No stock, no financial interests ……… I’m just relating my experiences through years of cycling and years of observing other cyclists.
One thing I have observed among
some bungie cord users is that they don’t seem to know how to use them.
1) A few use cords that are way too big. Long or fat cords don’t hold the bundles we would carry on our racks very well – they end up being too loose and involve all sorts of creative wrapping to come close to working. Big cords also usually have big hooks which are too cumbersome to work with, and a person could risk injury with those things. When you go shopping for bungie cords, buy a bag with a variety of sizes … and when in doubt, go small. You can get bungie cords that are 6” long, when unstretched, with very tiny hooks. Those work very well to hold down a rolled jacket or things like that. And the sizes go up from there. Most department and hardware stores have a fairly large selection, and they are not expensive.
2) Some don’t pull the cords snug enough. I’ve seen people more or less drape the cord over their stuff, which creates the same effect as a compression strap … it doesn’t hold their stuff! And they wonder why everything falls off. You’ve got to make sure the cord is tight so that the elastic can do what elastic is supposed to do.
3) Some don’t attach the hooks properly. I’ve seen some people hook them to parts of the rack where they end up sliding all over the place, or to the cord itself, or some part of what they are trying to strap, or have them just barely attached at all so that they look like they are going to pop off any second. You’ve got to pick a spot where that hook is not going to move. When my bungie cord snapped in the middle, there was no way those hooks were going to come out of where I’d hooked them without some very specific maneuvers on my part. You’ve also got to make sure the hook is a hooked shape. Some hooks, especially the smaller ones, can straighten out a bit which makes their hooking properties less effective. I double check mine every time before I use them.
4) Some people only use one bungie cord. One bungie cord can be all right in some situations, especially when transporting
one smallish soft or lumpy object where the cord can sink in, and especially if you’ve got the right sized cord, but if you are trying to carry anything large, smooth, or if you are trying to carry more than one object, you need more than one cord. One can be wrapped at one 45 degree angle, and the other can be wrapped at the other 45 degree angle to create a diamond-shaped pattern. And then if you want to do something like roll up your jacket and put it on the back, add a third (very small) bungie cord, rather than disrupt the secure pattern you’ve created with the first two.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with using bungie cords … provided you have the right cord for the job and know how to use it.
If I were to go to another type of securing device it would have to be elastic, just like a bungie cord, to hold my stuff securely. From my observations of other cyclists, non-elastic types of strapping are just not reliable enough. They can also be dangerous. I’ve been following behind cyclists using non-elastic strapping when their gear has suddenly slid out and dropped onto the road right in front of me.
And you’ve got the “trinity” wrong. It’s bungie cords, WD-40, and
electrical tape. Tried and true!!
