Dose anyone know how to do this with out bungy cords and it still be secure??

Zip ties? Maybe?

Guy around here has some zip tied and bungied on. Me, I'd just use bungies so it wouldn't rattle.

Maybe pick up some metal hooks, and attach them to the sides of the crates so they hang from the rack like a pannier, specifically like the pet litter bucket panniers?

a couple of these on each one? Rope Hook/J Hook White Zinc 3000 Lbs.

Then a bungee holding it down and tight to the rack?

Yeah, zip-ties or hose clamps. Zip ties are easy-peasy, though you'll probably want quite a few of them to support that much weight.

Just noticed that's the front rack of the bike! I wonder what it feels like to have a load that big on the front like that. Also, that's an interesting handlebar set-up.

I find zip ties to fatigue over time and break. I would by small hose clamps for main mounting points, then maybe some zip ties to keep it tight against the rack, prevent rattling, etc.

Can't see needing that much water for a commute to work. Maybe in the desert?

There are a number of people that have used kitty litter panniers on the rack when the rack is mounted over the rear wheel.

Zip ties or metal pipe bands come to mind.

M.

I think I'd just as soon get something like these Donkey Boxx Bicycle Panniers for Bicycle Racks than mount milk crates to the sides of the rack. These things probably have a higher load limit than your current crate (but their combined limit may exceed your rack's rating).

Try getting some 3/4" wide Ratchet Straps. Super secure and easy on/off.

Steel P clamps. & bolts and wing nuts ..

Rope, zip ties, duct tape, a cable. Or one of the most interesting, melt part of the plastic at the rim of the crate and then stick it on the side of the rack and hold it there until it can dry. I haven't tested that method but I think it would work.

I would be worried that bungy cord or anything that bends will work itself loose on bumpy terrain. I have been using them to tie a huge flashlight to the frame of my bike, but the light requires constant adjustment during the ride, so I'm working on a more reliable solution. Zip ties will stretch over time, but if you get really huge ones and use a lot of them, that might be one option. I would tie the crates not only at the top, but also to the diagonal parts to make the whole structure stiffer. The crates effectively act as levers of sorts, so I think tall and narrow is better than broad and shallow... Getting the weight of your cargo as close to your bike as possible will make the whole thing more durable. Someone suggested hose clamps, which are handy in the sense that you can tighten them super tight and they are practically indestructible. Of course the plastic of the crates themselves would be stressed right next to the hard and inflexible clamps, so you'd still have to divide the stress by using multiple clamps. I'd use folded pieces of discarded inner tubing under the clamps but maybe my logic is flawed. If you use bolts and wing nuts as someone else suggested, you will need washers (rather larger than smaller) under the bolt head and wing nut to distribute the stress. I don't know about the duct tape that yet another person recommended, I'd be worried about it stretching, and the glue failing. Sorry about not offering any concrete plan. What I've been dreaming to build for my own bike is something like a triple rack with one rack on top of the rear tire and two on each side, sort of hanging from the top rack like the crates in the picture, just with no sides at all.

Agree with this plus some washers.


Alternatively, a long bolt with washers and locknuts could work. This might distribute the weight across the top of the rack better. Go to home depot and just look at parts. Creativity will find the solution.

Click on the below and notice that this one uses zip ties. I like the idea of a hook that goes over the rack then some quality bungies to sung it into place. This makes it easily removable.

Man I have one milk crate on my bike and that generated a lot of weight. Two must be a lot. Also why have the weight in the front instead of the back?

What about short rachet straps?

M.

Perhaps something like the kit they offer here would be helpful. The kit seems like it would work and the bike bucket directions under "more" provide directions that I would think can be modified to work with crates if someone prefers that to buckets.

BTW, I have no affiliation with the web site referenced. Just thought it might be helpful to some here.

Edit: I forgot to mention that Jandd is also a good source for this kind of hardware. Scroll way down the page.

Looks pretty handy All in one collection of essential side box parts. The sort of top-opening mailboxes we use around here would make perfect weatherproof "side bags". That's an inspiring product / idea.

If you don't want to use a milk crate on top of the rack because it won't fit under the seat, instead find a soda crate - the kind that 20 oz plastic bottles are shipped in. They have lower sides.

+1 that's exactly what I did, following this easy-to-follow tutorial. I call them "kittiers" (kitty littler bucket panniers), and I would recommend switching to those instead of milk crates, because they are not as ridiculously wide, and they have convenient snap-on lids and are 100% waterproof. Also they are free if you have cats or have a friend with cats that can give you their empties.

I have had this happen. I use 3 large zip ties to hold a plastic bin on my rack. After about a year ~4000 miles on the zip ties, one broke, strangely enough the enough the next day the other two broke. I am satisfied with their fatigue life though, they took a lot of rough roads carrying fairly heavy loads during that year. Next time i'll just replace them after about six months.

I agree though that zip ties aren't the best solution for what the OP wants, I don't think they would last so long in the hanging milk crate application.