I've been working on a way to have a quick on/off mount that will allow 4 point mounting of a bar harness for a wee bit now.
why? if you have ever used 4 point mounting then you will know - instead of being a wobbly, rattly nightmare, the harness becomes rock solid.
Now various manufacturers allow for this sort of system. the primary one being Bar Yak - I have an ultra and would thoroughly recommend them.
the other is Rockgist who sell a bar clamp based system designed to tension around the fork crown meaning it doesn't need to mount to the handlebars at all.
factors that are important: rigidity of mounts or tension if using straps - some harnesses use straps and buckles that easily loosen. number of mounts - 4 is better than 3. position of mounts spread is preferred. then there is position of load - narrow trumps wide, lower and closer to head tube is best when riding.
so.... initially I made a harness and bag that works with the Bar Yak and jones loops. it is bomber stable and holds my sleep system and some cosies no problem.
but - I have an interest in different handlebar set ups - Groovy Luv and Watson Parkarinos - and there is not enough room with a wide stem clamp to mount a Bar Yak neatly and parallel. I was also interested in using a carbon bar from a German manufacturer and as seems increasingly common, it uses a metal web integrated into the weave for strength at the bar clamp - the manufacturer advised me not to clamp anywhere but on this - precluding a bar clamp.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/drj0n/478 ... ateposted/
hence proto one: it has a 20mm, close tolerance steerer mount to remove any likelihood of damage, and the acetal forward prongs are pretty rigid, the carbon tube is 10mm diameter and with the bar gives 4 points of mounting. but its pretty ugly eh?
so I got to thinking of a more refined option...
this will be 'dynamic' and use straps between the bar and the forward carbon tube to create the required rigid 'back mount' for the bag. im undecided on the strut design. I had good luck with the harness I made slipping a carbon fibre tube into a webbing envelope for lateral rigidity, so may use some 3mm carbon strip sewn into straps, which would mount onto the tubes with velcro, or I may use aluminium pieces I will either make or buy. there will be a carbon fibre tube running parallel to the bar and there will be straps to the bar and then i'll probably use voile straps for the front to hold the bag, due the stretch and thus tension.
thoughts?
if (and its a big if) the steerer clamp ad other parts are viably easy/cheap -ish to make, I *might* be able to sell it.
of course, with rick hunter's Cow Catcher, this may well become redundant. Ive known rick for a long time and he is always highly innovative - using his kit in extremis helps drive them to be highly effective!
