Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Text on Messenger Bag

I've got a Chrome Metropolis bag (please save your applause) . . . and I want to write "CAR-FREE" across the main flap of the bag. Any ideas on how I can do this? I'm looking for a durable method. I can always resort to simply using a Marker, but I was hoping that there is a better way. BTW would reflective tape stick to the CORDUA (or whatever the material is) for a long time?

Could always stitch on a reflective panel...

Then again, my sewing skills would change the font! :D

I've got a Chrome Metropolis bag (please save your applause) . . . and I want to write "CAR-FREE" across the main flap of the bag. Any ideas on how I can do this? I'm looking for a durable method. I can always resort to simply using a Marker, but I was hoping that there is a better way. BTW would reflective tape stick to the CORDUA (or whatever the material is) for a long time?

Get a seamster/seamstress to embroider it. Shouldn't cost much, I could do it with one of my mom's sewing machine in less than 10 minutes.

Could always stitch on a reflective panel...

Then again, my sewing skills would change the font! :D


Sewing sounds like a lot of fun, but the material is pretty thick. I'd prefer for it to be easily visible during day-light hours (in traffic, in midst of my commute)

just saying: I always find it stupidly righteous to do things like that. I think it's pretty obvious to car-commuters that I am car free since I'm out there every day. Also, a bike in itself is carfree. Compare somebody who is a 100%cyclist and 0%motorist but bikes 4 miles a day with someone who drives but logs in 10miles a day. Who then is advertising bike-as-alternate-transportation moreso? Does the phrase carfree seperate you from 'recreational' cyclists? whats wrong with recreational cyclists? I encourage anyone on a bike at all for any distance.
I have a spraypainted bike on my backpack and feel stupid when I wear it nowadays because it's obviously I love bikes, if you know me personally. And why do I want to convey thoughts to people I don't even know?

so um. I wasn't calling you out or assuming anything about you or saying you were making a bad decision.
I was just throwing thoughts out there before you do something you may regret.

Get a seamster/seamstress to embroider it. Shouldn't cost much, I could do it with one of my mom's sewing machine in less than 10 minutes.


I had the primitive hand and needle appraoch in mind, but the idea of having a pro with a machine do it makes a lot of sense.

Make sure it's in a gangsta Olde English font.

I want to have a dry erase panel on my bag where I can post the latest gas and peanut butter toast prices.

just saying: I always find it stupidly righteous to do things like that. I think it's pretty obvious to car-commuters that I am car free since I'm out there every day. Also, a bike in itself is carfree. Compare somebody who is a 100%cyclist and 0%motorist but bikes 4 miles a day with someone who drives but logs in 10miles a day. Who then is advertising bike-as-alternate-transportation moreso? Does the phrase carfree seperate you from 'recreational' cyclists? whats wrong with recreational cyclists? I encourage anyone on a bike at all for any distance.
I have a spraypainted bike on my backpack and feel stupid when I wear it nowadays because it's obviously I love bikes, if you know me personally. And why do I want to convey thoughts to people I don't even know?

so um. I wasn't calling you out or assuming anything about you or saying you were making a bad decision.
I was just throwing thoughts out there before you do something you may regret.


I see your point, and I've thought about it from your perspective. But, my reasoning is for it is to raise awarness. In my area a bicycle commuter who is able to afford a car is extremely rare. I simply want to show others (Explicitily) an example of an individual who is car-free in hopes opening their minds to the idea of bicycles. BTW I ride with a team on the weekends, so I'm exposed to the recreational/sport side of cycling, but still I want to advocate for self transportation via bike.

stencil + spraypaint
see $0.00/Gal

stencil + spraypaint
see $0.00/Gal

how does one go about seeing $0.00/Gal?

http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=42893

stencil + spraypaint
see $0.00/Gal
i second this

I say, go with the ol' vinyl boat lettering. Art supply stores carry them. They come in reflective, waterproof colors, and last forever. If you want to get all fashion icon on 'em, x-acto knife your own font, or print out your favorite font, stencil the words on the uncut sticky-backed vinyl, and there you go...

Way less ghetto-rigged than spraycan.

*clap clap clap clap clap*

I'm gonna get my tattoo artist to draw some asian traditional on the yellow stripe on my black and yellow Chrome kremlin with a few differnt colors of sharpies - I think it will look tight and i'm sure it will only take him like 15 minutes tops. Then when/if I get when I want another design I can simply wipe it of with some alcohol.

Not quite sure excactally what design but I will tell him to throw in some cogs and skulls ...etc.. I'll be sure to post pics when it's done.

Get a scenester/scenestress to embroider it.
that's what i read.

I have a spraypainted bike on my backpack and feel stupid when I wear it nowadays because it's obviously I love bikes, if you know me personally. And why do I want to convey thoughts to people I don't even know?

I like to promote bike culture even when I'm not on my bike and I like to promote it to anyone and everyone. I don't understand why you think one should limit that to only their friends. There's a difference between not being able to have a car and choosing not to have a car and I think it's a pretty powerful message to let people know that you're car free by choice. I say by all means do this Mehow and do it wth a stencil, some weak spray adhesive and some spraypaint.

a free car? i'll take it!

Make a stencil and spray paint. I did it and it has lasted. It will fade, but if you keep the stencil it's easy to re-apply.

sharpie

Use the blood of your enemies.

Make a stencil and spray paint. I did it and it has lasted. It will fade, but if you keep the stencil it's easy to re-apply.

Any specific type of spray paint? would KRYLON work fine? Is there any prep. work involved, besides try to get the surface clean?

Any specific type of spray paint? would KRYLON work fine?

all about the Rusto!

I'm gonna get my tattoo artist to draw some asian traditional on the yellow stripe on my black and yellow Chrome kremlin with a few differnt colors of sharpies - I think it will look tight and i'm sure it will only take him like 15 minutes tops. Then when/if I get when I want another design I can simply wipe it of with some alcohol.

Not quite sure excactally what design but I will tell him to throw in some cogs and skulls ...etc.. I'll be sure to post pics when it's done.

What is "asian traditional"? Are those like chinese characters? Cause that would be totally ****ing rad! Oh man, the orient is so exotic.

all about the Rusto!


Hahaha . . . . I have a can of that in that rusty redish/brown color, but I don't know if it would work.

What is "asian traditional"? Are those like chinese characters? Cause that would be totally ****ing rad! Oh man, the orient is so exotic.

oh **** me, y'all must be kidding. i'm sure YOU is kidding, but...deimos, please tell me you're asian.

either way, i still get a kick out of people who thought chinese characters were cool and thought they were getting something like "pretty lady" that ends up being "loose hussy".

check out: pentabike (http://www.pentabike.com/)


just saying: I always find it stupidly righteous to do things like that. I think it's pretty obvious to car-commuters that I am car free since I'm out there every day.
even in my medium size town, i know i don't see the same people every day, why not advertise being carfree.


Also, a bike in itself is carfree. Compare somebody who is a 100%cyclist and 0%motorist but bikes 4 miles a day with someone who drives but logs in 10miles a day. Who then is advertising bike-as-alternate-transportation moreso?
"Also, a bike in itself is carfree." this is really twisting the phrase "car free." we're not talking about the duration of ONE SINGLE TRIP. we're talking about owning a car.
i respect the person doing 4 miles a day more, maybe they just don't have to go that many places. it's not necessarily how far you ride. if someone drives 4 miles and then does 10 miles on the bike, i would still call them lazy.


Does the phrase carfree seperate you from 'recreational' cyclists? whats wrong with recreational cyclists? I encourage anyone on a bike at all for any distance.
there nothing wrong with recreational cyclists, but there should be a distinction between people who do it solely for recreation and people who do it for transportation. when you're on your bike, people should know that you're out there every day, not just because the weather is nice.


I have a spraypainted bike on my backpack and feel stupid when I wear it nowadays because it's obviously I love bikes, if you know me personally. And why do I want to convey thoughts to people I don't even know?
why wouldn't you? it seems like a good passive way to spread your opinion. i'm not getting in anyone's face with my opinion when i'm riding.

i have a carfree message on my bag because when people see me carrying a bunch of stuff, or riding around in ****ty weather with a big ****ing grin on my face, i want them to know that being car free isn't as hard as they may think.

i also think it varies with the size of the city. being carfree is relatively common in large urban areas, and so the message loses a little meaning. but not having a car is a lot less common where i live.

I want mine to say "SMUG"

http://www.alltvstuff.com/images/ca030601.jpg


(I'm going to hell for that,aren't I?)

stencil + spraypaint
see $0.00/Gal
You should just go for $0.00/Gal. Sloganeering political statements are best when they are completely nonsensical.

Might I suggest Tackle Twill. It's durable, timeless (to use a corny phrase), and will probably last as long as the bag. You can also probably pick a reflective material if you talk to the seamstress/tailor.

http://images.google.com/images?complete=1&hl=en&q=tackle%20twill&sa=N&tab=wi

Never mind the frat/sorority letters in this example. You can get regular letters, too. If you live near a college, go to the bookstore or the place where fraternities get this stuff made. You can get all kinds of fonts and sizes. You can do color combos, too.

http://www.campus-classics.com/images/Product/img1-11745.jpg

http://store.fansonly.com/marketplace/store/Vendor8/fullscale/graysweat-c.jpg

Here is a site that has pricing to get an idea of what it costs...

http://www.hitrunscore.com/tackle-twill-lettering.html

i think a more important political message would be "i brake for cheesesteaks", but i'm from philly so...

Any spray will be fine.

Elmer's glue and gold glitter. Stitch on a few sequins for added flair!

ps - you're under thirty, right? (No offense at all to people under thirty. I was there once, I understand.)

I used some sharpie enamel paint markers to put a koi on my bag. A couple of the colors (blue, and green) never quite dried completely, so I ended up having to go over it with clear krylon to seal it. I did it last august and it has seen daily use. Its held up fairly well, not quite as vibrant as new. I used some regular sharpie markers on an old bag and after a few rides in rain and sun it was more stained than colored. go figure.

http://static.flickr.com/51/147219120_231b47652c.jpg

whoa! nice!

http://static.flickr.com/51/147219120_231b47652c.jpg

holy **** this is awesome

that koi is sweet!

I love paintmarkers so much!! dammit, now I have to go paint my bag.. it's so plain and boring.

I've got a Chrome Metropolis bag (please save your applause) . . . and I want to write "CAR-FREE" across the main flap of the bag. Any ideas on how I can do this? I'm looking for a durable method. I can always resort to simply using a Marker, but I was hoping that there is a better way. BTW would reflective tape stick to the CORDUA (or whatever the material is) for a long time?

My advice: Head to your nearest Jo-Ann Fabric or other arts-and-crafts store (taking your bag with you) and ask someone. My kid worked at Jo-Ann and often came home with hilarious stories about projects one doofus or another (not you, mind) insisted on undertaking, despite the fact they had no idea how to accomplish them.

I used some sharpie enamel paint markers to put a koi on my bag. A couple of the colors (blue, and green) never quite dried completely, so I ended up having to go over it with clear krylon to seal it. I did it last august and it has seen daily use. Its held up fairly well, not quite as vibrant as new. I used some regular sharpie markers on an old bag and after a few rides in rain and sun it was more stained than colored. go figure.

http://static.flickr.com/51/147219120_231b47652c.jpg


Holy Carp! That's awesome.

http://static.flickr.com/51/147219120_231b47652c.jpg[/QUOTE]

that looks fantastic, good lookin out

werd

thanks all for the approving comments. i wish i would have cut the chrome logo off before...but didnt really plan on taking it as far as i did.

i've had a a cruiser spraypainted on my cordura timbuk2 for a few years now. it's lasted through rain and sun. i've been hesitant to sew anything through the flap, so as not to bother its waterproofedness.

it did take a little while to soak in and dry, and i had to leave it flat, so it wouldn't run. good luck.