HANDYMAN - BICYCLE CONTENTS

    I bought a set of inexpensive (cheap) saddle bags from the department store. These are nice enough bags, though too small for my liking, but for the price I really can't complain. I find it interesting that these bags are exactly like the brand name bags sold at the bike shop for twice the price. Hmmm.
    The bags kept grabbing on something when I tried to remove them. By the time I figured out that the board giving support to the bottom of the bag was catching on the axle, it was too late and the bags had torn from the bottom to the degree that I was losing things along the road. I tried a stop-gap measure, not expecting it to work, but I was desperate by this time. I took a heavy piece of fabric and cut it to fit well under the bag and most of the way up the back. I then cleaned the area with a stiff brush and sprayed it with some good glue (contact cement probably would have worked better). Then, once the fabric was in place, I covered the edges of the fabric, halfway on the fabric and half on the bag, with duct tape. It looks tacky from the back, but no one sees this side anyway.
    As absurd as this sounds, it works. I've been doing this for 2 years so far, and only have to make slight repairs, mostly to the duct tape, once or twice a year. Not bad for a cheap fix.
    I don't like the tiny zippers they put on these bags. In my mind there might as well not be a zipper there at all since they'll give out with not much use anyway. I leave the bags open when I ride, but I don't like doing this for many reasons. In place of open bags I started using large paper clips, the metal kind that have wire handles that fold back on itself. I clamp the bag closed with these, which works as well as anything rinki-dink.

    There's a couple things I want to show you here in this picture. First however,r ignore the slab of wood, that's for the trailer as described in the first article above.
    Notice the small piece of wood that lays across that larger piece of wood. The saddle bags I use have metal hooks that fasten to the rack. I don't know how they figure those hooks will do any good since, even with tightening them (squeezed them closer together with a pair of heavy pliers), I kept either kicking them off when I swung my foot over the saddle, or the heel of my foot would knock the first hook off and I'd have to get off the bike and correct the situation, or, as was the last straw, I would ride over something and find both the bags laying in the street behind me. Twice I've had people drive after me or in some other way inform me that my bags were laying in the street far behind me.
    Now for the little piece of wood. This wood, held on by small bungee cords, is used to lay across the bags so they're held tight against the rack, holding the bags to the rack. No more wayward saddle bags. Another cheap fix that works.

Second thing to notice is the loop attached to the struts that hold up the read of the rack. I had problems with the saddle bags getting in the spokes. This loop is a piece of old brake cable housing cut so it fits across the rack struts in a loop, the loop being light, cheap and filling in the area where the bag was not restrained. This loop is held to the struts with black tape. It's been 4 years and I've yet to have a problem with this setup, and the bags stay out of the spokes.
Fenders cost an arm and half a leg. They're expensive, and they're cheap, cheap in that they're cheaply made. I got these fenders for half price, they were white until I painted them to match the bike. The plastic connectors that hold the fenders to the bike break far to easily. Several times I've discovered a fender loose on one side or another, dragging against the wheel. It happens so often that I carry black tape with me to make repairs on the road. This is tacky, no doubt about that, but I use a small piece of wire or something like an ice cream stick that reaches across the broken area, and taped it on each side of the break. This only holds for a short time, but as yet I haven't discovered a permanent fix.

   I have trouble with my crotch going to sleep after just a very few miles. I usually don't notice this until I disembark my bike, then I can hardly walk at times. Just what causes this problem I don't know, but it forces me to stop for a while after about 3 to 5 miles or so and let the blood circulate. My first attempt to solve the problem is the same as everyone else I suppose, and that's to cushion the seat with sheep's skin like in the picture. This didn't work well enough, so I put some foam padding under the seat cover. Again, it didn't work. I was having so much of a problem in this area that I would ride with my leg against the seat while almost standing up. I checked with the doctor to see if I might be having the same problem Lance Armstrong had. My doctor said this is one cancer I've outgrown, it being an ailment of the young and maturing. I bought a rather expensive saddle, one with a groove down the middle and a cut-out in the back. This makes a big difference, but it doesn't solve the problem. I no longer have to ride side-saddle however, and I think I discovered part of the problem.
    Padding on the saddle adds to a man's problem. The padding presses against the prostrate and causes pain in that area. What we do to rectify a problem only makes that problem worse. A seat needs to allow blood to circulate in the groins area, which padding serves to block. A proper saddle has a groove that goes all the way from the front to the back, but those things cost as much as the bike itself. However any saddle with a cut out and groove will serve to allow blood to flow to some degree, and the cut out in the back allows air to circulate where most of the sweat and heat is accumulating
    The things we learn, wouldn't you say?