Upcycled Bicycle Panniers DIY

here is another one:

https://www.thebikebucket.com/index.html

Well, it doesn’t look bad for what it is. But I can’t see how this beats the ortlieb, other than cost and availability. They can really be put on and off in a single motion and still be secure. There is no need for a permanently attached mount on the bike. How would I even get my hand in between the bag and the wheel to tighten that grip? Without getting dirty?. The mount appear to have sharp metal edges exposed when the bag is not attached. Will the lid be tight from water coming underneath? When biking it’s not just rain from above.

Ortlieb has other variants of the bag that are easier to open without loose straps. If you are happy with requiring a special mount only for your own bike there is the 3.1 series with even more snug fit and less protruding hooks on the bag.

Best option with ortliebs is to add a second hook which stops any chance of the hook jumping out over rough terrain

"High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is an ethylene-based polymer plastic which is created by exposing petroleum to extreme heat and pressure. It’s among the most commonly used plastics worldwide, and in addition to UV resistance ..."

https://protoplastics.com/uv-resistant-plastics/

From experience, the 20L HDPE water cubes will last years in direct sunlight.

Might need to use bigger washers around the anchor points in this design? I imagine the holes would be the weakest points, and increasing the contract area would spread the stress out over more plastic.

These containers a common for bulk fluids. Locally I have seen them in restaurants for cooking oil (usually inside a box) and pool water treatment chemicals. I can get as many as I want from the community swimming pool.

They are UN-compliant jugs for shipping liquids. They are also food grade (in at least some flavors) so are suitable for potable water. They can be bought new for ~30 bucks or so from McMaster, presumably less elsewhere.

Really common if your selling/buying anything liquid in > 1 gallon but less than an IBC (those metal framed plastic cubes). So not so much the consumer space, but lots of b2b or industrial supply type places use them. They are also quite rugged so they make a good candidate for reuse.

Had the same reaction, really like the design but at least in the central US here I've never seen any in any context, even as waste around commercial establishments.

Don't see them that much here in the UK, but anyone who drives a diesel will probably get their Ad Blu in these things

These look similar to, though much more rigid than, the 5 gallon containers Costco sells bulk cooking oils in (I buy quite a bit of peanut oil for deep frying). Come to think of it, I may give those a try - they are rigid enough to hold gear but flexible and sturdy enough to ratchet down a little bit. Could be a fun project.

Edit: grammars

The 'lanthandel' close to us (Swedish country store, they sell farming necessities as well as food, some ironware and a large scale of oil products) sells oil in bulk in these containers. We use them (cleaned) to carry water to horses, two of them (~50l) fit in a bicycle cart.

Personally, in the US, I'd go for food-grade plastic. If being frugal, I'd get used food-grade buckets that have only been used for food. For example, I've heard of people requesting empty frosting buckets from cake-decorating stores.

> I don't know that I've ever seen these containers. I'm in the U. S.

They are pretty common in both industrial and wholesale contexts, but you aren't going to see them much in retail goods.

You've almost certainly been near a bunch of them.

Those look very similar to the ones for distilled water, amongst other things.

I've seen kitty litter containers used for this.

Oops, see sibling post.

They are in Romania. Good design, guys !

Those are nice. I remember using my first set of panniers about 20 years ago; they did not have this locking mechanism, I went over a bump, and all of my groceries spilled all over the street. I ordered a set of Ortleib panniers a few minutes later, and have not been disappointed in the intervening 20 years.

Ortlieb sells most of the hardware to fix a rubber bag to attach to a rack as spare parts. Alternatively buy a used Ortlieb pannier and use the parts as a donor. The "trick" is having a stiff "plate" inside the bag for the mating hardware and bag to all attach to. You need to be very focused on heel clearance with a soft bag, ideally clinching straps pulls the bag corner nearest your heel taut. Also be careful of the location of the shoulder straps when the bag is mounted on the bike, I had the lugnut on a dublin bus inching forward in traffic pull off a strap. They need to stay out of your spokes but also not hang out to catch on passing vehicles either.

Or just buy an ortlieb with the backpack kit.

There is a variety of cargo cages on the market designed to support drybags on the forks, however the majority require that your forks have the proper mounts:

https://bikepacking.com/index/cargo-cages-anything-bags/

While I do somewhat agree in that they seem to make a big deal out of something which has been done in many ways by many people for many years already I do have to point out that these types of practical DIY projects are far more useable than any factory-made bike bags. They fit more stuff, they are cheaper and if they ever get damaged or destroyed you simply make another one/pair instead of having to buy something new.

The fancy presentation of this project/product fits with the 'cycling for the planet' crowd while the actual concept of strapping a pair of 25l cans to the carrier is more in line with those who use their bikes because that is just what they've always done without any thoughts of 'enough' or 'climate' or 'environment' or 'virtue'.

> “I simply don't get it … instead of buying…”

You’re talking like a consumer, but the title says DIY. So the target audience is makers. You might as well ask why people make things for their bikes rather than buy.

Not for nothing, I have a motorcycle and go moto camping. I have panniers, but needed a way to carry firewood or additional luggage. So I made a luggage rack out of a MOLLE synthetic frame [1]. It works great…so far. Could be it’s own website. And you might ask if I’m a military nut, but it’s just materials.

In the DIY community you may get satisfaction from finding a ready-made object which is well made and also slated for the trash heap. Long before it was fashionable and hip to call this enlightened social response, there was simply utility and economic kudos, like you might find on a rural farm.

[1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/MotorcycleLogistics/comments/xp0rs1...

It would probably be better to incinerate the waste plastic after a chance at reuse. LDPE bottles wont be releasing much aside from that cut across the top to form the lid if not cut with a hot knife. Any reuse could prevent someone from buying a bag that most likely would be made from polyester that sheds incredible amounts of microplastics. Reduce, Reuse and finally Recycle.

I am much more concerned about all the rubber particles on the roadways from tires, especially with the new Japanese research that suggests the microplastics in clouds are a rubber product.

If you compare this to a car wearing through tires it's still much better, you're not actively abrading the plastic containers, they'll last for years.

>employ this plastic is for power generation via incineration

if we're concerned with trying to figure out ways to do efficient carbon capture, why is it a good idea to do carbon release?

Yes, but this does make a product that is genuinely useful potentially for years, getting away from the single-use scourge, and can still generate power by incineration at EOL.

Nice thought, but just as microplastics leech slowly, incineration spreads into the air very quickly.

And no, the filters do not work.