I acquired here on the list a handlebar bag setup that I have installed on

> my commuter bike.  It's a Nitto F-15 front rack (http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/r8.htm) and it came with a Baggins

> handlebar bag made to fit the rack.
>
> The bag has some brass loops and a couple of hooks to keep the lid closed
> with a shock cord.  The bag, however, came with no shock cord.  I have a
> bunch of shock cord on hand for repairing tent poles, so, I'm going to go
> ahead and invent my own arrangement, but I was curious if anyone can
> remember or show me what the original arrangement was supposed to be?
>
> The best clue I could find was this flickr photo:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9180352@N06/1806202651/
>

> <http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2327/1806202651_e042ec29ee_n.jpg>

[William]

Cute!  Thanks Jim!  I've downloaded both and saved 'em.  So you can pull yours down anytime.  

[William]

I went with two separate shock cords.  One for the left and one for the right.  I did not loop it over the top at all.

Pictures tell the story better than I could describe

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45758191@N04/7544704434/in/photostream 

The next several shots in my photostream show how I close the bag.

Testimonial for the F-15 rack.  I am blown away how rigid that thing is.  I was not expecting it to be very rigid, with that tuning fork design, I was expecting to see the thing bounce all over the place, like those bent steel ones we've all seen in the 70's and 80's.  This rack is freaking solid.  I am really really impressed with it.  

[Jim Cloud]

I agree that the Nitto F-15 rack is very solid. It also mounts on a
handlebar without marring the bar in any way, which isn't often the
case.

Some of the Japanese bag makers (e.g. guu Watanabe) use the F-15 for a
handlebar bag. With the exchange rate of the Yen-to-Dollar these bags
are very expensive however. Here's a link that shows a bag from guu
Watanabe with the F-15 rack: http://www.guu-watanabe.com/frontretroe.html

Jim Cloud
Tucson, AZ

[Thomas Lynn Skean]

Yeah... someday when my ship has come in... when I can toss thousands around here and there...  when I'd say "you know, this Hillborne'd be perfect if it were a 60.5cm frame and its fork had 3mm less trail... so make me a custom!"...  when I can roll out my 7cm-14cm Nitto lugged steel stem collection like a set of allen wrenches... at that point I'd purchase an F-15-compatible handlebar bag from Guu Watanabe and feel great about it. Guu Watanabe bags just look sooo good.

 

Mind you, I'm not saying I'll wait 'til then. I may just do it and get the hell over not feeling great about it. But for now I resist!

 

(Oh, and I'd also want a full set of panniers and a couple of rack trunks and maybe I'd buy a Brompton so I could get one of their front bags for it.)

 

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

[William]

You know me, Thomas.  I'm going to go the opposite direction....I'm going to make my own F-15 compatible bag/box out of corroplast.  :)

I've made two corroplast handlebar bags already, and plan on making stiffeners for this floppy Baggins bag.  An F-15 compatible corroplast box will be next.  

Bill

[Thomas Lynn Skean]

Hee hee!

 

Well, don't expect to win "Best in Show" with your results. But let no one deny the sheer Value of your CorroBoxyPlastyBarRack Bag!

 

I think Rixen & Kaul make a less expensive (and frankly more versatile) version of the Nitto F-15. Might want to check it out :)

 

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

[William]

Speaking of plastic bike bags, I saw this product at Missing Link.  The Donkey Boxx.  I think it's brilliant.

$20 for a waterproof recycleable and personalizeable pannier.  I love it!

[Joe Broach]

This thread reminded me that I have a Boxy + F15 + map case on the shelf. Make me an offer if you're interested in the set!

https://picasaweb.google.com/joebroach/BikeStuffForSale

Best,

joe broach

portland, or

[William]

Nice comment on your final photo, that the bag offers the opportunity to fashion an L-shaped stiffener.  I just got back from Lowe's with a sheet of corroplast to do precisely that!

[Joe Broach]

Bag has been claimed. Thanks!  -joe