Bicycle bag for electrician

[peterinreading]

I would like to use my bicycle to carry the tools that I use as an electrician. I need something I can put on top of, or hang from, a rear carrier. The bag needs compartments for screwdrivers etc, documentation, and parts.

Any ideas?

[hamster]

Ortlieb and a few others do a pannier fit briefcase, which would be my starting point.

[Jdsk]

Would you like it to open up so that you can see all of the contents? Something like this with both rack clips and back straps? Then possibly additional compartments or boxes?



Jonathan

[philvantwo]

Snickers sell an electricians vest, loads of pockets for everything!

[tim-b]

Hi
How big? A MFT in its case takes up a chunk of space
Regards
tim-b

[Will]

Packing cubes would help to separate tools etc. in panniers:

https://www.ortlieb.com/uk/packing-cubes-for-panniers

Will

[thirdcrank]

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. People who distribute bike luggage tend to have a sense of humour. You would also almost certainly have a better tool carrier.

I'm no tradesman. I have a soft toolbag with a hard-plastic shaped base which came from B&Q. For some years I used it to hold the various tools I might need if I found something needed fixing when I visited my mother. Loads of pockets, inside and out. Small external pockets would be no good on a bike.

I've been very pleased with Plano bags. I have a biggish one intended for a joiner which I use for my birdwatching stuff: it's got room for scope, tripod, bino's and more besides. It's robust, protects the contents and cheaper than anything I've seen targeted at birdwatchers.

I'd suggest that if you got something with a fairly rigid base it could be strapped onto a standard bike luggage rack.

[peetee]

I have a shoebox sized semi-rigid bag for the top of my pannier rack. With slotted, interlocking plastic card dividers it would be excellent for tools.

[ANTONISH]

Are you sure that a bag will suffice ?
Assuming you are doing domestic work you would be carrying at least a hammer, bolster chisel, saws, screwdrivers, power drill, voltage tester, various fixings and other bits and pieces - perhaps a trailer? - most domestic electricians have a van.

[simonhill]

Sounds like you need varying capacity as you will be carrying "parts", but probably not every day.

I would think 2 decent panniers is the way to go. One could be for tools, the other for parts, etc and maybe sandwiches as well. If only tools needed, then just use one pannier for that day.

Do they still make tool rolls? These are ideal way of carrying tools, rolled up will fit neatly in a pannier and open they expose all your tools. Probably mix and match a tool roll or two with boxes eg Tupperware type for odds and sods.

Panniers are easy to attach and remove from a bike, so you can just unclip and carry all your tools onto the job.

Oooops I see you are a first time poster. Do you know what panniers are? For heavy duty use I'd suggest Carradice Super C panniers. They are made of heavy duty cotton (canvas) and would be OK on site. I wouldn't favour the more plasticy ones like Ortleib.

Spa Cycles are usually competitive for panniers, but good ones aren't cheap. £60 - £120.

[freiston]

I'm not sure how big your toolkit is but how about a basket or crate that you can drop your existing toolbag into (maybe secured with a net/strap/bungee for added security)? Maybe use a system where you can get a QR bracket to fix to the bottom of a basket or crate so that you can remove it when not required.

Something like this - but you would need a suitable rear rack. I have the Racktime Add-It rear rack, a rack pack with the QR bracket built in and a QR bracket that I have used to mount a basket onto the bike and I like them.


https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/racktime-bo ... ket-857523

[keyboardmonkey]

I’ve seen a few tradesmen in my area with cargo bikes lugging kit, ladders etc about.

If you’re not prepared to dive in to the expense of that set up I would have thought a couple of briefcase panniers or similar would be the way to go. Mine came with a yellow showerproof cover.

They typically have an external zipped pocket as well as zipped pockets under a flap and a number of compartments. I would have thought you could find room for a battery drill and a few other tools with a pair of roomy panniers.

Here’s a possible set up with some tools on a pallet or pallets (this one is a Cocoon Grid-IT), and a tool roll that can be stashed away inside:

[peterinreading]

Thanks for all the ideas. I shall look into these further and let you know how I get on.

[peterinreading]

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?

[Cyril Haearn]

Any reason not to use a rucksack? It is not recommended on long rides but is quite practical for short trips, shopping etc
How much stuff do you carry, how heavy?