Info Request: Webbed Belt

"Bebopper" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Howdy all, have just gotten back into this biking thing and it is kinda
fun. OK my problem: I need to carry stuff like my wallet and keys and
small junk like that, but don't want to have to get a bag. Looked at some
of the small ones that fit behind the saddle, but my rear light is in the
way.

Cannondale makes seat bags with loops for rear lights.

Quoted message said:

So what I'm thinking of is a wide web belt with removable attachments
like a wallet pouch that I can slip on and off. Then I can also attach
a night blinky or a cell phone using a normal belt clip.

I haven't tried that. I use a light, cheap (under $20 US) back pack,
sometimes called a book bag. The small compartment holds keys,
checkbook, ID, etc. This is the part that goes with me. I'll
typically stuff a windshell and patch kit into it.

The part that stays on the bike is the panniers, that gives me an
expanded carrying capacity and the ability to haul groceries.

The phone is in a zip lock bag within the book bag, it's impervious
to rain.

Lights go with me in the book bag and can quickly be mounted when
necessary on the more or less permanent attachment points on the
bike.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------
__________306.350.357.38>>[email hidden]__________

"Bebopper" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Howdy all, have just gotten back into this biking thing

and it is kinda

Quoted message said:

fun. OK my problem: I need to carry stuff like my wallet

and keys and

Quoted message said:

small junk like that, but don't want to have to get a bag.

Looked at some

Quoted message said:

of the small ones that fit behind the saddle, but my rear

light is in the

Quoted message said:

way. Also thought about getting some of them fancy bike

jerseys with back

Quoted message said:

pockets but THEY COST ALOT!! Anyway am comfy with my

cheapo T-shirts so

Quoted message said:

don't wanna change.

So I thought about getting a fannypack, but all of them

are way too big and

Quoted message said:

get in the way when you're in an aero tuck. So what I'm

thinking of is a

Quoted message said:

wide web belt with removable attachments like a wallet

pouch that I can

Quoted message said:

slip on and off. Then I can also attach a night blinky or

a cell phone

Quoted message said:

using a normal belt clip. Do any of you use anything like

this, and can

Quoted message said:

give me a heads-up on where to look? Thanks muchly in

advance.

Lots of people use the backpack-style hydration packs that
offer a bit of additional storage. If you get a low-volume
bladder (~50oz.)--then when the straps are cinched down--the
pack shouldn't interfere much with an aero tuck.

A case could probably be made (but not by me!) that this
actually does less to disturb your aerodynamics than a
couple of bottles and cages.....

Bebopper said:

... So what I'm thinking of is a
wide web belt with removable attachments like a wallet pouch that I can
slip on and off. Then I can also attach a night blinky or a cell phone
using a normal belt clip. Do any of you use anything like this, and can
give me a heads-up on where to look? Thanks muchly in advance.

I don't use anything like that. Back when I started biking, I tried
various ways of carrying stuff, and decided that bags on the bike were
absolutely the best. At least, for me.

But I wanted to comment about your blinky idea. Attaching a blinky to
your clothing, or your web belt, is probably a bad idea. LED blinkies
are great inventions, but their light is very, very directional. They
must be accurately aimed to do any practical good.

I've ridden behind people with blinkies clipped on clothes, backpacks,
hydration packs, etc. who were unaware that their floppy mounting
surface had their blinkies pointing at earthworms or airplanes. Mount
it on your bike, with its beam horizontal.

Or, as another poster said, you can clip it on a seat bag with a loop
designed for that purpose.

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

Quoted message said:

Bebopper [email hidden]

wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

So I thought about getting a fannypack, but all of them are way too big and
get in the way when you're in an aero tuck.

I use a fannypack sometimes, usually if I'm doing an all day (6+ hrs) ride. I
looked and couldn't find any that really suited my needs so I made my own. I
used "ballistic" nylon (a very stout weave), plastic cut from a gallon milk jug
for reinforcement, some thin foam padding where the bag rides against my back,
a light ripstop nylon for lining, some webbing, and a nylok buckle from REI.
The bag itself is a fairly flat U-shape with 2.0" wide tubular webbing. The
sewing only took about 1.5 hrs including the heavy duty zipper. You could cut
that time in half easily if you happen to know how to use a sewing machine.
That may seem like a lot of work for something you can buy very cheaply (if you
find one that you like) but it suits my rather special needs perfectly.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Eric S. Sande said:

Quoted message said:

So what I'm thinking of is a wide web belt with removable attachments
like a wallet pouch that I can slip on and off. Then I can also attach
a night blinky or a cell phone using a normal belt clip.

I haven't tried that. I use a light, cheap (under $20 US) back pack,
sometimes called a book bag. The small compartment holds keys,
checkbook, ID, etc. This is the part that goes with me. I'll
typically stuff a windshell and patch kit into it.

The part that stays on the bike is the panniers, that gives me an
expanded carrying capacity and the ability to haul groceries.

The phone is in a zip lock bag within the book bag, it's impervious
to rain.

Lights go with me in the book bag and can quickly be mounted when
necessary on the more or less permanent attachment points on the
bike.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. As with Bob Hunt, I was about to go
the DYI route, getting some thick wide webbing and putting a buckle on it.
But my sewing skill isn't sufficiently advanced to make loops for a belt
pouch (OK actually I'm just lazy), so I was looking at some of them PDA
cases with belt clips, which are big enough for a wallet. To make a long
story short, I was in a recycling mood this morn and went to a thrift
store. It has some smallish [censored] packs for a buck apiece, so I bought one
and it's working out. It's not totally ideal, but may be I just need to
get used to it. Yes, it's my laziness talking.

Thanks for the note about the directional nature of the LED blinky. Right
now I have it mounted on the seat post, and I'll leave it there.

Question: For night riding, do I need a front light (for legal purposes),
or is it enough to have a rear light? If I need to I'll get a LED one for
long battery life. That and it uses AA so it's lighter. I think the prob
with LED front light is that they don't put out much of a beam, but my
situation is more of a "to be seen" rather than "to see," so if I put it on
flash mode it should be OK.

I'm getting used to the clipless stuff I've just got. It's a SPD road type
(one side only), so I'm still having some probs getting my 2nd foot to clip
in. Yeah shoulda get a 2-sided setup oh well. Having to look down more
than once to flip it and get it clipped isn't too great. With my old toe
clips I can just flip it by feel. Just need more practice I guess.

Thanks again for all ya input and just want to say that ya are a great
bunch of folks. Have enjoyed reading through the messages.

Beboper said:

Thanks to everyone for the replies. As with Bob Hunt, I was about to go
the DYI route, getting some thick wide webbing and putting a buckle on it.
But my sewing skill isn't sufficiently advanced to make loops for a belt
pouch (OK actually I'm just lazy), so I was looking at some of them PDA
cases with belt clips, which are big enough for a wallet. To make a long
story short, I was in a recycling mood this morn and went to a thrift
store. It has some smallish [censored] packs for a buck apiece, so I bought one
and it's working out. It's not totally ideal, but may be I just need to
get used to it. Yes, it's my laziness talking.

When I travel light, I use a [censored] pack. Don't wear it tho. I just
buckle it around my rack. Tuck the loose ends up to keep them out of
the spokes and go. It's very aero, has never come off by itself, and
when I get off the bike, I wear it as a [censored] pack.
IMO, virtually any bike benefits from a rear rack - or the rider does,
at least!
It's just a good practical hikers' [censored] pack. Available in better
outdoor stores. Mine was from MEC in Canada, but not trying to plug any
brands.
Bernie

Quoted message said:

Question: For night riding, do I need a front light (for legal purposes),
or is it enough to have a rear light?

If anything, the front light is the more important, as long as you also
have a rear reflector. Check you local ordinances for what's actually
required as opposed to what is recommended.

Most jurisdictions specify minimum visibility distances.

There have been discussions here about what the appropriate type
of lighting may be, but no one has ever successfully argued that active
lighting, front and rear, is a bad idea.

What you use is going to depend on your conditions and your budget.

If you spend a lot of time riding after dark then a generator may be
the way to go, the "big" rechargeables usually give up in run time
what they gain in illumination, although they are great for sub-hour
winter commutes.

LEDs will likely meet the legal visibility requirements and won't be
too expensive in terms of initial cost, you might still consider
rechargeable batteries with these.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------
__________306.350.357.38>>[email hidden]__________

On Mon, 31 May 2004 02:03:43 GMT, Beboper <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Question: For night riding, do I need a front light (for legal purposes),
or is it enough to have a rear light?

Front light is legally required in California.

Whether required or not, get one!!!! I have a Trek white LED lamp- one
LED, no good for seeing in the dark but fine for being seen. Steady or
flashing mode, AAA batteries, last forever. And as small as rear
lights. I consider the minimum for night riding. Just notice how hard
it is to see other bicyclists when they don't have a front light if yo
have any doubts about their use.

Quoted message said:

If I need to I'll get a LED one for
long battery life. That and it uses AA so it's lighter. I think the prob
with LED front light is that they don't put out much of a beam, but my
situation is more of a "to be seen" rather than "to see," so if I put it on
flash mode it should be OK.

I'm in a city so I don't need to light up the road. LED lights work
well in these situations.

Beboper said:

Question: For night riding, do I need a front light (for legal purposes),
or is it enough to have a rear light? If I need to I'll get a LED one for
long battery life. That and it uses AA so it's lighter. I think the prob
with LED front light is that they don't put out much of a beam, but my
situation is more of a "to be seen" rather than "to see," so if I put it on
flash mode it should be OK.

Every state in the Union requires a front light, not only "for legal
purposes" but for practical purposes.

Most collisions with cars come from the front (turning cars, cars
pulling out in front of you, etc.) and most serious falls are caused by
things in the road in front of you (gravel, potholes, bad RR tracks,
etc.) You need light in front.

LED headlights are (currently, in 2004) OK if you're riding at slow
speeds on good, smooth roads in areas where there's good street
lighting. They work as "be seen" lights. But I'm sure they'll get much
better in years to come.

If you find yourself riding in an area where the street lights have gone
out, or you get partially blinded by a dimwit driver's high beams, or
you get held over at work and it's dark out, you'll want a good headlight.

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

On Mon, 31 May 2004 02:03:43 GMT, Beboper <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Question: For night riding, do I need a front light (for legal purposes),

I suppose local laws could differ, but in general, yes you do.

Quoted message said:

or is it enough to have a rear light? If I need to I'll get a LED one for
long battery life. That and it uses AA so it's lighter. I think the prob
with LED front light is that they don't put out much of a beam, but my
situation is more of a "to be seen" rather than "to see," so if I put it on
flash mode it should be OK.

My Trek "Northern X2" has a 2.4 watt Halogen and an LED, each with
two modes. The halogen has dim and bright modes, and the LED has
solid and flashing. The LED is sufficient for conditions where a
light isn't really needed to see where I'm going, and runs
full-strength on nearly dead batteries. When I used it with those
almost-dead batteries, I could see it's reflection on road signs
very far away, so it throws quite a bit of light.

Quoted message said:

I'm getting used to the clipless stuff I've just got. It's a SPD road type
(one side only), so I'm still having some probs getting my 2nd foot to clip
in. Yeah shoulda get a 2-sided setup oh well. Having to look down more
than once to flip it and get it clipped isn't too great. With my old toe
clips I can just flip it by feel. Just need more practice I guess.

After one season with one-sided pedals, I gave up and put some
two-sided pedals on. Why bother with all that work, when two-sided
pedals are so cheap anyway?
--
Rick Onanian

In article <[email hidden]>, Beboper

Quoted message said:

Question: For night riding, do I need a front light (for legal purposes),
or is it enough to have a rear light? If I need to I'll get a LED one for
long battery life. That and it uses AA so it's lighter. I think the prob
with LED front light is that they don't put out much of a beam, but my
situation is more of a "to be seen" rather than "to see," so if I put it on
flash mode it should be OK.

I'm a live testament for getting the brightest front light you can afford.
I use to train a lot at dusk to night during the winter. I grew tired of
swapping out a lot of carbon batteries so bought a 6 volt nicad system where
the power cell fit in a water bottle holder. In high position the system was
great for 3 hours or so and 6 hours at the half power setting. My nightly loop
was about 1 hour of dusk and 5 hours of dark and half power seemed bright
enough for the dark trail I rode. At half power I could see most objects in
front in time to avoid or brake. What I didn't see was water across the roadway
in December 18, 2002. There is where I did an endo in 2 ft of dirty, icecold
water, my shoulder ground through two brand new winter jerseys against rough
concrete, and finally the collar bone tore loose from the shoulder. I was lucky
in that my bike still worked, allowing me to ride onehanded 10 miles back to a
hospital. Eighteen months later and my shoulder still "reminds me" even on
good days.
I don't ride in the dark so much any more, but believe me when I do, my light
is ALWAYS on its brightest!

Quoted message said:

Frank Krygowski said:

Bebopper said:

... So what I'm thinking of is a
wide web belt with removable attachments like a wallet pouch that I can
slip on and off. Then I can also attach a night blinky or a cell phone
using a normal belt clip.

I don't use anything like that. Back when I started biking, I tried
various ways of carrying stuff, and decided that bags on the bike were
absolutely the best. At least, for me.

http://utilikilts.com/catalog-workman-index.htm
http://www.stationhouse.com/uniforms/jaypee/sambrowne_belts.htm
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/champions/zippocketcap.html
http://www.shoes.com/product.asp?p=5007247%7EMens%7EKANGA&sc=MENS&variant_id=37318#

Chalo Colina

Chalo said:

http://utilikilts.com/catalog-workman-index.htm

you, uhh, been able to pull that off at work? (heh)

(love the beer gut cut at +$25)
--
david reuteler
[email hidden]

"David Reuteler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Chalo said:

http://utilikilts.com/catalog-workman-index.htm

you, uhh, been able to pull that off at work? (heh)

Kinda off-topic, but, utilikilts are a sort of Seattle fad, aren't they? I
would imagine in other cities, if a man wears what some people would call a
skirt, someone's going to get beat up. Here, they seem to have some
popularity among the working class and certain Gen X types. Do men wear them
in other places?

(just curious)

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Claire Petersky said:

"David Reuteler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Chalo said:

http://utilikilts.com/catalog-workman-index.htm

you, uhh, been able to pull that off at work? (heh)

Kinda off-topic, but, utilikilts are a sort of Seattle fad, aren't they? I
would imagine in other cities, if a man wears what some people would call a
skirt, someone's going to get beat up. Here, they seem to have some
popularity among the working class and certain Gen X types. Do men wear them
in other places?

(just curious)

definitely not here in boise. i live in the (not a) liberal neighbourhood
in the state and could probably pull it off.

did you really mean gen x'ers? most of us are in our thirties now. aiiyy...
--
david reuteler
[email hidden]

In article <nUsvc.37975$js4.754@attbi_s51>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

"David Reuteler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Chalo said:

http://utilikilts.com/catalog-workman-index.htm

you, uhh, been able to pull that off at work? (heh)

Kinda off-topic, but, utilikilts are a sort of Seattle fad, aren't they? I
would imagine in other cities, if a man wears what some people would call a
skirt, someone's going to get beat up. Here, they seem to have some
popularity among the working class and certain Gen X types. Do men wear them
in other places?

Like Scotland? I imagine so!

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

Claire Petersky said:

Kinda off-topic, but, utilikilts are a sort of Seattle fad, aren't they? I
would imagine in other cities, if a man wears what some people would call a
skirt, someone's going to get beat up. Here, they seem to have some
popularity among the working class and certain Gen X types. Do men wear them
in other places?

Not in this corner of Ohio.

I have friends in an Irish band, who recently took to performing in
kilts. One of them recently told me that he picked up an extra one very
cheap - hinting I could buy it.

Not interested. I think he's going to have that extra kilt for a long time.

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

Claire Petersky said:

Kinda off-topic, but, utilikilts are a sort of Seattle fad, aren't they? I
would imagine in other cities, if a man wears what some people would call a
skirt, someone's going to get beat up. Here, they seem to have some
popularity among the working class and certain Gen X types. Do men wear them
in other places?

The only time I've _ever_ seen a man in a kilt is when he's dressed
up in complete traditional garb for an appropriate event.
--
Rick Onanian