Bike Headlamps

So, these are the DIYed bike head lamps I've been making.

The thicker top one is Himax U2's head unit coupled up with XDpower's Externalizer Bracket, and the bottom one is Biketuning.net A30 (T6)' s head unit coupled up with the same externalizer bracket.

Both use the same inside circuits, running Cree XM-L U3 @ 2.5A Max (XDpower's drivers with overheat warnings).


The Headlamp mounts are made of two parts. (seen on the bottom one)

The Bracket that wraps around the externalizer bracket is Cateye's SP-5 , coupled with their tail lamp bracket, which fits the 24~26mm barrel of the flashlight perfectly without any shim.

And the boot that goes on the computer mount, is Nuvo's handlebar mounted bell, sawn off and ground up to fit the tail lamp bracket.

A Solution to a Non Existing Problem- Headlamp Mount

A Bike Headlamp Mount.

To be honest there are plenty of bike headlamp solutions. 

But nothing seemed to suit my needs.

So I bought  Cateye's brilliant tail light bracket, hacked a Nuvo bicycle bell into a fitting bracket and coupled it up with an aluminium/carbon fiber computer mount.

Voila!

Bike Frame Handle Straps V2

So these are a more refined version of the prototype thingy I've made some days ago. I just stitched them instead of riveting them.

The inner ones are made with 20mm Ladder Locks with a slight curve, just to compensate the curve of the bike tubes.

The outer ones are made with 20mm Slim Cam Locks.

The Ladder Lock straps are the proven ones. Easy to strap on and off the tubes, but a bit chunky and dull.

The Slim Cam Lock straps are a bit tricky to strap on and off, but looks way neater. The downside of the Slim Cam Lock is the load. It worked without flaw under about 10 kg, but not sure how much it will endure over 10 kg.

Bike Frame Handle

So, I was googling around
and found a brilliant thing called "Bike Frame Handle"

It looked and sounded so nice that I couldn't resist making one of my own.

I wasn't going to make something so posh like a "Leather Bike Frame Handle". I had some leftover Webbing straps and buckles from my previous projects, and I had a "recently added to the toolbox" "button rivet set" (cost about 15 bucks or for the whole stuff, the anvil, the hammer tip, and the hole puncher with about 200 rivet sets).  So, I started making mine.

Basically, the handle is a non moving part. The two straps on each side are the moving, adjustable parts of the strap. So you don't have to fiddle with the handle too much. Just estimate how much webbing strap you'll need for the handle, make two loops on each side of the handle and fix them (with rivets or sewing).

The fasteners are easy too. One loop in the middle of the Tri-Glide and fix them. You're done.

So, I made some holes with my electronic soldering rod, cause punching a hole off of webbing fabric didn't seem to be that promising long term not to mention it was quite difficult. And I hammered the X out of the rivets. 

 

And they look like this. 

And they work brilliantly.

If there were to be any improvements, I would sew all the connecting joints and add a rubber handle for bags on the handle, and change the fastening mechanism (Tri-Glides) to a Cam Buckle. That would be quite perfect IMO.

Anyways, KUDOS to the guy or gal who invented this thing. 

Thank you. This thing rocks!

Front Wheel Strap

I had some un-repairable tire tubes due to some nasty nasty flats, but I just couldn't throw them away, cause they were almost in mint condition except for the flats. So I tried to  find a use for these things and found out that someone was utilizing his stuff to their full potent. So I borrowed his idea and made some Front Wheel Straps.




I measured my tubes and they were about 20mm (700*18-23C)
so I went on buying some of those buckles with some other stuff along.

The top four use Plastic Buckles with Tri-Glides and strap keepers, which is good enough for the purpose, but I felt they were a bit fiddly locking on.
The extra length of the rigid buckle just didn't seem to be right.

So I tried out some Tent Pole Hooks with some Extra wide Square Rings (and of course Tri-Glides) and it was kind of satisfactory. So to say, it was a bit more flexible when locking on or off, but I cant say that was a huge improvement. Either way you have to use both hands to lock and one hand to lock off.


















So it looks like this.
And, after making this, I found out that the length of the strap was almost that of my ankle, that it could be used as a Leg Strap (the thing you use to prevent your trousers from getting chewed by your crank & chain, making your trousers get filthy , and sometimes unwearable.)

Meaning,
When you're off the bike, use it as a Front Wheel Strap,
When you're on the bike, use it as a Leg Strap!

Eureka!


And of course, you can still apply the same ideas for differnt version of Kent's rear rack strap.

Ultra-Mini Bike Tool Set

TBH, Bike tools these days, are quite good enough.

They are small, they are functional, and practical too.
But I just couldn't stand the fact that they still looked too clumsy.

Then I found the Topeak's Ratchet Series which utilizes Hex Tool Bits.
Thought it was such a nice idea and did this.



I cut a 1/4 inch wrench in half and put it in a Dills box. LOL

It was roomy enough to put an extra Masterlink,  a CO2 inflator, and some patches in it (underneath). Cut some sponges for rattle proofing, and tape the box shut with some scotch tape(cause the clamping mechanism of the tiny disposable box is not that great ), and you're ready to go.

Not the Ultimate toolkit of your dreams, but it will still do what it can.

I think it would have been better if I made a spoke wrench out of the idle end of the wrench. Kind of got lazy after all the sawing. (Toolgrade steel is just so tough to saw off "manually")

Folding Bike Carrier Strap V2

Note that I originally posted this on a Korean Dahon Forum  .

For the V1 version original post (In Korean)

For the V2 version original post (also in Korean)
For the V1.1 version original post (What did you expect? LOL)
(I've made it viewable for members only, so if you're not a member, you just might not see it)

I originally made V1, inspired by Dahon CarryOn Cover,
but wasn't satisfied how it worked. It slipped away a lot
(the length adjusting part was slipping).

So I went back to tinkering with webbing straps and buckle parts and came out with V2 which came out quite nice.

V1.1 was a quick fix project for the V1 version mounting up another a Tri-Glide, making it slip-proof. A little bit harder to on the fly adjust length, but totally functional.

And...... this post is about the improved version(V2) of the   

which is a nice product by itself but IMO not that practical enough.

I've seen a lot of Dahoners use their CarryOn cover as a 40$"dust cover" rather than a every day utility strap. 

I know some people might say
"What's the point of carrying your bike on your shoulders?"
but trust me, it comes useful time to time.
Especially when you are in an Urban environment, there are some situations when you cant ride neither drag your folding bike, and the only way of transporting your bike around is by your hands. This strap is focused on those pesky situations.

What you'll need is

Webbing straps of 35mm~50mm width

Plastic Buckle parts that fit your choice of webbing
Velcro that suits your choice of webbing.

A Sewing machine, or needle and thread(LOL).

The strap is basically two loops made on two webbing straps.

The schematic kind of looks like this.

The Loops (the lightly colored blue and magenta lines in the middle) are made with Square Rings.
The strap end goes inside and out, making a loop, and the sewn velcro on the tips ensures the loop doesn't break loose.

The two straps are connected by a Ladder Lock which makes length adjusting easier, which comes quite useful time to time.

The D-Ring on the right is for easier Length adjustment.
Makes the strap easier to pull with your fingers.
(I'd say...... "Hop and Pull")

You can simplify this design
by removing the Ladder Lock, Using a single long webbing strap,
coupled with  short "Cam Buckles" on both sides of the loop.


This design needs no sewing, making it more practical to those who do not have the means to make V2.

But I have to admit the Full sized Cam Buckles look unnecessarily beefy heavy and ugly. So I suggest you find a "Short Cam Buckle" and replace the two Square Rings.

'Like this one'

If you don't understand how the strap works

Go to the CarryOn Cover link and watch the video, 

The Final Product (V2) looks like this..... 

and 

Voila! You look like this.

(FYI, At that time my tweaked up Dahon Mu was about 8kgs or so. Pretty light for a folder. Sadly I couldn't cope with the wobbly ride quality I hacked it up and sold it part by part, and got a stiffer Dash X20, which also has problems of its own.)