Bicycle bag for electrician

[londonbikerider]

A while ago, I had been using a large shoe-bag that was found very cheap in a generic store, it was aabout 15" x 10" x 8" and its dark grey color made it look like a small breeze-block but the regular shape made it capable to carry a lot of stuff. The other half was kind enough to stitch some velcro on the back, and it did the job.

You could further separate the tools with some tool-rolls, perhaps? I keep some of the DIY tools in dedicated rolls, they're cheap and nothing can go wrong with them.

[keyboardmonkey]

I'd suggest that it would be a lot cheaper to use something intended primarily for carrying tools and adapt it to fit on a bike rather than the other way round.

I like this idea and have identified a couple of tool bags which could maybe be converted into panniers. I see some of the pannier designs have a metal bar arrangement which you clip over the rack. Is to it possible to buy these parts for fitting to your own bag?

My Carradice Super C panniers use a metal rail. You can buy lots of fittings from Carradice but not, it seems, the ‘channel’ that you would need.

Super C pannier fittings

‘Channel’

My discontinued Altura Skye panniers (pictured also upthread) use Rixen & Kaul fittings that are still made...

Altura Skye panniers with Rixen & Kaul fittings

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/luggage/alt ... qr-button/

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/luggage/rix ... k-inserts/

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/luggage/alt ... rail-hook/

You would need to customise a sheet of plywood/thick plastic or whatever to place inside your bag to fasten to, but I’m 99% certain you could pick up all the R&K fittings you need for ONE bag/pannier for less than £25 inc. P&P.

[londonbikerider]

I like the idea of converting an existing tool bag into a bicycle rack compatible one. However, there is the problem of weight: unlike cycling-related items, tools will mostly be heavvier for a given size, hence make the bag prone to sag.
A solution could be a bag that sits on top of the rack or, even better, a large front rack?

[peterinreading]

My discontinued Altura Skye panniers (pictured also upthread) use Rixen & Kaul fittings that are still made...

Thanks very much for your pictures and links. I have ordered the parts as you suggest - hopefully I will be able to figure out how the parts fit together.

[peterinreading]

My discontinued Altura Skye panniers (pictured also upthread) use Rixen & Kaul fittings that are still made...

I have now got hold of the Rixen & Kaul parts. The rail and hooks fit over the edge of the rack fine so I just have to fix the rail to a bag somehow. But its not clear to me what I am supposed to do with the parts marked "Lower Pannier Rail & Hook". Are you able to explain or provide a photo?

Peter

[keyboardmonkey]

My discontinued Altura Skye panniers (pictured also upthread) use Rixen & Kaul fittings that are still made...

I have now got hold of the Rixen & Kaul parts. The rail and hooks fit over the edge of the rack fine so I just have to fix the rail to a bag somehow. But its not clear to me what I am supposed to do with the parts marked "Lower Pannier Rail & Hook". Are you able to explain or provide a photo?

Peter

On either side of a pannier rack there will be two or three lengths of tubing that merge near to the bottom of the rack. The bottom R&K rail should be positioned in an optimum place near the bottom of the rack where the struts (?) join.

The ‘anti-sway clip’ (as I think Carradice calls it) is fastened loosely to the bottom rail. You then offer up the clip to the pannier and position it along the rail such that the upper rail’s clips will still be able to fasten on to the pannier and the lower rail’s anti-sway Clio will stop the pannier flapping about when you go over bumps etc. When you’re happy with the placement of the clip tighten the screw to keep it in position.

[edit: if you look upthread to the first photo of my Super C pannier you will see that the pannier has been set up to clip on to the right hand side of the bike. The anti-sway clip engages with the rearmost strut of the pannier rack and then the pannier slides down until the top rail fastenings clip in to place.]

Hope that helps.

[peterinreading]

I fitted the rail to a Stanley Fatmax tool bag:

The only problem is that the hooks are very tight on the rack. The rack tubes appear to be about 12.5 or 13mm - I suspect they are 12mm tubes with very thick paint on them. Do you know what tube diameter the hooks are designed for?

[Jdsk]

Are the hooks clever with moving parts or solid material? You might be able to mill a bit off to increase the gap.

Jonathan

[Bmblbzzz]

That looks very neat! I think the hooks need to be quite tight, especially as you don't have a lower hook.

[keyboardmonkey]

I fitted the rail to a Stanley Fatmax tool bag:

6C2AB5D6-1EEC-4630-BE9C-DF09C3CA04FF.png (165.01 KiB) Viewed 192 times

The only problem is that the hooks are very tight on the rack. The rack tubes appear to be about 12.5 or 13mm - I suspect they are 12mm tubes with very thick paint on them. Do you know what tube diameter the hooks are designed for?

First of all... PHWOAR!!!

Secondly, my two pannier rack tubes measure 8.1mm and 8.3mm, but it’s the catches on the top of the upper rail - drawn back in to the rail when you press the red button - rather than chunky tubes that hold things in place, along with the anti-sway clip that engages with the pannier rack further down the vertical(ish) tubes of the pannier rack.

If you’ve pushed in the grey inserts can you pop them out again to give you extra wiggle room...?