BikeHacks

IKEA Alternative Bike Light Mount

Last week we featured an alternative fork mounted light mount and another reader sent along a similar IKEA inspired hack.  Reader Nuno, who hails from Portugal, sent along the following.  All text and pictures credit to Nuno.  Questions can be addressed to Nuno in comments.

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Lights are an essential item on every commuter’s bike. After switching from a raised handlebar to a vintage drop bar, space and looks were issues to me. Also lights mounted on handlebars provide very little light so it’s difficult to see where I’m going. So, fork mounts it is.

There are already a lot of commercial solutions, but almost all of them are quite expensive. Given this, I got a pair of cheap “GRUNDTAL” hangers from Ikea, some v-brake spacers, a flat washer and an M5 bolt and nut (3 cm long). If you don't have v-brake spacers, just go to your local bike shop, I’m sure they will give it to you for free, or simply use some nuts to work as spacers.

1- Put the M5 nut inside the plastic piece of the hanger.

2- Insert one spacer through the bolt and then the bolt through one of your fork's dropout eyelets.

3- With the bolt in place, insert more spacers (as needed) and the flat washer (this will hold the hanger’s stainless tube). Insert the hanger's plastic piece through the bolt and lock everything in place.

4- Insert the stainless tube and the hanger’s locking piece and tighten the set.

5- Put your light on your brand new light mount.

6- Enjoy.

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If you have any questions, fell free to ask me. Thank you once again.

Pedal Powered Ferris Wheel

Reader Ethan clued us into a YouTube video featuring a pedal powered ferris wheel.  The concept is kind of cool, however I thought the point of a ferris wheel was to place to people close together and create an opportunity for smooching.  Regardless, the concept of using pedal power for anything is cool in my mind. 

 

Bike Headlamp Upgrade - AC to DC

One of the many things in life that totally confounds me is electricity.  Whenever I dig into the guts of something and see wires and such, danger sounds start to go off in my brain.  I get the feeling that if I touch anything with wires one of two things will happen: 1) I will hurt myself 2) I will break whatever it is I do touch.  I even get this feeling when using a simple travel power adapter in other countries without 110 outlets.  My natural instinct is to cringe when plugging my computer or phone in to an adapter when I am in another country.  The only AC/DC I am not nervous about is the rock band. 

This is an exciting post for me on a couple of fronts, the first of which should be obvious - it is about electricity and I don't have to actually touch any wires so I am excited about that.  Second, occasionally I will receive rather snotty emails from people stating something like, "Your site is basically about stapling stuff to bikes.  Get a life will you."  The Internets can be so unkind.  Could not this be phrased as something like, "It would be super cool if your site featured more technical hacks.  Is there a reason for a dearth of technical content?"

If the question were phrased as such I would kindly reply, "Why yes there is a reason. I am not a very technical person, I am pretty much a hack but I love bikes."  Implied in this hypothetical response is that anyone with technical knowledge out there is welcome to send stuff along.  Technical hacks sent to me will likely boggle my mind, but I would assume they would have the power (get it, "power") to inspire others.   Have said all of this, does this inspire you?

Does this make the hair on your arms stand up?

If you are technically minded perhaps you immediately knew that such pictures are focused on helping a cyclist be safer on the road.  If you are like me, perhaps you reached for your Back in Black album/cd/mp3. 

Reader Karl sent us links to a fantastic technical hack of his.  He states: 

I upgraded my Pashley's hub-dynamo driven halogen front lamp to a CREE 1W LED bulb, and built in some simple electronics to keep it lit for a minute or so after I stop. Total cost of the parts was £16.

The concept is quite cool and he covers the process in two entries on his site, Do the Right Thing . . . & Dead Poets' Bikes.  Post 1 is here and 2 is here and the pictures above, and much more, can be found on Karl's site.  Thanks Karl!

Pencil Bag Repurposed for Bicycle Handlebar Bag

Reader Michael sent us a great little front bag hack. He made a handlebar bag from a pencil/makeup bag reinforced with a plastic novelty license plate. All pictures and comments credited to Michael!

The handlebar bag I still have is made from a pencil/cosmetic bag. The bag was a free personal care bag from an international flight. The bracket is from some bicycle accessory. The plastic is a vanity license plate cut to fit. The rest is nuts, bolts, and washers.

The same basic plan can be used to assemble a bag from a lunch/six pack cooler. Many of these coolers come with a plastic tub inside, so the license plate is no longer needed. However, I recommend better hardware, and I would fix one mounting point on each side of the steam. I like to use the stuff commercial electricians use for running metal conduit. For example, threaded rod, conduit hangers, nuts, bolts, and washers. Washers are important.

The plastic needs the reinforcement. Threaded rod can be cut to length. I used the bag made from the cooler when I was touring, and it worked well. Now, I use the smaller bag to hold things I want at reach while commuting or day touring.

DIY Waterproof Bag Liner

Of course the easiest way to make a waterproof bag liner is to put your stuff in a plastic bag. Then put another plastic bag over that one, with the opening facing the opposite way. Then shove the whole thing into your backpack/pannier/whatever. Works great.

But maybe that's too easy for you. Maybe you've got more time on your hands and you're wondering if perhaps you could achieve a higher level of ghetto style for your bag liner. I feel you. And your solution is at hand.

Over on the Commuting forum at BikeForums.net, member Ya Tu Sabes has detailed his trick for creating lovingly handcrafted waterproof bag liners. You'll need an iron. Maybe two, after you ruin the first one by melting plastic bag all over it.  Picture credit to Ya Tu Sabes.  Jump for more pictures.

Reader Question: Computer Bag Hack for a Bike

Occasionally we get questions emailed to us and recently we received the following email from reader K.

This isn't a hack, but a question.  Say I want to transport a laptop in my soft-sided panniers and can't afford a hard case for it.  Do you have any ideas as to how I might devise some method of protecting it while transporting it in a pannier?  I was thinking of building something out of several layers of Coroplast and foam, for example.

What say you Bike Hacks readers?  Any advice for K?  Post your ideas in comments. 

3D Printer Bike Light Clamp Hack

Admittedly, most of the hacks featured on this site are low tech.  There is nothing wrong with low tech, heck, as long as the hack gets the job done count it a success.  A couple of readers alerted me to a decidedly high tech solution to a light mounting issues on some drop bars complicated by cable placement.  Reader jackflap wrote:

The hacker couldn't fit his light-clamp on his handlebars because the brake cables were in the way. So he used a 3D printer to create a reversed-clamp which would fit. Very cool use of 3D printing.

This is an problem I would have likely tried to solve with a low tech velcro hack and a 3D printer hack kind of blew my mind.  The full hack is detailed Thorwil's WordPress site. The entry shows how to use FreeCAD go from this -

to this -

Any questions should most definitely go to the comment section of Thorwil's site because this high tech hack is bit beyond my low tech mind. 

Alternative Bike Light Mount

Using lights at night can serve two purposes.  The first is to get you noticed by others.  The second is actually to help you see where you are going.  On my commute, an urban one, there is enough ambient light for me to see where I am going and thus my front light is mainly to get me noticed by others. 

Ambient light is not a part of every commute and in order to get the best possible visibility I have seen people play with the position of their front light(s). A common place to try to mount a front light, other than the typical placement on the handlebars, is the the front fork.  You can buy an out of the box product for this purpose, Paul Component Engineering offers the following such attachable bracket which allows you to secure a light:

Reader Chris contacted us with his own PVC hack that accomplishes the same thing.  This photo shows the raw parts, the dark piece being the mount for a halogen light -

He states: "I drilled a hole in the middle of the plug and glued the 2 PVC together."

A picture showing how it attaches -

And here is the hack in action -

Awesome hack Chris!  Here is a link to the full photobucket sent along by Chris. 

 

 

Sew Your Own Cycling Cap

Personally, I think cycling caps are goofy looking. But maybe that's the point, I dunno. I'd really just rather wear a skullcap or beanie or something. I'm kind of a dork, though.

Over on Flickr, user Panda Face has uploaded a very nice pattern for making your own cycling cap. You gotta know how to sew, though. Kinda leaves me out. Though I suppose I could probably hack it with some super glue or something... Anyway, have a look at all the cycling caps he made.

You can use pretty much any fabric, or combination of fabrics, for the cap. The bill is stiffened by using a simple piece of plastic, like the kind you'd find as a section divider for a school binder. Panda Face advises taking a cap with you to the store when looking for the plastic, in order to find a piece with the right sort of bendiness.

DIY Bamboo Bike Trailer

Here are plans for an excellent low cost bike trailer.

The plans are free to anyone that asks for them, but the organization distributing plans takes their mission very seriously and asks for a little something in return. They ask that you:

1. Tell them what you are using the bicycle trailer for

2. Send them photos of the bicycle trailer you build

3. Tell them how to improve the instructions or the trailer

4. Accept that they might post your email on their blog

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. I think this is a fantastic idea. People all around the world can put low cost trailers like these to good use, building self-sufficiency without fossil fuels.