Different strokes, but I've never thought it made much sense to carry my tent in a pannier. I do have enough room that it would fit if the poles were short enough, but I really don't seem much point in putting a wet item inside a waterproof pannier. Since my tent is quite often still wet with dew or frost when when I break camp (often at or before sunrise) it rides on top of the rack.

Webbing straps and fastex buckles for me. I do have a bungee net to use for occasional oddly-shaped loads that would benefit from not being cruelly cinched down - like a loaf of bread or bag of fruit.

While there are some nylon formulations that don't stretch as much, the more commonly available ones stretch significantly when wet. Significantly as in 20 to 25%. Even nylon webbing stretches.

As for tightening the straps, yes you can do this. But with an elastic cord bungee, you have one less thing to worry about.

And I didn't even bring up the issue of UV degradation

Some webbing might be made of polypropylene but I would suspect that most of it is nylon, especially if you buy it in bulk off a roll. It would be difficult to tell the difference until the material is wet. The PP would still be tight while the nylon would stretch. Therein may be what people are seeing when they report that their straps don't stretch when wet. They may be using 'nylon' webbing but, in actuality, they are using polypropylene.

Thanks for all the responses. Have you guys that use the straps and buckles have issues with them deteriorating and breaking after a few years in the sun? We have a lot of boat covers at work (biologist for Fish and Game) and the straps and fastex buckles are always the first thing to break. The bungies seem to outlast the cover material where as the straps always go first on those that have them. Sun exposure is an issue for me as I commute every week day in all weather and in Sacramento the sun is usually what gets things. I really like the idea of the adjustability the straps offer since I carry lots of different sized loads.

All may be for not though. Last night I noticed my frame cracked. Please check out my next thread if you have any advice on the Nashbar touring frame and fit.

1" poly webbing and 2 d-rings.Cost $1,won't stretch when wet,hang your car with it,doesn't come loose,you can make them any size you want,uv doesn't bother it like nylon,lasts a lifetime.

No. They seem to be holding up fine in that regard. I think some of ours have probably been in the sun all day about 120 days or so. Much of that was in places where the sun is brutal, like high desert. They may deteriorate if in the sun all day every day for years, but since they are $4 for a pair of straps, replacing them before that isn't a big hardship.

not really but I know what you're talking about. Most of the tie down webbing that connects to fasteks are polypropelene or dacron and it does deteriorate eventually. The problem with Fastek buckles is that they really aren't mean to carry lots of force or cyclical forces. They work best as quick release and quick connect with working loads a lot less than the working load of the webbing. So a boat cover with 1/2" fastek gets connected and pulled TIGHT and then the weight of the wind hits repeatedly it or the next time the buckle is clipped and a 200lb person pulls HARD it breaks. For use connecting to racks or belts I don't see a problem but for applications where a load cycles or is very high it doesn't last. Like the 1" webbing and buckles used to suspend a 65lb kayak with static load it's no problem but if the load varies from 20-65lbs it can lead to failure. On kayaks they're used a lot to clip across hard shell hatch covers but if a person grabs the kayak by the strap it can snap.

I'd use fastek buckles to hold things on bicycle racks but if the bags were hanging down where weight was cycling on the straps I'd want some kind of backup if the buckles were narrow 1/2" size. Somehow I broke one of the tangs on the fastek buckle that straps over the top of my Ortlieb roller pannier. I jammed it in wrong and it broke. Surprised me.

Nope. I think there's a danger of overthinking this one - nylon (or whatever they turn out to be made of) straps work fine, you can tighten them down and they don't stretch at all (as far as I can tell, from a 5,000+ mile coast-to-coast tour in 1998 and another one in 2003 across Minnesota). My straps still look as good as new, in fact, no sign of damage at all (maybe a little faded from the sun), and as Pete said, they are only a couple of bucks a pop. They are better than bungees, in my mind, because bungees stretch - so if you go over a bump, the sudden acceleration of the load can make things move around and even dislodge and fall off the bike without you knowing. A webbing strap is tightened down, and it stays tightened down (in my experience). Also, there's that whole taking-your-eye-out thing. I've had bungees snap up unexpectedly and almost cause me permanent and serious damage, so I don't trust them now (at least, not for high-stress applications like keeping a load secure).

I use a criss-cross method over the bags I keep on the rear rack (generally the tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mat). So each bag gets two straps, crossed over in an X on top. I first lay the 6 straps across the rack (under the rack, actually), then put the tent on lengthways (i.e. oriented in line with the bike), strap that down with 2 straps, then put the sleeping bag on top of the tent, crossways, strap that down with 2 straps, then the pad behind the bag, crossways, and use the last 2 straps for that. This way, the tent doesn't interfere with the pannier hooks as much, and the cross-ways bags are raised up a bit so you can still get into the top of the panniers while they are on the bike. Then I often use a couple of bungees, lightly tensioned (or a bungee cargo net, these days) over the whole lot, just to keep things like socks and bandanas which are drying. You can see this arrangement here:

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/p...580&size=large

As someone else mentioned, you may have to think a little harder for large items like canoes, where there is a lot more weight, potential vibration etc, but for the back of a bicycle... nah, these things "just work", any webbing strap from the Army Navy store would probably do the job.

Neil

I've still use poly straps that I used when I was backpacking....40 years ago.

neil funny but i always got the impression you were much older, don't ask why but looking good dude.
don't know how to add smiles.

Half right. Polypropylene and polyethylene don't stretch when wet. But they do undergo photo-degradation just as nylon does. The amount of degradation depends on many factors including length of exposure, treatments applied at manufacturing, presence of ozone, etc.

Be careful not to think that all material properties are the same. Just because it's a 'plastic' doesn't mean that they are all the same. Polypropylene is very different from Dacron (aka PET, same material as in plastic pop bottles) which is different from nylon. Even all nylons...or polyamides...are not all the same. Nylon 6 is different from Nylon 66 which is very different from Nylon 5,10. Each one has unique properties and uses. Nylon 6 and Nylon 66 are the most common forms.

If your straps didn't stretch when wet they weren't Nylon 6 or Nylon 66. Both of those very common nylon formulations absolutely do stretch when wet. A 12" nylon 6 strap would stretch to 18" when wet. It certainly could make a huge difference while binding a load on a bike.

If your straps, nylon or polypro, are faded, they have been damaged. Fading is the first indication of photodamage. You may not lose a lot of strength but don't be fooled into thinking that fading is nothing to worry about.

I understand the issue about bungees flying off when you release them. That's one of the reasons I switched to the ball bungee. I use 4 and when I release them, the spring away from me rather than towards me. There are no hooks on them to catch anything nor to dig holes in the bags.

Yeah, that was me in 2003 - now we're eight years further down the road! I've put on weight since then, and I need to lose it again. But fwiw, I'm 43 currently, soon to be 44. Yikes.

Neil

I have found neoprene crampon straps to hold gear tightly to a rack even slippery siliconized stuff sacks. Excellent strength, adjustability and durability. My straps are now 30 years old!

Yeah it looks like most of the bulk webbing I see is nylon, but the pre-made straps seem to most commonly be polypropylene. At least that is true of the ones I have seen listed as sleeping bag straps.

Hi All,

+1 for compression sacks and 1" webbing straps:



Sleeping bag on the back, tent body, fly & ground trap on the front. you can see some bungee ont he back that I use to hold wet laundry and such.

Tomn, what front rack is that in your photo? It looks like it has low rider mounts as well as a top platform but doesn't look as over-engineered as some.

Sorry about the late reply. It is a Nitto Big Front Rack: https://www.rivbike.com/products/show...k-nitto/20-075 I bought it a long time ago when it wasn't so frighteningly expensive. It is very sturdy.

Tom