Question for Airbear

[Rob]

Hey Charlie, did you make these bags, as well? (going through some old email)

[Airbear]

Ha, yes Rob. Early iterations handed down. That was when I used a foam mattress for camping - very comfy but too big. Here is Brunhilde's current setup, though I recently made some larger and better tank panniers:



O, and here's a pic you might like from our last trip. These young local blokes turned up to listen to the ... er ... technical discussion. They thoughtfully brought their own chairs

[Rob]

Do you ever blow smoke their direction?
They look like they want to join in.

[Rob]

And you are an artist with the sewing machine!
I know I've said it before. Bears (haha) repeating.

[Zombie Master]

That's a very tidy set up Charlie. How does the bike handle with all that gear? Is there a hard frame behind the side bags?

Your rabbits are ridiculous.

[Steve in Golden]

Love those roos! They look like cheerful fellows.

[Airbear]

That's a very tidy set up Charlie. How does the bike handle with all that gear? Is there a hard frame behind the side bags?

Your rabbits are ridiculous.

Loaded up with all the gear is my favourite riding arrangement. The weight adds up to less than a human passenger and it is better placed for good handling. Having around 10Kg on the tank balances the rear weight really well. Suspension feels much softer with the bike settled 'down to her lines' (a boat reference).

I didn't want racks fitted permanently to the bike. I also wanted a table for camping, so came up with this:





Here's a bag showing the inboard hanging arrangement.



The strap goes over the sub-frame and behind the horizontal bar on the table legs, supporting the inboard side.



Then a couple of extra straps are clipped on and adjusted to pull everything together. The bags are supported from both sides, almost scrotal.



The bags have roll down tops with stiffened velcroed mouth parts. The fabric is ex-military rubber coated canvas.



I really like soft bags, and with the roll-down tops and strap tensioning it's possible to compress a lot of stuff in there. They are lasting very well too, having covered over 45k kms since 2012.

[Zombie Master]

Very creative, and functional!