Homemade Accessories for Bikes

[Tony Lockhart]

Hello all and Happy Thanksgiving! I just wanted to see if anyone else in the Riv community enjoys making accessories for their bikes. If this is the case, I'd love to see what innovative things you've made. In the meantime, I'll post some images of things that I've made.

During the past 2 years, I have been trying to perfect the rando bag but ultimately have been displeased with its lack of sturdiness. I enjoy making them, using them for a while, then gifting them to other cycling friends--this is great because it constantly gives me the opportunity to make new bags. While rando bags look great, I have yet to make one as versatile as a Wald basket. And after many years of debate, I have decided to stick with my Wald. With that in mind, I missed the tool pockets typically found at the back of a rando bag. So, I recently decided to create a couple of pouches to hang on the back side of my basket.

Both pouches are 2 inches deep, 4 inches wide, and 5 inches high. There is also an extra 3 inches of flap available if I try to over-stuff the pouches. It was relatively easy to construct these little bags because canvas is such a forgiving material to work with. I have plastic stiffeners inside the bags (very similar to the ones in Acorn bags) and velcro attachments to keep everything in place. While these dimensions may seem small, I have all of my tools in the left pouch (inner tube, patch kit, multi tool, a pair of CO2 cartridges, 3 tire levers, zip ties, and 4 Irish straps). The pouch on the right is used to keep my cell phone, garage clicker, and keys; there is quite a bit of space left for snacks, a saddle cover, and a bandana. I'd love to see the folks at Riv create some Sackville versions of these because they're extremely versatile.

Have a look--I am attaching JPEG images to this post. Also, I'd love to see any other accessories people make for their bikes.

[Jim Cloud]

Hi Tony, and Happy Thanksgiving to you! I think you've come up with
an interesting way to increase the utility of your Wald basket.
You're apparently much more adept than me with sewing custom bags1

Jim

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[Robert Barr]

Tony, My sewing abilities are limited to buttons and emergency tear repair, so I have used a small camera case in much the same fashion. Your end product is much nicer. Bob

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[Roger]

It's a pretty minor thing, but I made a rubber mudflap.
The local hardware store sold sheets big enough for 3 of these as rubber gasket material in the plumbing department.


Roger

[Tony Lockhart]

Jim and Robert--thanks for the compliments!


Roger, I'm really liking the mudflap that you created. The color looks good too...matches the saddle and frame color well.

[islaysteve]

Tony, Do you use a standard sewing machine or a heavy-duty one? I've made a few (non-bike) items with cordura and other heavier fabrics but with mixed results. I'm not sure how well my portable would handle proper canvas. Cheers, Steve

[Tony Lockhart]

I currently use a standard sewing machine so I'm limited to materials. It would be nice to work with leather but I'm not there yet.The machine I use now allows me to sew up to 5 layers of canvas or cordura, but after that, the needle tends to get stuck. In my experiences, it's almost better to use a thinner needle, shorter stitch length, and lighter thread when working with these fabrics.

[Andy Smitty Schmidt]

The little basket-mounted pouches are a cool idea. I've been thinking of making the same sort of thing but a little larger for the box on my Bakfiets. It's funny... the Bakfiets has got a cargo box big enough for an adult or 4 small children to ride in but I'm often at a loss for a good place to put small items like a camera or sunglasses.   

As far as stuff that's actually gone beyond an idea... 

The kid seat comes and goes but the leather mud flap is always on my Homer. The wife has an almost matching kid seat and mud flap on her Betty Foy

I replaced the snaps on my Slickersack with turn buttons so it'd be easier to go on/off with stuff in the bag. 

This little deal gets the light out in front of my basket 'cause the beam from the handlebar mounted light was obscured when I had stuff in the basket

I think my coolest homemade bike accessory is the double kid seat for my Big Dummy. I love my Homer and have great adventures on my Riv, but the good (and bad) times I have sharing the bike with my kids are the stuff I'll smile about on my deathbed.  

--Andy 

[Pam Ellen Hudson]

I too tried making a bag . . . I discuss it on my blog - I don't have a Riv Bike (but do have a handmade mixte frame). .  . .

Here is the link . . http://pammieandtheps.blogspot.com/2012/10/attempt-at-bike-saddlebag.html

By they way, I've since changed to bar end shifters and a different brake handlebar set (guidonnet). . .

Bags are much harder than they look, by the way:)

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[Tony Lockhart]

Andy, Pammie, and Eric: Those are some awesome creations! Great job!





On Tuesday, December 4, 2012 11:53:08 AM UTC-8, EGNolan wrote:

Andy-

 

Your bike, which I found on Google somehow, was the reason I did this  http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericgnolan/8064314062/in/photostream ; much more crude. If I had any sewing abilities I'd make a seat similar to yours, but I found an old saddle works well.

 

-Eric

[ekoral]

Andy! nice stuff. The turn buttons are a particularly nice addition. Did you already have all the leatherworking tools? Or was this project an excuse to buy tools? (I adore those kind of projects).

Eli

[Earl Grey]

I haven't made anything from scratch, but I made a "banana bag" that I really like out of a Swiss Army gasmask bag. Cut two holes for the straps and sewed around the edges to stop fraying, sewed the bottom corners together to narrow the bag for thigh clearance, and cut off the straps and attached D rings. The original strap can be re-attached for off-bike carrying, but I think I haven't removed the bag once since I made it 3 years ago. I bought several more of these bags for my other bikes, but haven't gotten around to making more.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gernothuber/

Cheers,

Gernot 

Thailand

[Andy Smitty Schmidt]

That's a great modification, Gernot. I really like the taper.

--Andy

[Greg J]

I haven't attempted this yet, but I have been thinking about hacking together a locking metal or plastic box for the bike.  Something like the Keven's bag, but with a lock. I usually leave my bike locked in the secure parking garage in my building, but even still I don't like the idea of leaving my small toolkit/tube/misc. in a bag, which may be too tempting for the wrong person. 

Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I could find a lightweight locking box?

Greg
Oakland, CA

On Thursday, November 22, 2012 11:05:20 AM UTC-8, Tony Lockhart wrote:

[William]

Try a Pelican case?  They come in ALL sizes.  

[rperks]

Aside from the bags and other things I make here in the workshop, I tend to use wooden dowels to prototype ideas for different light and accessory mounts.  You can see a couple of ideas here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rperks1/sets/72157625108813685/
Wood is light, easy to shape with saws and files and will last an amazingly long time even when uncoated.  More than a few of these prototypes have just ended up staying in service for years.

Rob
oceanaircycles.com
Ventura, Ca

On Thursday, November 22, 2012 11:05:20 AM UTC-8, Tony Lockhart wrote: