carrying stuff by bike Archives

I am not a gun nut, but this build was inspired by this comic and conversation:

@BillLindeke @Minneapolize maybe I can get my conceal & carry before open streets and show up like this pic.twitter.com/GLYFnwianM
— Justin Fœll (@justinfoell) June 19, 2013

Looking at it made me think that a similar, but more useful application of vertical bike rack storage, would be for fishing rods. Moore Lake is just down the hill from where I live, and it’s stocked with Bluegills and Bass 🎣

I made this fishing rod holder that attaches to my bike rack for less than $20, mostly from scraps I had in the garage. It holds four rods, but you could adjust it for as many as you’d like, as long as your bike rack setup will accommodate them.

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Materials

This is everything I used for this build:

1-1/4″ PVC Pipe – find a scrap piece to get it cheap
1-1/4″ PVC Coupling(s) – one for every rod you want to hold
Tube Strap(s) for 1 1/4″ PVC – one for every rod holder
PVC Primer & Cement
1/2″ thick plywood or fiberboard – I had a scrap laying around, you can get a small 2’x4′ project panel if you don’t have any scraps.
#10 x 1/2″ sheet metal screws
#10 x 3/4″ sheet metal screws
Steel sheet metal – I had a scrap laying around. It doesn’t need to be thick – it’s just used to stick to the bike rack magnet.
3D printed rack hooks – If you don’t have access to a 3D printer, comment below if you’d like me to make one and mail it

PVC Construction

I chose 1-1/4″ PVC because all of our rod handles will fit into that size pipe – you should test fit your thickest fishing rod before you buy.

I attached a PVC coupling to the pipe and then cut the pipe (with the coupling attached) using a hacksaw to 9 inches. This was both the size of my scrap wood and the size of the longest rod handle. You should go longer if your handles are longer than 9 inches.

To make a permanent connection, I used PVC primer and cement to bond the couplers to the pipes.

The couplers are there to serve as stops for the tubing straps – so they don’t fall through them.

To fasten the tube straps to the board I used #10 x 1/2″ sheet metal screws. I pre-drilled holes in the wood with a 1/8″ drill bit, then used a screwdriver on the screws.

I designed 3D printed hangers because I couldn’t find any readily available hooks that I liked at the hardware store. I like Topeak racks because of how their bag systems attach. I designed the hangars to conform to the Topeak’s 10mm rod construction – which I believe is a standard size for many bike racks.

To fasten the hangers to the board, I used #10 x 3/4″ sheet metal screws.

Backing and Hangars

The board I used was some leftover 1/2″ plywood. Mine was 9″ wide so I went with that – luckily that’s how long our rod handles are. You can cut the width to however many rods you want to hold. For my 4 rod holders it wound up being 15″x9″.

To make sure everything lines up well on the back, I used my Thule panniers as an example. The metal plate that sticks to the magnet is approximately 9″x4″ – so I cut a piece of sheet metal that size. You can use a hacksaw to (slowly) cut it. I used a cutting wheel to make quick work.

I also used the Thule pannier as a reference to gauge the placement of the metal backing position relative to the hangers so they’d be generally in the right place. It will ensure the steel plate is the right place so it will line up with the rack magnet without having to move it around on the rack.

I used 3/4″ screws to fasten the hangers, and 1/2″ screws to hold the steel plate. I pre-drilled the steel with a 3/16″ drill bit, and the wood with a 1/8″ one.

The hangers are 3D printed. If you don’t have access to a 3D printer, comment below and I’ll get in touch with you to send a set your way.

That’s it!

Gone Fishin’

There’s no provisions on this rack for bait and tackle, but you can use the opposite side of the rack for a pannier, or just put your bait and tackle in a backpack.

When I’m fishing while paddling, I keep a very small tackle box on the boat with me, and that is also perfect for local fishing by bike.

Usability tips

Riding around with 6-foot fishing poles is like riding around with a whip antenna – it’s real tall. Just beware of any low tunnels or doorways, tree branches, etc.

Also, you’re not going to be able to put a leg over the back like you normally would. A pole (and hooks) will prevent you from doing that. Be mindful while you’re getting on and off.

I (perhaps stupidly) tried out the purple worm seen in my tackle box above – set up as a Texas Rig. I felt some serious bites, but I didn’t land anything. In the end I’m lucky because I didn’t bring a net if I actually had caught a tenacious bass.

While I didn’t bring one, you could certainly put a net in one of the holders. This is more of a catch-and-release type of rig, and I wasn’t planning on any big bites my first time out, just a couple of sunfish 🐟

Want a set of 3D printed bike rack hangers for your DIY project? Comment below so we can connect!

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Milk crates were surely one of the first accessories ever strapped to a bicycle. It’s the simplest way to add significant carrying capacity to any bike. One of the first things I did when I got my bike was add a rack and a milk crate – but I wasn’t quite smart about it.

I wanted the crate to be removable, so rather than securing it with zip ties, I recycled some old tire tubes and inter-wove them with the rack and the holes in the crate. It seemed pretty solid, so I thought I’d make a trip to the liquor store. The problem with the tubes is they’re made of rubber, so they stretch. They stretch a little too much for a beer-laden milk crate.

When I got out of the saddle, rocking the bike ever so slightly was enough to stretch the tubes, and send my beers flying. I burst some Surly’s halfway home. Lesson learned.
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Going to get some of these to do a review: Thule Commuter Pannier Set http://t.co/6liw3aLNLa @Commute_by_Bike

— Justin Fœll (@justinfoell) October 12, 2014

A year and a half after I purchased these bags, it’s time for a review. You can’t buy them anymore, but this is more of a review of panniers in general. I used to ride with a backpack. It works (and is good for laptop shock absorption), but be prepared to have an instantly sweaty back. I can’t walk up a flight of stairs with a backpack on and not start to feel damp 🙂 Getting the bag off of my back and on to the rack on my bike is a huge win for comfort and convenience.

Find your dirtbike #pressnomics pic.twitter.com/1mSA3MClZ5

— Justin Fœll (@justinfoell) January 22, 2015

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These Thule bags were a steal at $120 for the pair. Most decent panniers cost this much just for one! They were a deal because Thule discontinued this model. The replacement bag is a “unidirectional” one that can go on either the left or right side of the bike rack, whereas the ones I got are specifically made for left and right sides – they are slightly narrower towards the front of the bike.

The Thule bags have a pretty rad feature where you can “flip” and hide the rack attachment hardware and carry it as a normal-looking handbag, or add the included strap and wear it as a shoulder bag or backpack.

With my new job, I use one everyday to carry my laptop to work. The other bag, sadly sits idle most of the time as I only need one for what I’m carrying. They came as a pair and at the time of purchase I was thinking about all of the epic bike adventures I’d be going on, with both bags packed to the hilt. Carry all the things!

All The Things!

I will use both for something like another bike camping trip, but for day-to-day commuting, just one is great.

I have racks on both my road bike and my mountain bike (which is really more of a kid-hauler than a mountain bike). I like my Topeak racks because they have a secure mounting system and Topeak offers several attachments. The Thule panniers fit nicely on both of my racks despite their differing thickness of tubing. You cannot, however, attach a top mounted Topeak trunk bag and the panniers on the side at the same time – they interfere with each other. I plan on devising something that can go on the top while both panniers are on with some spare parts, but that will have to wait for later.

Carrying Laptops

100 years ago, when spinning hard drives in laptops were the norm, there were several creative ways to carry your laptop in a pannier. Solutions from suspension to excess padding were employed to ensure you didn’t jar the hard drive beyond its shock tolerance. I’ve gone the other way and simply purchased a laptop with a solid-state drive instead of a spinning disk. I lined the bottom of my panniers with a bit of bubble-wrap left over from a mailer, just to prevent any dents when I’m doing sweet jumps.

While the bags aren’t waterproof they come with a waterproof cover. I’ve only used the cover once (in a total downpour). Normally I can just ride home quickly in a sprinkle, because it’s only one mile to work 😎 The covers stow inside each bag and are easily added:

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I like to tell the joke on bike to work day, “I’d ride my bike to work, but my wife doesn’t like it when I ride in the house.” I have worked remotely (at home) for several companies for the better part of 7 years. I consider myself an adept remote worker. When a friend of mine offered me to work with him, you’d think I’d think twice about the set-up.

Go into the office? Why?!? Well, first of all, going into the office is optional, I can still work from home. But I can also get away from any home distractions, which are surprisingly few as I’ve managed them over the years. However, I like the in-person conversations I’ve missed over the last 7 years.

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The monitor on my desk at the office is 27″, so I’ve got that goin for me. But I think the primary consideration for me was the location. The office is exactly 1 mile from my house. It is also entirely downhill 😎 I now have the opportunity to become a full-time bike commuter as there are literally zero excuses. Some people think I’m crazy because I have a perfectly good car. But riding to work really hasn’t been bad even on the shortest and coldest Minnesota days.

I specifically recall riding home on December 21st, the shortest day of the year. I left at 5PM and while the sun was already down, the twilight of dusk was nice enough to provide me with a pleasant ride home. I did have to ride with lights, it just didn’t seem like the middle of the night .

My first ride in 2016

To clarify, I don’t ride into work every day. I enjoy biking and I’m an evangelist but not a hard-liner. If I’ve got to go somewhere far right after work, I’m going to drive in.

I procrastinated riding in during my first full week at work in 2016. We finally got some big snowfalls over the holidays. I was driving in because I hadn’t yet switched over to studded tires on my bike. I finally mounted the tires so I could ride in by Friday. I got up early to make sure I had enough air in the freshly swapped tires, fastened on my pannier and rode off. The ride in was great, a little snowy but the cloud cover meant it was comparatively warm.

At work a couple of coworkers admired my bike and were astonished I’d ridden in on a snowy day. It took one co-worker over an hour to drive in to the office – bleh!

Later that morning, there was a loud bang that came from near the front door that sounded like a gunshot. A woman from the neighboring company that sits closest to our entrance door screamed. I (and several co-workers) wondered aloud what it was. One of the concerns was that there was a shooter in the building. My friend Tom, who’s dad owned a gun range, remarked that it sounded like “AD” – accidental discharge. One of our coworkers apparently conceals and carries, and while he was on vacation Tom wondered if he had come back a day early.

I certainly did not rush to the entrance since there was a possibility of firearms involved. I was actually concerned about those who were getting up to investigate. Then someone reported back that it was my bike tire that exploded!

bike-tire-exploded — You can just patch that up

We all had theories about the expansion of gases since my bike was pumped up outside and was now being stored inside, but I don’t think that is entirely to blame since it wasn’t really that cold – ≈24°F. Luckily I came prepared with an extra tube and a C02 cartridge. I installed the new tube at lunch and filled it up so I could ride home alive and not shot dead. But when I left that afternoon my spare had gone flat as well. I hitched a ride with a coworker who was also still alive and not shot dead.

My suspicion is that it was a combination of things that caused the explosion. First there was obviously something sharp touching the tube (because of the 2nd flat). Over the weekend I checked the pressure of the rear tire with a gauge separate from the one on the bike pump, it was over-inflated. I think the 2nd factor was that the bike pump gauge was somewhat frozen, not fully reading however much I actually pumped into the tire. I purchased two new tubes and some new rim tape since the 2nd (patch-able) puncture on my spare tube was near the valve stem.

Live and learn. I’m just glad I’m still around to tell about it.

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I have a single speed bike. I chose a single speed for it’s simplicity. I just get on it and pedal. It has suited me well for about 6 years. The only thing that has changed is kids.

These darn kids, they start at 6 or 7 pounds and eat and grow, and grow and eat and never seem to stop! I used to carry Jules on the back of my bike in a babyseat that attaches to the rear rack. Then Marlo came along and I had the opportunity to buy a Chariot trailer from my friend whose two kids were now riding on their own.

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With the added drag of the trailer, and the additional weight of two kids, I found myself doing the walk of shame up steep hills more often than not. I needed another gear, but I’m fond of my good ol’ Redline 29er.

There were a couple of options:

Nuvinci N360 (which I still might get if I save my duckets)
Sturmey Archer 2-speed hub like the S2
SRAM Automatix

I chose the SRAM Automatix because it’s inexpensive, and it’s hackable. There are a few articles out there outlining how to change the shift point on the SRAM Automatix, so I won’t go into the mechanical detail on how to do it. You can read those articles for instructions.

Regular Gear + High Gear

Most people are “unwinding” the shift spring to give the Automatix a shift point at a greater speed. This allows them to have a “normal” gear and then a “high gear” for puttin’ the spurs to it.

I actually wanted to do the opposite.

Low Gear + Regular Gear

I wanted the shift point to be lower, so that I can use the low gear under 10mph for climbing and the high (regular) gear for “normal” cruising.

Trying to get a comfortable shift-point on the Automatix can be tricky because there are a number of factors that determine which speed it shifts at. First is wheel size – the shift point is based on rotation speed, so it will shift at a much faster moving speed on a small-wheeled folding bike than on a 29er. The larger wheel will take you farther per rotation.

You also want it to jive with your cadence. On my 29er with the stock 34t crankset, it shifted at about 14mph. My cadence was ridiculously high at that point.

To get the low-speed gearing right, I switched from the stock 19 tooth to a 20 tooth gear. This gave me the stock mountain bike, low-gear ratio that my Redline came with. Great for going up hills.

I needed to “wind” the shift spring just a tiny bit to bring the shift point down. It doesn’t take much when winding, as winding the spring actually loosens the pressure it puts on the shifting mechanism. Less than 45° did it for me

That change was enough to put the shift point at about 10.5MPH on by bike, which is a good balance for slogging up hills, and just cruisin’. Now I only have to do the walk of shame on the steepest inclines.

← Summary Only

Justin Foell

Technology, Bicycling, Hobbies, Kids, Life.

Tag Archives: carrying stuff by bike

Carrying stuff by bike: fishing rods

Materials

PVC Construction

Backing and Hangars

Gone Fishin’

Usability tips

Carrying stuff by bike: milk crate

Topeak TrolleyTote

Extra Features

Carrying stuff by bike: panniers

Carrying Laptops

New Job, biking to work, I didn’t die

My first ride in 2016

SRAM Automatix on my 29er

Regular Gear + High Gear

Low Gear + Regular Gear