Rear bungee webbing for rack
 

Just wondering what everyone uses to attach things to the rear rack and keep them there? Do they made a good bungee webbing or perhaps a just a couple of bungee straps would be good enough.

I have a wide Surly Nice Rack rear rack and panniers on both sides. I have a water proof backpack that i would like to strap to the center of the rack to store a few things and use when i am off the bike. I am wondering of the best way to attach it. Seems to me i saw a small bit of bungee style webbing with hooks on it but i cant seem to locate it now.

This is the bungee net that my wife uses. You can pick one up at most bike shops.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1749/...04fc40a5_c.jpg

This is the method I use on my bike. I've used this method for thousands of miles without any major issues.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1758/...9f6eeec7_c.jpg

google says:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-Motorcyc...-/273264836489

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f1dedfee1c.jpg

These velcro straps work very well for soft bundles, like a jacket or layers. I have a mesh stuff bag that keeps everything together, and doesn't fill with air when I roll it up.
REI straps

I have the 18 inch straps for small bundles, maybe 4 or 5 inches in diameter, and the 24 inch straps for somewhat larger bags. The hook ends stick anywhere along the strap length. The straps don't stretch, so they are great for keeping the bundle in place. I can pull the strap really tight, and stick it down.

The 4 inch velcro hook end has to be folded back and stuck to the rest of the strap, so the largest circle of a 24 inch strap is about 6.5 inches. Using two 24 inch straps end-to-end, they make a circle anywhere from a little more than 12 inches down to about 8 inches.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4c4bd703fe.jpg

I use a bungee cord or two. By the way, I have never bought one. You cycle enough, you can pick enough up off the side of the road to last a lifetime.

Beware cheap elastic cargo nets... They tend to wear out fast.

I have both a Topeak (still only a paltry sum) and a Delta. The Topeak has 6 metal hooks, and is bigger, the Delta has 4 plastic hooks and is slightly smaller—pick your poison.

Bungee cords work just as well in my experience but they do make bungee nets. Beware cheap bungee products though. The hooks can be attached poorly (dangerous), and they can lose their elasticity quickly.

On a slightly unrelated note though, if you attach a backpack to your rear rack in the same position every time the rack can rub holes in the bag if they are in contact. I know this from experience.

I used to only use non-stretchy straps or velcro, that worked best on backpacks for backpacking. But I am slowly starting to also use the stretchy kind of webbing on a bike. But I would not want to rely only on webbing for something large and heavy. A small drybag with food like the blue drybag and green tent pole bag in the photo, the webbing worked great.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b9c30583a7.jpg

.. As long as you keep the bungee out of your rear wheel..

Personally I used nylon webbing straps, so no motion of the load.
which elastics can allow.

but I do have a (Delta) stretch net, for, like, pizza boxes, around town ..




...

^ Keep the backpack straps out of the rear wheel too !

are you referring to a strap much like the back pack straps themselves? Say like the SURLY junk strap? I have one of those and they work well.

I got a few 'Fastex' double pull buckles,

so could just use a length of 1" wide nylon webbing not sewn onto the buckle at all..

I bought a couple Topeak ones a few years back ($7 each). They work good, and I use them on my commuter bike maybe once every week or two. Mine haven't worn but then my commute is only a couple miles, and I don't really use them for heavy items.

I found what looked like the same things while browsing on aliexpress, and ordered a couple (I think they were $2.50 each).
Short version: they are junk, not worth stealing. There are multiple reasons for this opinion. I don't normally use them at all, and only kept them in case I ever needed to have "throw-away" cargo nets.

What IS good to get on aliexpress however is some of the cheep mini-carabiners... You can use them to link multiple cargo nets, or nets to bungee cords, to gather up a loose part of the net and so on.

LBS had rack bungee-nets. $10 and local.

On my motorcycle I always used the chin strap to keep the helmet from blowing off my head. Not sure why a bungee net is needed.

I don't recommend it, but I got a large , heavy part for my table saw home from the post office without any issues. I used my wife's net style bungee that she carries in her "around town" pannier. It works really well for touring type items.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1749/...955f78b3_c.jpg

Your photo reminded me of coming home with a new kayak paddle. I did not even get the entire box in the photo.

I bought a four piece kayak paddle, I assumed that the box would be about 30 inches long, so I rode my errand bike to pick it up instead of driving my truck to get it. I have no clue why the manufacturer packed the paddle half way assembled in the extra long box.

I had to lash down the bottom of the pannier to hold it better to the rack. But I did not use bungee netting for the purpose, the store gave me something to use. That shopping pannier is tall and narrow, the top has a drawstring closure so it held the paddle box reasonably close to vertical as long as I did not take any fast corners.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7986f56cb8.jpg

the one webbing thingee I had was well over 20 years ago, and I recall being disappointed in how it lost its elasticity after a somewhat short time, but that was a long time ago and maybe there are better ones out there. I guess for shoes or whatever they hold stuff better, but for holding a shirt or socks or shorts on to finish drying, regular bungees work fine, in my experience anyway.

I have found a huge variation in the quality of elastic in different bunge cord materials. A couple years ago I finally had to replace the bunge cords on my kayak deck, they were over 20 years old which I think is pretty good.

I have also had bungee cord inside of shock corded tent poles that lost elasticity in only a few years which I think is pretty bad.

Thus, I think the quality is a roll of the dice, you find out later if you got the good stuff or not.

I t hink yoiu are spot on with that assessment. 20 yrs and exposure to sun and salt water a lot is a heck of a good example of excellent quality. My net thingee really didnt get used that much and I was surprised how it went so bad.

These are handy. I replace the hooks with plastic carabiners. Plastic only because I think they make less noise.

Lately I've been wondering if some long Voile straps might be the ticket for strapping down larger loads.
https://www.voile.com/voile-straps.html

I don't like bungees for actually holding down a load. I got a couple sets of these from Ikea:

https://www.ikea.com/ie/en/images/pr...e618115_s4.jpg

Doesn't look like they still have them in the US stores, but I'm sure something else comparable is out there.

I use a bungee, cargo net for smaller, looser items that I want access to or want out on top for some reason: My damp clothing, my solar charged lights, maybe some food I picked up along the way. For items that are secured as part of my normal load, I have a whole strap collection: Surly Junk straps (also the loop version), Salsa Anything cage straps. Salsa's extra long straps, Nite Ize adjustable straps, and usually there's some sort of cord stowed somewhere if necessary. I could see where a cargo net could help reign in the straps on your backpack, but I can also see where, depending on how full you pack was, a normal cargo net might not be sufficient. I would likely run one strap around the backpack to keep the straps under control, and then fasten it to the rack with another strap.

Also, in a pinch, a belt will do the trick. Just remember that you've re-purposed your belt, or the next time you hop off the bike, you may have to make a frantic grab for your shorts as they head for the ground. Or so I've heard. :innocent: