How do i make my own Top tube protector? (Diy one is down..)
 

My sister in law's family makes clothing.

She can make a custom Top tube protector with any frabric..

Im thinking im going to make it with my logo on it,

And instead of velcro im going to us buttons.

But what do you guys make them out of?

Foam pipe insulation, from a home improvement store.

I've noticed there's two general ways of making fabric top tube protectors; there's the cheaper easier 2 piece way (pake's are like this) where the pipe insulation wraps around the top tube and then the fabric wraps around it all. And then there's the nicer one piece way where the foam is sandwitched within 2 sheets of fabric like yancopad's.

you... have a logo?

lulz


yeah it's easy enough. you don't even have to use pipe insulation(a lot of it is too thick), you can just use flat foam that's to your liking and then cut the fabric over it to bend it around your tube.

the most important thing is measurement. you want the inside diameter and the outside diameter and the fabric to be pulled tight but not warped or bunched.

i think a tt pad is probably one of the easiest things to make with a sewing machine for a bike. if not the easiest.

On the topic of measurements I can measure the dimensions of my pads.... if you want a universal pad that would work with various top tube sizes....

my friend have pipe insulation with fabric over it. It fits her style :)
If I'm putting anything on my top tube I wouldn't want it to slide. Buttons aren't that great on keeping things tight. Unless u're covering ur entire top tube length.
My top tube I just use left over bar tape. Or I was even thinking of DIY-ing something similar to the leather stitched bar wrap.

Velo Orange has kits for the bars if you are stretching it to fit over a top tube I would recommend getting the leather wet first, it will help with stretching

^^^
nice! I'll put it to consideration for my townie build.

MY girlfriend made me one out of a Burlap Bag that our Coffee Beans were Shipped in, and then just used fleece on the inside for the padding.

I figure that all it had to do was stop the U lock and other objects from scratching the top tube. And it seems to work good It looks nice. Downside is that the edges fray because of the burlap, but I would imagine that you could sew strips of fabric on the edges as a 'hem' that would prevent the fraying.

Personally I think it gives an interesting look (the fraying), but it means that eventually it will fall apart.

Picture of Bike with TT protector:

http://i573.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/WebBike3.jpg

+1
:lol:

Can you give me the size?

I've never fully understood the point of these.

I have stitched leather twice the first time 25 years ago a set of drops and the second time last summer on a set of pursuit bars; make sure your hands are in good shape and use a lot of hand cream before you start (and probably once or twice while you are working) The cord sucks all the oils out of your skin which leads to cuts and burns

I want to make one so i dont scratch the tt as much. And it saves my goodies when i fall.

wow. Did not know that. Thanks!

Why do you want to scratch your toptube? Crabs???
There's an ointment for that!

Lol! I want to keep from scratching my tt (:

lets face it, some people just like the looks of them. to each their own.
they can be handy for protecting the top tube from dents/scratches/etc....
something soft for leaning the bike against hard objects....
a somewhat softer surface in case of testicle contact when "busting mad skidz, brah"......i have a front brake, but skid stop here and there. something i was told a number of times when i had trouble learning how to skid was "balls to the tube" because you need to get your weight off the back tire.

all those things are what led me to getting a top tube pad. i know some bike purists will scoff at this but i will admit, half of why i have one is because i like how it looks better than without :)
plus its sort of nostalgic because my little kid's bike back in the 80s had them.

old tire tube :P

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/...2e1c362ec9.jpg

I hesitate to think what else could fray because of the burlap

I don't get it.

Dude, you mean your balls don't fray on occasion??? :lol:

My balls are made of ChroMoly.

oh i thought about this too! i like the way it looks. haha.