But some might call it a basket

The Widcat bar harness is solid in use, but I have problems keeping the bags off of the front tyre in use. I like my front bounce on the soft side and run low bars, the two just dont mix and in the Cairngorms i just got away with it.
A friend came up with an idea and we have made 2 of these to play with. It looks big and clunky but its made of Aluminium Strip and a proper headcap is welded at the mounting point. It is 300 grams as shown before a bit of trimming and futher drilling goes on. Its started big based on a 15 litre Alpkit bag and full support to start development but will probably be trimmed down so the straps do more of the support at the end.
The straps are just a work in progress at present.
The inclined bottle mount works well, but your navigation/speedo could go there instead.
It had to be made to suit specific stem lengths but It's a 1 minute job to fit and remove, you can also fit it with the bag attatched already. It is super stable in use even with a big load. Its shown on a 90mm stem which is 6 deg inverted, on which it still works perfect with no bouncing. It sits perfect on a piece of stick on foam on a straight stem (a Thompson was used as the template)
We use the same bars and brakes, but I can imagine it would be difficult to allow for diffrent riders setups.


CowCatcher Front View by numplumz, on Flickr

Stem Mount Detail by numplumz, on Flickr

CowCatcher Mk1 by numplumz, on Flickr

Higher Mount by numplumz, on Flickr

Plenty of clearance by numplumz, on Flickr

Under View by numplumz, on Flickr

Steerer and Stem mounted by numplumz, on Flickr

The CowCatcher by numplumz, on Flickr

So which bits going to break or cause hassle, and any ideas to add? We will be at the WRT if anyone wants to see them in the flesh...if they survive.

Star fangled nut.

+1 what flatfishy said and I wouldn't like to crash with you head-on

It's fixed on one of hopes fork bungs, the weight is supported by the stem mainly not the steerer.
Have you ever crashed head on with anyone then don't think that would ever be pretty. :)

Hope head doctor? Aluminium bolt?

Hi numplumz, like what you've done. Just an idea but you could make it lighter by bringing the end supports closer in so shortening the cross bar, you might even get away with just two supports. Nice welding by the way. Here's to all the garden shed inventors/bodgers out there, where would we be without you. 8-)

Nice thinking, the welding looks good as well, not easy to weld aluminium.
Issues might be:
The foam between the stem and unit might allow it to flex up and down, leading to stress on the bolt
You are not going to be able to run a bar mounted light.

I came up with a different solution to the same problem using a klickfix bar mounting unit for a handlebar bag, a spare bag mount, some straps, cable ties (no bodge is complete without them) and a plastic chopping board, it holds the load really solid and sits low enough for a bar mounted light to work. Running drops makes life even more difficult for carrying much on the bars but manage to get sleeping bag and tarp in a 13l drybag.


P1010343 by markenduro, on Flickr


P1010342 by markenduro, on Flickr

There's some nice ingenuity going on there, but I would definately want to make sure the top cap bolt is steel.

That said, I've got a Wildcat harness and after initially thinking it was a bit fiddly, with a bit of practice I've found that I can tweek the height of the bag and hold it rock steady - no chance of the bag it hitting the tyre ever.

I too think your Hope Head Doctor might be in a bit of trouble (possibly start to pull out of the steerer tube).

You could always go for something like an Azonic headlock type system if it does cause a problem, where a bolt goes full length through the steerer to a bolt under the fork crown.

That's a neat bracket mark might have to try something like that too.

Hole in the mount is only M6 and the bolts stainless, the Hope ally bolt is a fat one anyway.
Good to hear your fears but there is no movement in the top bar at all in use. with the moment of force being downwards the distance between the lever point of the front of the stem (which it's hard against) and the stem bolt is very short so the force is low.
If for example I sat on the rack it would just bend in towards the head tube At the 3 prongs, A possible problem might be fatigue at the weld points from vibration, time will tell, they are big welds.
The lower curves of the bag supports will in all likelyhood be chopped down so they are almost as short as the head tube, and the straps will do most of the work.

Another option was to add some plastic clamps to the bars for a three point support, I've machined some up from nylon but didn't feel the need to add them yet as its so stable. Need to rattle down some big rocky mountains now to see if the sh1t hits the fan.

I've always had to have a height raising attachment for lights before to ensure the bag doesn't interfere with the beam, so no difference there. Could just use riser bars and an upswept stem but these 29ers are tall enough at the front already.

Ray good ideas on two spars,
The middle one does make it considerably stronger we think as it forms the triangulation with the top mount. Just two spars means all the weight is supported by the top cross piece which causes it to twist easier, but then
if they were really close to centre that would be less of an issue.
One added bonus Is I use my brakes quite inboard and with this there is less problem with a 15 litre bag bashing on the brake levers.