Ted and I recently scheduled a 4-day bikepacking trip along the Kokopelli Trail from Fruita, CO, to Moab, UT. We've done our share of road bike "touring" but never an off-road "bikepacking" trip like this. Poking around on the internet, it is immediately apparent that the approach to packing/gear storage is much different for bikepacking than it is for touring. Thinking about what we had and what we would need to make this trip as smooth as possible, I decided to try and make some top tube bags. I already have a Timbuktu brand bag that I position on the top of the top tube, up against the headset, but I figured I could utilize a second one against the seatpost. Being as seatposts are usually taller than headsets, I figured I could make this bag much bigger than my front one. Looking at some brands like Revelate, I saw that 8 inches of length and 5 inches of height was not out of the question, so that's what I went with. I also tapered it down to 3 inches in the front for stability. I had some leftover camo fabric from an earlier project and it happens to be waterproof, so I used that for the exterior. I used some plastic sheets from an old container to slip in each side/bottom for stability/shape. Finally, I picked up some faux leather for the interior so it would be easier to wipe clean as needed. Here are the side panels:
So far, so good.
One of the issues I have experienced with my Timbuktu bag is that the velcro straps that fix it to my bike are, themselves, fixed on the bag. The problem with that is if there is a component in the wrong spot or a tube is too thick at a point, you can't adjust the bag to work around it. To avoid that problem, I decided to sew on a sort of daisy chain along the bottom and back, using some black strapping. Then you can just slip velcro straps through the loops of choice when you go to put it on a bike. Just need to avoid losing the straps when it's not attached, since they will not be attached to the bag.
This was my first time working with a zipper. I triple stitched it to avoid any problems. Again, no problems here.
Assembling all of the pieces, unsurprisingly, turned out to be by far the toughest part. Initially, the difficulty was in making sure to hem it the right amount so that the plastic within the fabric of the two pieces I was sewing together would end up being taught and the seams would not leave too much fabric in between the plastic panels. If I left too much room in between the plastic and the seam, the bag might not hold its shape when done. That was accomplished mostly by patience and use of pins/staples to hold it in place before sewing. As I continued the process, it became even more difficult because I was trying to negotiate the shape and rigidity of the bag around the sewing machine as I fed the seam I was working on through it. This became particularly difficult around the corners, and I did not have sewing it by hand as an option because the multiple layers of tougher fabric would not permit it. Ultimately, it came down to persistence and going back and forth over tougher parts multiple times because those were the parts that had many more missed stitches from all the stress that was on the machine while sewing through them. After it was all finished, I trimmed down the excess material around the seems, checked for holes, and flipped them inside out. The flipping process took some effort and distorted the plastic sheets a little, but when it was finished they turned out very well.
So far, so good.
One of the issues I have experienced with my Timbuktu bag is that the velcro straps that fix it to my bike are, themselves, fixed on the bag. The problem with that is if there is a component in the wrong spot or a tube is too thick at a point, you can't adjust the bag to work around it. To avoid that problem, I decided to sew on a sort of daisy chain along the bottom and back, using some black strapping. Then you can just slip velcro straps through the loops of choice when you go to put it on a bike. Just need to avoid losing the straps when it's not attached, since they will not be attached to the bag.
Again, so far so good. Doubled up on the plastic sheets in the bottom panels for more stability against the top tube.
Next up I needed to decide how I wanted the bags to open. My Timbuktu's top essentially flaps open and closed, connecting with some velcro on the side. It works alright and is necessary for the clear-top display it has, but sometimes the velcro doesn't stick well on the side because the side of the box tends to cave in so the flap doesn't create good contact with it unless you specifically push them together. I also couldn't think of any reason a zipper would be a bad idea, so that's what I went with. 9 inch zipper so it would cover the entire top (~8.25 inches) and run a bit down the front so that, when fully unzipped, the bag would open pretty wide. Also, because the zipper would run down the front a bit, I didn't make the top and front out of separate panels - just one long strip of fabric. I went with the faux leather initially because I was out of camo, but in retrospect I think it was a better fit because it seems more durable.
This was my first time working with a zipper. I triple stitched it to avoid any problems. Again, no problems here.
Assembling all of the pieces, unsurprisingly, turned out to be by far the toughest part. Initially, the difficulty was in making sure to hem it the right amount so that the plastic within the fabric of the two pieces I was sewing together would end up being taught and the seams would not leave too much fabric in between the plastic panels. If I left too much room in between the plastic and the seam, the bag might not hold its shape when done. That was accomplished mostly by patience and use of pins/staples to hold it in place before sewing. As I continued the process, it became even more difficult because I was trying to negotiate the shape and rigidity of the bag around the sewing machine as I fed the seam I was working on through it. This became particularly difficult around the corners, and I did not have sewing it by hand as an option because the multiple layers of tougher fabric would not permit it. Ultimately, it came down to persistence and going back and forth over tougher parts multiple times because those were the parts that had many more missed stitches from all the stress that was on the machine while sewing through them. After it was all finished, I trimmed down the excess material around the seems, checked for holes, and flipped them inside out. The flipping process took some effort and distorted the plastic sheets a little, but when it was finished they turned out very well.
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