Tie down methods?
 

So on my way home, I realized that I needed to stop by the feed store and grab some cat food. It was pretty close to closing time, so I didn't have time to run and grab the car forcing me to make do with what I had available.

I keep a diamond shaped bungee net on my rack, and had my lunch bag tied down with it(It's small). I was able to lay the 30 lb bag of cat food over the the rack with the lunch on top and get it secured, bu the load shifted a lot and actually slid sideways off the rack. I didn't catch it for a mile or so, but I had a big ass bag of food hanging inches from my rear deraileur, being supported by a single cheap bungee hook.

Any better solutions for stuff like this? The bungee net is good for a small bag of groceries, but because of it's size and shape isn't great for the occasional wide load(as this was).

A long strand of 550 cord, or other tiedown cordage would work best. Heavy twine would work, too. You just anchor it at one end, and wrap around the load, weave through the rack or bike frame, wrap back across the load, etc etc. Make sure to criss cross, and pull it uniformly tight. Tie off with a good knot, you're done! You could probably stuff enough in your seat tube, and forget about it until you need it.

I have found the Nite Ize figure 9's indispensible. Yes, you can do the same with a trucker's hitch if you can't afford the $10 for a set of the small figure 9's, but personally the Nite Ize are the way to go.

I have the large carabiners I use for tying up my Hennessy Hammock, securing larger loads to my trailer, and securing items to the top of my car on my roof rack. I also have the large and small rope tighteners. They're relatively cheap, easy, and very useful.

A little hard to see on the picture - and not in action - but a ratchet strap works great, very strong hold on anything.

http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/u...lipboard02.jpg

Bungee cords of different lengths. I carry the cords strapped to my rack so I don't have to worry about stuffing them into anything. When I need them, there they are and I can lash just about anything I need to as tight as I need to. Cheap and versatile.

I haven't found the best solution, yet. Bungies have been unreliable for me - I have had them let go when I have been riding. Worse, is if I forget I have one hanging on the rack and start to ride away....oops. So far, I rely on my trunk and my backpack.

I've had the same experiences with bungies:
More than once I've gotten off the bike to see why it was so hard to pedal, and found a bungee wrapped around my axle between the cogs and dropouts. Bleh.

Bungees are good if you have the right length to wrap around underneath the rack shelf and hook itself. I use this method to carry home cat food and kitty litter. Two bungees, one long one to go long ways and one less long one to go short ways.

Otherwise I stuff my panniers.

This is a great and versatile way to tie down larger loads. Here is the "good knot": http://www.animatedknots.com/truckers/index.php. It's perfect for tensioning the 550 cord to keep everything in place. As an alternative to steps 1-5, I like substituting the alpine butterfly.

Bungees. Mine are strapped to the rack for whenever. Part of the pre ride check is to make sure they are tight. I've had 'em drop into my spokes too.

I may have to try this, or a ratchet strap.

I didn't pay attention in boyscouts enough to trust myself with 550 cord and a load, though I should probably start practicing.

Old tubes.

Surly Junkstraps.

I've got a Fredalicious solution, but it basically eliminates using panniers.

I don't like bungees or anything elastic for anything more than a few pounds like clothes because sometimes it can be hard to tension. Rope can be easily tensioned with a trucker's hitch knot and then tied off regardless of the length. Another plus is that it will never snap back if it doesn't catch right.

Paracord and trucker's hitch would have been my suggestion also. The trucker's hitch is a very useful knot to know. I have not used the Nite Ize things.

I loker the Surly Junk Straps. They are like long Toe Straps from the old days, with the little clip & all. They hold pretty well & are long enough to wrap around most larger objects. If not 1, then 2 would certainly fit around the cat food. They are also small & will easily fit in the corner of a bag until needed.

I didn't want to get into too much detail, but...
http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewt...ilit=knotology
This is a pretty sweet thread for learning useful knots, if you're interested.
No1mad, I have a similar setup. I just cut the top 3/4 off of a milk crate and ziptied it to the rack. Works great for schoolbooks and other heavy loads.

I got some Nashbar grocery panniers. Like $15 each side. I can haul quite a bit in those.

I don't use bungee cords for anything that is important. I have seen too many of them along side the road.

I generally don't have tie down issues, due to owning an Xtrcycle, when I do have issues where something needs to be tied down, I usually use the camlock straps that Xtracycle sells. If I still need more I have a hank of 550 paracord that I can use.

Part of me really, really wants an xtra cycle.

Unfortunately some people think bungees are the magic solution for everything. Ever see a bungee pop off the top of a minivan on the highway only to see a ladder flying after the bungee cord? And I don't mean some pansy aluminum ladder; this guy had a fiberglass ladder so it was probably 50-60lbs.

Granular things in bags are very hard to secure to a rack. The contents move away from ties as they are shaken by bumps. Either the straps get loose enough to fall away, or the bag oozes out from under them.

I lost a 30 pound bag of dog food right by the dog park on my way home. It ripped open and kibble poured out. Most of it was recovered, and the rest was cleaned up quickly by the locals.

I found the best way to carry a large bag like that on a rack is to fold the bag in a way that makes it's contents very tightly packed, then wrap a cargo net over it as tightly as possible. Smaller bags will fit into a pannier.

Dog food is just a pain to carry on a rack.

Perhaps a rack widening platform would help..
a front portieur type rack.. they're wide.

Or like i used ..a bungee net, across the full width of my front panniers
to retrieve a Pizza, .width helps.

I always carry 2-4 bungees per rack (I often run front and rear racks on my bikes). Usually two bungees will secure anything, as long as you make sure to stetch them out well so they have little give left in them by winding them around the rack however much you need to depending on the load. Used to carry multiple bankers boxes of legal documents this way when I was a courier. IIRC those are 40 or 48 pounds each. I never have any trouble with my loads as long as I use at least two bungees and run them in a way that takes up almost all of the slack in them. These days I use bungees in the summer to secure all my camping gear to my rear rack when doing bike camping and the ocassional load home from the store the rest of the year.

I like bungees because they are quick and easy to get on and off. I also carry a bungee net for each rack but only use it to secure very light loads. Get bungees that aren't the black rubber ones, and make sure you get ones with plastic hooks. If they slip out of your hands while securing them the metal hooked ones can be dangerous!

I know what you mean, but that wasn't the problem in this case. Unlike my dog food, the cat food is packed in a heavy duty plastic bag(Have to get a knife to open the bag) and has been sealed with so little air that it's basically a slab.

I think I just need some ratcheting staps+the cargo net. I'm not sure I could get a bag of dog food on my rack, as mine only comes in 40 lb bags and it's larger chunks. Maybe with the platform extender like someone mentioned.

Cycler, from the Biking in Heels blog uses the flat rack straps found on dutch type bikes. She has a great post about using it for an impressive load here: http://bikinginheels-cycler.blogspot...avy-laden.html