Home made bike bag

[mingus]

Do you guys use regular sewing machines for constructing bike bags or do you need something with a bit more power?

[Outsider]

I made mine using a regular Pfaff sewing machine without problems.

[12wheels]

I use a 25 year old Singer.   

[DaveC]

A regular machine is fine.  Ideally one that can do auto-bartacking.  Use the fattest needle and poly thread that will fit your machine.

[sean salach]

I bought the cheapest sewing machine they had at Joann's Fabrics. I think it $110 or something. I knocked the timing out once using too heavy of a thread, but other than that it's held up fine. If I'm sewing through several layers of thicker fabrics(velcro+webbing+2 layers of cordura) for short stretches I'll 'walk' it through using the hand wheel, same for really tight corners where I would otherwise be really likely to bend a needle.

If you don't have any experience sewing, get something cheap off of craigslist. You're probably looking at a minimum of $45 for any professional sewing machine repair, so start cheap and toss it when/if it breaks.

[sean salach]

Since this seems to have turned into the homemade gear thread, I'll throw my latest creation up here:





Next to my OR 32oz nalgene jacket for size reference
It's a bottle jacket sized for a 24 oz Polar bottle, hence the height. It's got twice the amount of insulation as the standard nalgene jacket. This is actually a second generation reconstruction of what were originally insulated 'cooler' tote bags, then became pogies, and now one of those pogies has been reduced to this. Zipper came from the surveying vest that was butchered for my frame bag pockets. Here's the thread on akspokes for their original repurposing: http://akspokes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1136

I really liked how secure the OR velcro straps are, but like the length of the Nalgene jacket's velcro straps, so I combined them. The webbing velcro loops over whatever it's attached to, attaches back to itself, and then there's an additional flap at the bottom that secures to the backside of the velcro/webbing. I also sewed the webbing to the jacket in sections, so that there're gaps for tethering the jacket to a rack or another bottle to keep it from swaying. Works pretty well for one handed operation while riding.

For a test, I filled a polar bottle 3/4 with warm water and stuck it in the freezer. @20 hrs later there was a thin layer of ice, but I was still able to drink out of it. Once I've finished sealing up the inside, the insulation should work even better.

Current construction is, from inside out:
Double wrap of "therma flect"
Double wrap of closed cell foam(1/8" or 1/4" I think), 5 layers of it in the lid.
Whatever that green fabric is. It's recycled and waterproof, soft to the touch.
The brown stuff is pack cloth with a rubber or heavy urethane coated back.

I'll be adding a layer of coated ripstop on the inside to add a little abrasion protection from the bottle to the thermaflect.

Sewing the ends onto a cylinder shape is a royal pain in the a$$ for a hack like me. I had to take apart and resew the bottom twice.

[GreenBikeGuy]

This thread is getting to be a REAL argument for putting Home Ec back in school!  Nice work, everybody.

[DaveC]

This thread is getting to be a REAL argument for putting Home Ec back in school!  Nice work, everybody.

I had HomeEc in 8th grade.  I just remember making a pink fuzzy stuffed guitar from a kit and going to class high alot.

[DaveC]

A few recently completed projects.

First, a full frame bag for the Karate Monkey.



Full two-way zip on the top, short zip on the DT, partial stretch divider in the middle, two interior mesh pockets for tools and food.

Second, another pack (based on the guts of a Talon 22).

[sean salach]

I like that backpack!

Update on my frame bag:

It held up to the Ultrasport this year just fine. Not a whimper. It fit my Fatback 20" frame pretty well. I was a little worried about the stitching going through the tussocks in the burn, but it never even appeared to be in any stress. I think perhaps the fuller it is vertically(with gear), the less stress there's gonna be on the seams, since it will be largely self supporting and the straps will mainly be keeping it aligned with the frame.

[sean salach]

nice recycling effort Sean.
FYI - Good quality scissors work fine through the spectra

Gingher 10" knife edge shears

I can now confirm this. Just got myself a pair of Gingher 8" knife edge shears and they cut through the spectra fibers with ease. Thanks Eric!

[VABikePacker]

Kudos @Eric for some tips in here too.  (Just IMHO - he coulda said absolutely nothing in here, but, instead, he chose to throw some tips our way....that's WAY cool of him...)

[bmike-vt]

sources for materials?
I see quest outfitters listed in a few threads...

any place to find the cool stuff eric is using - the dimension polyant vx stuff?

[trebor]

Polyant can be purchased directly from the manufacturer. They have a US office and I have purchased several yards from them this year.

Hale Walcoff
DIMENSION-POLYANT, Inc
78 Highland Drive
Putnam, CT   06260, USA
Toll Free                 +1 800-441-2424

[james-o]

great tips here..

has anyone used sail cloth for frame bags? I have an old Lazer dinghy sail and feel inspired to try a saddle bag and a bar-roller..

[trebor]

this is my sail cloth frame bag.

[trebor]

and sail cloth seat bag

[james-o]

really nice, thanks for posting. I need to try to figure out the cuts for that seatbag style, will ask here if I get stuch! Did you use a sewing machine or a sail needle? I'm in no rush.. frame's gonna be a while.

[bmike-vt]

curious as to the thread and thread weight used for working with the sail cloth...
and nice looking bag trebor!

[trebor]

Guttermann Extra Strong. Regular gutterman I've had break on a few occations. So I use extra strong now. The blue cloth is the VX42 Polyant and it sews really well. I also have some VX21 and it is lighter and works well - but for a small penalty in weight the 42 is stronger and a little easier to work with.