My Surly CC
 

Loaded for an all day island ride.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ace/CCMar2.jpg

My Surly
 

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...kestuff060.jpg This is my LHT, not loaded. Weater proof bags I made and my old tires for fenders. This is my 6th winter car free and loving it!

Mechanicalron,
Nice setup, would love to see a closeup on those panniers. What are the made from? Also the chain slap guard, is that DIY as well (a piece of leather glued to the stay)?
Cheers!
tdp

Hey thank you!
I make them out of canvas and leather. A one time treatment of bezwax and neetsfoot oil wil make them weather proof for years and years! They can breathe so your damp stuf wont get smelly. The chain stay has leather over it that I sewed onto it. Need a special bag?

Hi,
Can you post some more photos of the bike and the panniers. If you have photos of the making process of the panniers, it will be great.

Thanks,
Kfir

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...ce/sick009.jpg
I use copper rivets, brass bukles, saddle leather and cotton canvas. This will last you a life time!
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...ce/sick008.jpg
Next, trash pick some good 100 year old Singers, ha ha!
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x...ce/sick006.jpg
And whala!
http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x.../sick004-1.jpg
I use my old tires for fenders! ron.

I'm impressed!

Yea what started as a hobby has hit the fan you could say. People and friends keep having me make them bags and I may have to quit my job, ha ha ha! ron.

Nice!

You are amazing my friend I'm impressed.
Very creative. Specially the mudguards.

Thanks,
Kfir

what kind of of handlebars are those? Looks like some weird beveled down tt bars

Those bags are beautiful. Would it be too much to ask to have you post the pattern you used?

I want to add my praise to the heap, Mechanicaliron. They look great.

I had what I needed in my head and made a scetch on paper that looked like a 4 year old did. I just maped it out on the canvas with chalk and cut. On my 90 year old Singer I put a grid with masking tape 3/4" from the needle. Start sewing 3/4" from the top and 3/4" in from the side and stop sewing 3/4" short at the bottom. So if you want a 12" box cut your fabrick 13 and 1/2" and match the edge up with your grid tape. I should make a pattern and not just a sceth if I am going to make bags. The ones here are for my front racks and get HUGE and can expand big time. The three straps on the top are for my sleeping gear and not to mount. the bags mount standard to the rack. Sit on your bike and see what you can get away with at your heel/ feet and start there, ron.

09 Randonee
 

This morning was the maiden voyage for my new Randonee. I went 32 miles and enjoyed the ride - it felt good. I'm waiting for Tubus racks for front and rear (the Cosmo and the Nova) and I'll put my panniers on it and send an updated picture. I've put on SKS fenders, and I'll be swapping out the bottle cages. I'm looking to take it to Ireland in May for a 2 week tour.

very nice billwatson 58 .what part of ireland are you thinking of touring,im on the northeast coast,thinking of doing some short camping trips in may , here in ireland maby up north not sure yet .to test the gear for my three week tour of normandy/france.

I don't have a definite route but I'm thinking my starting/stopping point will be Athlone as I have cousins there. From there, I'm thinking of heading up toward Achill Island, down to Galway, Berra peninsula, Cork, then back to Athlone. I've got two weeks, and was thinking of going the hostel route vs camping. Any and all suggestions would be most welcome. thanks!

to be honest ,im ashamed to say i dont know ireland by bike,except up my part of the country which is , louth.meath ,and parts of northern ireland.but i can tell you if you get the weather theres no finer place. athlone is wright smack in the middle ,so you can basically go whatever direction you choose .anyway i hope you have a great time if you do come.

Alright well I just finished my first tour (3 days from Boston to New York during my spring break), so here's my touring rig as it stands now, though it is a work in progress.


The bike: A pre-1993(has Suntour components) Bianchi Osprey Lugged Chromoly Framed MTB found last year on CL.

Swapped out: saddle for Specialized Avatar, Tires for Schwalbe Marathon Plus 26x1.75, Brake Pads for Kool Stop Dual Compound black/salmon pads, bars for nashbar trekking.

Added: Ergon grips, duct taped Magellan Meridian GPS, 3 water bottle cages, rear rack, 2 wald steel rear grocery baskets (that's right, I'm touring with these 7lb babies, though diy trashcan panniers are probably next), autozone reflective tape, planet bike hardcore fenders, blinkies.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ikecropped.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ike/img100.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ike/img101.jpg

Oooh. Cromo, mtb, Suntour, lugged- tasty combo there. So you had a nice bike under you, how was the trip?

the trip went really well, thanks to temps in the 50s that weekend, warmshowers.org, and adequete raingear. I'll have a post about it on crazyguyonabike soon though. she is one smooth (but heavy) ride, thanks.

No huge handling issues with so much piled on back and only a water bottle up front?

http://www.webdesignsiteproduction.c...s/stallion.jpg

Last three days on a bike trip to Oregon from Northern Cal. Got rid of my back pack and tied all the gear I wanted to the rear rack with rope and bungee cords found along the way.