Voile Straps

[jacobean]

Before my first every cycle tour in 2004, somebody on this forum recommended these:

https://www.fasty.se/en/

They ended up being the most useful piece of equipment for the entire 3 week tour and aside from GPS, they still continue to be.

Rock solid and 100% reliable. Once tied, I've never seen them slip out of place. Brilliant addition to your kit.

[nsew]

I use them for off road touring to keep bottles in place on forks and to attach stuff to the rack. They are good for stuff like that.

I have a question maybe slightly off topic but looking to possibly use these for attaching stuff to my roadie fork. Only problem is the aero-y profile. I've looked at p-clips but reviews suggest not doing this with carbon forks. Also considered plastic zip-tie rubber things but max load is only useful for carrying light-ish items. Thinking maybe water bottles? Does anyone have any experience using either with carbon forks and is it safe to put a 4kg load either side on such a fork, and where should the measurements be taken on the fork for getting the right size?

No. Would it be unkind to say that is the stupidest thing a person could possibly do. Hamish is referring to securing items that are already placed in cages that are fitted to forks that have bottle/cage/rack bosses.

[SomeBen]

No. Would it be unkind to say that is the stupidest thing a person could possibly do. Hamish is referring to securing items that are already placed in cages that are fitted to forks that have bottle/cage/rack bosses.

Your answer was exactly the reason for asking (to find out if it would be a stupid thing to do). So it is very welcome! There are products out there to do it which makes it even more confusing for someone like me. I have considered swapping my fork but the zip-tie malarkey is a cheaper option. I'd appreciate any advice other than buying a touring/ adventure/ gravel frame as it is just not possible for at least another year.

[m-gineering]

No. Would it be unkind to say that is the stupidest thing a person could possibly do. Hamish is referring to securing items that are already placed in cages that are fitted to forks that have bottle/cage/rack bosses.

Your answer was exactly the reason for asking (to find out if it would be a stupid thing to do). So it is very welcome! There are products out there to do it which makes it even more confusing for someone like me. I have considered swapping my fork but the zip-tie malarkey is a cheaper option. I'd appreciate any advice other than buying a touring/ adventure/ gravel frame as it is just not possible for at least another year.

Problem with forks is that they are conical shaped, so clamps will tend to slide down. With fragile (they are only strong if used as intended) carbon forks it is doubtfull you can clamp hard enough to keep the load secure. On a fork the last thing you want is stuff to go walkabout, lock up your wheel and send you flying

[SomeBen]

Thanks for your input Marten. That's made my decision even easier!

[nsew]

I doubt there’s a carbon fork on the market designed for a 4kg load on each blade. 4kg is heavy, like 4 litres of liquid heavy. 8kg is even heavier. I dare say you could get away with zip-tie-ing a toothbrush and small tube of paste and checking on the attachment every mile or so. One of my favourite pastimes is watching the new dumb-as-rocks round-the-world cycle-tourist social-media-influencer-beggars trying to fix their stupidly overloaded bikes that have collapsed on them. They definitely get a ‘like’ if they’ve also face planted in the tarmac.

[RickH]

I doubt there’s a carbon fork on the market designed for a 4kg load on each blade. 4kg is heavy, like 4 litres of liquid heavy. 8kg is even heavier. I dare say you could get away with zip-tie-ing a toothbrush and small tube of paste and checking on the attachment every mile or so. One of my favourite pastimes is watching the new dumb-as-rocks round-the-world cycle-tourist social-media-influencer-beggars trying to fix their stupidly overloaded bikes that have collapsed on them. They definitely get a ‘like’ if they’ve also face planted in the tarmac.

Seeing as there are carbon forks designed to take low riders & gravel bike carbon forks with the multiple bosses to fit fork cages, I think your doubts are groundless.

For example, the Kona Libre* has a carbon fork with triple cage bosses (*only selected because I know my way round the Kona website as I have a Kona Sutra)

[nsew]

I doubt there’s a carbon fork on the market designed for a 4kg load on each blade. 4kg is heavy, like 4 litres of liquid heavy. 8kg is even heavier. I dare say you could get away with zip-tie-ing a toothbrush and small tube of paste and checking on the attachment every mile or so. One of my favourite pastimes is watching the new dumb-as-rocks round-the-world cycle-tourist social-media-influencer-beggars trying to fix their stupidly overloaded bikes that have collapsed on them. They definitely get a ‘like’ if they’ve also face planted in the tarmac.

Seeing as there are carbon forks designed to take low riders & gravel bike carbon forks with the multiple bosses to fit fork cages, I think your doubts are groundless.

For example, the Kona Libre* has a carbon fork with triple cage bosses (*only selected because I know my way round the Kona website as I have a Kona Sutra)

The mounts on the Kona are for bikepacking cages such as the Salsa Anything Cage which typically carry lightweight items or up to a 1L bottle. For example the Ritchey Outback carbon fork is rated to carry up to 2x 3kg. I’m not finding evidence on the internet of anyone carrying pannier bags on a carbon fork. What would be the point of a lightweight fork carrying a ton of stuff? I suspect it would have to be over engineered and as a result prohibitively costly.

[andrew_s]

I doubt there’s a carbon fork on the market designed for a 4kg load on each blade

The Rodeo Labs Spork 1.2 has rack mounts and gives a weight limit of 12.5 kg
There's also the Spork 3, at an extra $140, with space for 700x55

The point of a light fork is that it's light when you aren't carrying luggage, which is most of the time.

[hamish]

I use them for off road touring to keep bottles in place on forks and to attach stuff to the rack. They are good for stuff like that.

I have a question maybe slightly off topic but looking to possibly use these for attaching stuff to my roadie fork. Only problem is the aero-y profile. I've looked at p-clips but reviews suggest not doing this with carbon forks. Also considered plastic zip-tie rubber things but max load is only useful for carrying light-ish items. Thinking maybe water bottles? Does anyone have any experience using either with carbon forks and is it safe to put a 4kg load either side on such a fork, and where should the measurements be taken on the fork for getting the right size?

No. Would it be unkind to say that is the stupidest thing a person could possibly do. Hamish is referring to securing items that are already placed in cages that are fitted to forks that have bottle/cage/rack bosses.

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I have bottle cages on my forks on the bikes I use for offroad touring/bikepacking. The bottles will jump out unless you use something to hold them in place. Voile straps are ideal for this. Mind you, an old toe strap works pretty well too.

[nsew]

I doubt there’s a carbon fork on the market designed for a 4kg load on each blade

The Rodeo Labs Spork 1.2 has rack mounts and gives a weight limit of 12.5 kg
There's also the Spork 3, at an extra $140, with space for 700x55

The point of a light fork is that it's light when you aren't carrying luggage, which is most of the time.

There’s also a Cinq Adventure / Touring fork (rated 12kg) at 620 euro, about £700 on arrival.

[nsew]

I’m seeing a marketing opportunity “Take the kitchen Cinq”

[britishjasper]

I notice little in the way of endorsement for Voile here, as per original question.
I'd consider myself fairly hype-immune and was a little sceptical about why Voile were being promoted so hard and were so expensive.
I have to say they are excellent for my uses: mainly to secure a bikepacking handlebar roll to the handlebars.
There's something very pleasing about the amount of force you can use to tighten as you pull through the buckle, then the oh-so-simple fixing once you've done that. Part of the secret of their effectiveness I suspect is the grippiness of the material, combined with the smallest amount of stretch or "give" that helps them lock on so well. Wouldn't use anything else now, unless forced to... far superior to webbing straps and bungees. Useful range of lengths and widths too I believe. Worth every penny, for me.
Hope this helps.

[Bmblbzzz]

They are good -- but they are also expensive. They are definitely better than bungees for the vast majority of applications. Restrap "fast straps" do much the same job in much the same way for less money (and they're also available in orange now, presumably a nod to popularity of Voile).
https://restrap.com/collections/straps/ ... ast-straps

[RickH]

They are good -- but they are also expensive...

Unless I've missed something, there doesn't seem to be much difference in price between Voile & Restrap. Shortest Voile is £7.50 (here) & shortest Restrap is £7.99 (here). The Restrap ones are shorter & the fastening method is different. Beyond that it seems a matter of preference more than anything.