Duct Tape Panniers

[el_walto]

I'm thinking of making some bike panniers out of duct tape to hold my two ping batteries. Am I Crazy?

It would be one large piece of duct tape that drapes over the top. 100% duct tape.

It would not use bins like this setup:
http://www.carsstink.org/peterson/Pannier/DuctTapePanniers.html

 

[tostino]

My sisters have made duct tape purses before, so it would probably work just fine honestly . Get the nice colorful stuff and make it pop . Lmao.

 

[tostino]

My sisters have made duct tape purses before, so it would probably work just fine honestly . Get the nice colorful stuff and make it pop . Lmao.

 

[John in CR]

IMHO duct tape is too flexible to use alone. You don't want swaying batteries.

In '08 I split one of my Pings in half for a saddle bag type mount to go over my top tube near the headset. After splitting it I sealed it up well with a good coat of duct tape. I then cut a piece of aluminum sheet metal around the 2 packs to form a metal "U" on the underside and straight across the top. I started with the U for one side and went all the way around to finish with a U for the other side, so the U is a double thickness of the thin aluminum. I duct taped the AL to the packs so it wouldn't rub through the duct tape. When I put it over the top tube a couple of piece of duct tape across the bottom clamps it to the top and down tube and the battery is totally secured to the bike and well protected.

 

[tostino]

Gah I need to fix this problem with my work computer clicking twice instantly (and creating multiple posts in the process).

 

[dogman dan]

Much better to cut up plastic dog food bags and then duct tape them into panniers. They sell the food now in the same stuff the blue tarps are made of.

People that ride around with batteries taped to the bike are cruising for a bruising though. All bikes fall over or crash eventually, and then the battery is screwed. I carry my pings in double layers of metal or plastic, and my lipo is protected by 1/8" aluminum sheet. My bikes don't short out and catch fire if they crash. Or get a ding on the pouches and stop working.

Build a proper box. One of the methods I use, aluminum sheets and hardwood strips, is easy and works good. This pic shows the box with the side removed, after attaching to the bike. Wood frame and metal sheets for the sides. The next step would be screwing the side piec to the box. Easy as pie.

John's method looks pretty good too, since it has the metal on the outside, where the battery would meet the asphalt.

 

[John in CR]

But Dogman, why didn't you put that box inside the triangle? When I did my saddlebag pack I had 2 ping packs, and one went in the triangle. Also my bike went down on slick roads twice, once at 25mph, and also a couple of times I let retards try my bike and they dropped it. I've never gotten so much as a scratch or abrasion on the duct tape. The pedals, saddle, handlebars and front wheel create a space so anything on the top tube or in the triangle can't hit the ground. It would take some kind of protrusion to get to my batteries. It probably helps that my bike is long enough that it simply lays on it's side and slides. All manner of injury can happen to batteries in other locations unless you have that nice space between the seat stays behind the seat tube, which has to be the ideal location for a batt pack.

The 25mph fall was almost perfect for a fall, because I initially landed belly first on the side of the bike, so by the time I hit asphalt most of the velocity was gone and I just got a few scrapes. Damn helmet is bad luck. I don't wear it often, but both falls I had it on due to slick conditions. Not a scratch on the helmet btw.

 

[el_walto]

1 of my pings is snug in an ammo box with a tiny layer of bubble wrap, it is holding up well. I'm still trying to find a case for my other ping as it won't fit in an ammo box.

 

[FMB42]

1 of my pings is snug in an ammo box with a tiny layer of bubble wrap, it is holding up well. I'm still trying to find a case for my other ping as it won't fit in an ammo box.

You may want to take a look at Harbor Freight Tools...They have a surprising number of locking/latching toolboxes and/or cases in aluminum, plastic, and steel that might just fit your needs.

 

[dogman dan]

The box looks like it would fit in the triangle, but then it would be impossible to quickly pull the batteries out of the top of the box, and swap in fresh ones for the next race. And I don't like wide stuff too close to the crank and pedals. So for this bike, two boxes on the frame pannier style works.