Thinking about making/selling UL bike gear…

[Tim Zen]

JP — who makes your bicycle? TIA.

[Jordo _99]

Actually, I built it up from scratch.

I ordered the frameset (Dengfu FM098) and wheels (FarSports FSC50-CM) via group buys on VeloBuild…basically a bunch of people get a company-discount from the asian supplier but the supplier ships them out individually. I bought the most of the components from forum classifieds(slowtwitch) and ebay. A couple brand new items but most were lightly used or take-off parts.

If you want to know more about the bike I'd suggest checking out this link: http://velobuild.com/6-build-photos/2044-jordo-99-fm098-build

[Ethan Fineout]

I'd be part of the market. I have been using DonkeyBoxx panniers that I cut the lid off of. I had Joe Valesko at Z packs make two custom fit cuben roll top bags that fit into the panniers. The panniers are really light (not so much aerodynamic at all) and could be ridiculously light if the one piece of metal were titanium instead of steel (the top of the box has a piece of steel running around all four sides to keep the box "squared". I also had Joe modify his cuben rain jacket to make it a bike jacket. I based the mods requested on a Showers Pass design. Basically I ha him add length to the sleeves, and add a drop tail. I haven't weighed it yet but I'm assuming it is pretty much the lightest cycling rain jacket out there. I have been thinking that a cycling poncho (or "cape" I think they sometimes call them) out of cuben would be great. They look ridiculous but keep you, your bike, and a certain amount of gear (whatever is on your handlebars, downtube, top tube) dry.

I think currogated plastic is a great thing to look at using. Super cheap, sturdy as all hell, lightweight. The best part is that you can get the price down to the point where you really don't mind replacing it if it is stolen or trashed. You could probably do a great handlebar box with it and attach it with zip ties

[Jordo _99]

…I've been in the process of moving to a new house so this has been put on hold for about a week…should be picking up again in a few days though…also I had put together another "test bag" that I'll be making a plastic insert for to stiffen up the bag and that will be the first thing I do.

On a side note…I'm thinking I'll be moving my progress reports to a blog I'm going to set up. I've got a couple different forums and the likes that I'm trying to juggle updates across and it's just proving to be a lot more work than a blog would be…plus I think a blog would be much more helpful in the long run.

Anyway, I'll keep posting updates until I get something set up.

[Jason Elsworth]

More Cuben gear from Porcelain Rocket

http://www.flickr.com/photos/porcelainrocket/8917892955/in/photostream/lightbox/. Seat post bag, handle bar bag and frame bag.

[Jordo _99]

That looks really good. I'm always a bit surprised how every seat bag is designed the same way though…makes me start to 2nd guess how I'm looking at it but my design is close enough that it wouldn't take much to modify it to match the standard.

Update: This project has been put on the back burner again…basically I'm in a temporary living situation where a friend put me up for 2 months so I could avoid a short-term lease. I'm trying to keep from being intrusive and taking over a room to do some sewing and stuff just doesn't seem respectful.

Definitely still very interested in doing this but unfortunately things keep getting in the way.

[Jordo _99]

I thought I'd bring this thread back to life…I've not yet transitioned to cuben yet but I finished up a matching seatbag and frame bag out of X-Pac this week.

I wish I would've kept updating this thread with my progress but I'd had a ton of stuff going on in my life that didn't allow for me to spend time on this and I finally picked it up again 2 weeks ago. I made 2-3 prototypes and now I'm showing the final "rugged" version. I don't have weights yet but I don't expect them to be terribly heavy (probably a pound for all 3 bags — need to make a handlebar bag still):

Here's the final prototype I did before switching to X-Pac:

Here's the final version…very similar to the Revelate Designs seatbag.

In the seatbag (~85oz total):
Summer sleeping bag (Queen bedsheet) — Already ordered some materials to make an UL liner (will pack much smaller and weigh 1/3 as much as my beds heet)
MYOG 2P tent (47oz complete)

In the framebag:
Empty in the pictures but I'll be storing my food and water treatment in there.

Handlebar bag will carry my cookset, sleeping pad and extra clothes.

I also realized that I wouldn't need a handlebar bag if I opted to use my hammock instead of the tent. My hammock and tarp take up slightly less space than the tent and I could fit my cookset in the seatbag as well. Then just keep spare clothes in my jersey pockets or in a "gas tank" bag.

Future plans:
– Develop/create a handlebar bag out of X-Pac
– Take bags to Ragbrai and BRAN (Nebraska's version of RAGBRAI)
– Make a framebag for my commuter/touring bike
– Make another set of bags out of Cuben
– Make a cuben "gas tank" bag that sits on above the top-tube just behind the stem/headtube.
– Re-evaluate and improve my mini-seatbags and offer them for sale online and promote them locally.

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