Surly Junk Straps
 

I bought a set of these & they came in yesterday. They are basically really long toe straps. I used them on my commute today to hold my backpack on my rear rack & they are, by far, the best attachment ststem I have used. Cargo nets are great, but in order to work, I have to attach them pretty tight, but that can squeeze the backpack & crunch stuff like my lunch. Just an FYI, in case someone else was thinking about trying them.

more info, please. They looked kinda junky imo. How are they any better than bungee cords? I personally use a cargo net but I wish it was bigger. It fits pretty tight for smaller packages though.

I've made my own and I rather like them. They work pretty much like a giant, reusable zip tie.

Bungie cords de-bungy and hook into things, it can be a real mess if they get wound around your rear wheel.

I don't get it. The title said this thread was about surly junk straps?

http://www.cricketstoreonline.com/pr...69927_zoom.jpg

I hate bungee cords, don't use them, judging from the number of them I see along side the road, they have a high failure rate.
I use the Xtracycle straps and I am going to order more of them one of these days.

I find bungy cords are always exactly the wrong length for whatever I'm tying down, so straps do come in handy.
I can't tell from the Surly site what kind of buckle they have - if it's actually a toe-strap buckle then they hold pretty well and you can use them for leverage to cinch-down the strap.
I'm not a big fan of plastic buckles on most "camping gear" straps, but Campmor (and others) sell a metal-buckle strap called an "Arno" strap. They are cheap too - $5 for a pair of 36"-ers.

D ring belts are pretty great for strapping things down. At one of my local thrift stores I can get them for a $1 or less and there are tons of them. Its another option of something to use thats cheap duarable and effective.

http://www.campmor.com/bison-designs...4&ci_sku=94834

I like these as well, they are great for racks

http://www.rivbike.com/products/show...h-strap/20-138

I'm a big fan of the Surly Junkstraps, especially if you can catch them on ebay for cheap. I use them on the xtracycle to strap things down to the deck. I use them to attach my fishing pole to my bike for riding to the river. I keep one wrapped around my commuter bike's rear rack at all times. Very handy, strong, and well made.

Surly has a Junk Strap contest going on right now...

http://surlybikes.com/blog/2509/

They truly are long toe straps. They use the same exact clip as my old toe clips & straps did. They also are made of the exact same material. I've tried bungee cords, and cargo nets and velcro straps and anything else I can think of, but so far these are the best for me. The bungee cords never seem to hold securely & my backpack tends to move around. The cargo net is better, but both styles I have end up being too loose or too tight. when it's too loose, my bag moves around a bit, when they're too tight, it can crush my lunch or anything else Fragile I have in my bag. These are just right for me.

surly has a video of 'how to use the Junk Straps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OblcXzzPry8 Towards the end, there is a quick shot os one being used to hold a sleeping bag to a rear rack. That's exactly how I use mine (except with a backpack.

They look nice, but wow they seem pretty expensive. A set of 6 for $34 is the best I could find. Where's the 'poor man's' version?

I currently use bungees, but for example if I want to transport a box of doughnuts as I'm doing this Saturday for a Tour de France breakfast party, they would squish the doughnuts.

In this case i would strap a milkcrate or something similar to your rack and just put the doughnuts inside.

Check ebay randomly, I bought 6 Junkstraps, shipped for $25.

That's my son strapped down to my xtracycle deck getting his diaper changed :)

The doughnuts I'm buying are the dozen you get from Dunkin Doughnuts. They come in a box about the same size as a pizza box, except that the box is a lot more flimsy. The box won't fit inside a milk crate, unfortunately.

$25 would be better. I'll keep my eye on ebay. Thanks!

I'm a big fan of the NiteIze KnotBones. They're basically adjustable locking bungee traps, available in both round and flat shapes.

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/003...ge.jpeg?100582

I like 12 d-rings and 6 yds of 1" poly for $5.You can have 6 straps 3ft long if you want.Or you can make 1 strap 18ft long for $2.

For $25,you could make enough for you and everyone you know and still have some to give away at Christmas.

get webbing of that width by the yard+ [ 120cm/ 48"each]

then poprivet the buckles off old toestraps on the ends.