Securing shopping to racks

[brooksby]

My panniers are off the road at present (their waterproofing failed, and I'm currently building up the nerve to reproof them, and I'm using a big courier bag instead). However, every time I try to secure shopping to my rack using a bungee cord, I mess it up. Usually large jiffy bags going from work to the post box, or cereal boxes from the supermarket to home: it all either falls off, or gets seriously crushed when I overcompensate.

(Yes, I'm fully aware that this is a candidate for 'Stupid Post of the Day', but it really shouldn't be as hard as it seems to be to secure stuff to a rack with bungee straps - that's what they're there for, isn't it?)

It really shouldn't be this hard, should it? Does anyone have any tips?

[Stewart H]

Luggage nets, many hooks, elasticated, I think I spotted some in poundland.

[meic]

Back when I was a motorcycle courier I found a bungee net to be my answer to this problem.
Though the rear seat and rack on a motorcycle are much larger than the space available on a bike it may be a transferable solution with a smaller net.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/OXFORD-MOTORCY ... B0036YWK0U

On the bike I just have a large saddlebag which can do an amazing job of swallowing things up when needed.
Recently I bought back a kettle in its box, instead of a bungee I just strapped its handle to my saddlebag with a string that lives on it and let it rest on the rack.

[jgurney]

it really shouldn't be as hard as it seems to be to secure stuff to a rack with bungee straps - that's what they're there for, isn't it?)

The falling off should be avoidable unless the cords are much too long and won't tighten properly. The crushing of the load is the real problem, and is inevitable unless you use a box. Select a suitable size rigid plastic (or metal, etc) box and bungee it to the rack, then carry crushable stuff in that.

[brooksby]

Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions I'll maybe look into those cargo nets, as I don't really want to have a box strapped to my rack.

[Cyril Haearn]

I use the luggage belts from the DIY store, a bit like seat belts but narrower with a simple buckle, they do not stretch like bungees, which are very hazardous I think

[Cunobelin]

I use the luggage belts from the DIY store, a bit like seat belts but narrower with a simple buckle, they do not stretch like bungees, which are very hazardous I think

Similarly I use Velcro cinch straps 70 cm in length and 2" wide they spread pressure over a wider area and for larger loads yo can extend by adding to together

I use them for everything including the trailer

[Vorpal]

I use a bungee net. Mine is a motorcycle one, but that sort of thing is readily available on the 'net (see what I did there? )

Otherwise, maybe just get yourself some shopping panniers? They're shopping bags that clip onto a pannier rack. They're great for shopping by bike, and not usually very expensive (£25 for a pair?)

[rjb]

Use an old inner tube to make your own bungee

Cut off the valve and tie the ends to plastic buckles (like the 1st ones on this list - http://www.protak.com/NewFiles/Bucklesetc...html) and you have bungee-type straps, very good for strapping things onto cycle trailers.

[thirdcrank]

I've tried all sorts. After one hilly ride when I was particularly sweaty, and thinking up inventions as I tended to do on longer rides, I had the idea of being able to remove my helmet and fasten it on top of my saddlebag. (I do know I could leave it at home but that's not my point.) I called in at the Harley Davidson showroom I was passing and bought a luggage net of the type described by meic. Not cheap, but still a disappointment to them because they thought I had decided to give up cycling and move up to something bigger. It didn't work in the way I had hoped.

I have two adjustable bungees which I've found really useful. One has the standard metal hook at one end but a plastic hook at the other, which can be slid along the elastic to alter the length. The other has no hook, but you thread it round your load, then pull it to the desired length and cinch it in the fastener. I also had - an may still have in my embarrassingly crammed garage, a thingie consisting of two standard bungee hooks but with hald a dozen elasticated strips, instead of the usual elastic. The idea is that the hooks fasten low on the pannier rack and the bands fan out over the load. I bought it years ago when I saw it in a clearance bin at a predecessor of B&Q (Dodge City? - for D-I-Y cowboys like me? ) It seemed like a good idea at the time but I've never really found much use for it.

[mjr]

However, every time I try to secure shopping to my rack using a bungee cord, I mess it up. Usually large jiffy bags going from work to the post box, or cereal boxes from the supermarket to home: it all either falls off, or gets seriously crushed when I overcompensate. [...] It really shouldn't be this hard, should it? Does anyone have any tips?

Right. I used to use bungees. I still have permanent bungees (three flat bungees sharing hooks over the mudguard mounts next to the axle) on one bike. Here's my tips:

The permanent bungees only work for low loads like jiffy bags. Anything too high risks slipping sideways and finding itself strapped to the side of the rack at risk of falling out. A single luggage strap or bungee from one top rail around the load to the other top rail prevents that.

Temporary bungees need to be reasonably tight. Ideally, have a very long one coming up from the bottom of the rack, looping around the load and rack top, then down to the bottom of the rack on the other side. Then add short ones between the top rails over the load.

In any case, you probably also want one short bungee from the back of the rack to the front, to defeat any attempts of the load to slide out of the back. Unless your rack has a spring clip you can put on top of the load.

Bungee cargo nets are awful and have far too many hooks getting caught on anything as soon as any part of the net is slack.

Cam-buckle straps are much easier to use, although there's still a bit of a knack. Nothing beats panniers for dedicated shopping trips. Ortlieb QL1 handles can be used to replace broken hooks on single panniers fairly easily with a drill, longer bolts and some big repair washers.

[thirdcrank]

... Nothing beats panniers for dedicated shopping trips....

With the possible exception of a suitable trailer eg Bob Yak, that's pretty much it. I have my adjustable bungees in the rear pocket of one of my Super C's. There are some large but light loads which simply won't go in a pannier, a good example for me would be a large pack of lavatory paper. No point buying just a couple of rolls at a time when you can buy eighteen and save £££, especially if there's a suitable offer on. A rather more unusual one-off for me was when my younger son was job-seeking in Australia and asked me to send some of his tools. I needed a lightweight toolbox PDQ to keep the weight down, so off I went to B&Q and bought a plastic one he'd normally class as chocolate teapot grade. Strapped on top of the rack and Bingo! (Or rather bungee )

Obviously, bungees won't hold heavy items securely and anything that heavy needs more planning (or a trailer.) I'd not strap a case of wine bottles on top of a pannier rack but a trailer is just the job.

[meic]

Obviously, bungees won't hold heavy items securely

I beg to differ.
I have trouble lifting my ladders on to the car roof but a couple of bungees will hold them there securely.
My normal test is to give the car a vigourous shake using the ladder.

[thirdcrank]

... I have trouble lifting my ladders on to the car roof but a couple of bungees will hold them there securely.
My normal test is to give the car a vigourous shake using the ladder.

I stand corrected. You will know that I often bang on about feeling OK about something. I use Rhino ladder clamps but not on my bike rack.

http://www.rhinosafeclamp.co.uk/

[bogmyrtle]

How much shopping are you talking about?
I often strap my small rucksack onto the flat bit of the rack. The small carry handle hooks over the bit of the rack closest to the saddle then I undo the shoulder straps, cross them under the rack and then attach each one into the opposite clip.
I often do this when touring with pannier fitted. Sometimes it's handy to have a rucksack if I decide to leave the bike and go walking or if the panniers are full and I need to stock up with food.