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06-15-07, 08:13 PM
The other day I had an awkward package and experimented with a new way to stabilize the load.
I had my beater without a luggage rack. The load didn't fit crossways on the handle bars and I had
no bungees with me. When I put the package in line with the axis of the bicycle it stuck out over the handlebars so much that it fell forward. So I used some cellophane package tape to tape the rear of the box to the top tube. I kept the front of the box on the handel bars loose so I could steer. Worked fine in DC rush hour traffic and potholed streets. I took the photo after I arrived home. I worried that the flimsy tape would break but it didn't. It only needed to counteract a fraction of the package weight not all of it. The thing I didn't think of because I was so worried about counter balance is that with the package jammed up against the seat my thighs rubbed it. If I had to do it again I'd check it first without tape and hopefully see that I'd be more comfortable with the package moved forward two inches or so. Still I felt that I could haul it 10 miles or so before it got annoying. It was easy to cut the tape once I got the thing into my home.
I had my beater without a luggage rack. The load didn't fit crossways on the handle bars and I had
no bungees with me. When I put the package in line with the axis of the bicycle it stuck out over the handlebars so much that it fell forward. So I used some cellophane package tape to tape the rear of the box to the top tube. I kept the front of the box on the handel bars loose so I could steer. Worked fine in DC rush hour traffic and potholed streets. I took the photo after I arrived home. I worried that the flimsy tape would break but it didn't. It only needed to counteract a fraction of the package weight not all of it. The thing I didn't think of because I was so worried about counter balance is that with the package jammed up against the seat my thighs rubbed it. If I had to do it again I'd check it first without tape and hopefully see that I'd be more comfortable with the package moved forward two inches or so. Still I felt that I could haul it 10 miles or so before it got annoying. It was easy to cut the tape once I got the thing into my home.