Frame bag!

I got cracking last night and worked on the frame bag.  Took about 3 hours last night to do this stuff.  Starting the evening I only had the drive side panel finished:

First thing I did last night was get the non-drive side made.  I've decided to do a zipper on that side as well with a map style pocket for thinner things, ya know, like maps, cue sheets, etc.

Next step I got to work on the internal divider from the non-drive side map pocket and the drive side compartment, as well as the horizontal divider that will go above the bottom zipper.  That seems like it will work ok.  I also added a mesh panel to the drive side panel to go just below the zipper, it is not very tight so it may just end up being a pain, but we will see.

Next up, I cut the strip that goes around the outside, then I sewed it around the drive side first, including velcro at the spots where velcro goes.

Next up was sew the non-drive side on with the divider, then turn it inside out!

Then I fit it on the bike - moment of truth!

So...

How is it, right?

It's good, it will function just fine.  I'm not especially happy as I was hoping for perfection, but for model #1 it will do fine.  I can see that I did not get the panels to match up exactly evenly across from each other, so my velcro isn't exactly lined up, and there is some bunching/twist in the bag.  I think this came from the corners where it was really hard to do them to be honest with the amount of fabric, the thickness/non-flexibility of the fabric, and the slipperiness of it all.

I think going back what I would do is not get quite so sharp in the corners and pay even more attention on when I'm lining things up to ensure I don't have mis-alignment.  I don't think I'll take it apart and re-do it because I'm sure this will get the job done for this season or until I try more.

I'll be evaluating the internal mesh pocket, the internal divider, the 3-zipper and other stuff.  I'm honestly not sure all these features are needed but I'm glad I tried them.  Model #1 will be good to really figure out what I like and don't like.

All-in, I'd say roughly 5-6 hours and $50 of material or less.

Here are links to my other posts w/material lists and first steps:
First panel post
Starting and making zippers
Planning/Materials List

More Frame Bag work

So, in keeping up with updating I'm done with one side panel of the frame bag.  I did this the other night.  I'm trying to roughly keep track of how long this takes me to see what I think about time invested for future projects.  I've had several friends ask me to make them one when I'm done and I want to see how much time this really takes.  When I make the project for myself it's because I want to try to do it and make something that's exactly what I want, how I want, and have the learning.  Anyhow, so far I'd say 1-2hrs getting materials figured out and planning, then after doing this probably 1.5hrs of actual "work" on the bag so far.  Lots of figuring out with this first one though so I think next time could go a lot faster.  For example, I spent 20min just laying out zippers where I thought I'd want them, measuring, etc.

This is the drive side of the bike's panel, finished.  I'll be doing the non-drive in a similar way with a single zipper along the top.  I plan to do just a map pocket on the non-drive side.  Internal there will be dividers inside the bag to keep things organized and some mesh pocketing on the inside as well.  I'll be sure to snap pictures as I go.

On the ride side, this week has been trainer rides Mon then again Wednesday.  It is nice having the caadx to ride on the trainer vs. the mountain bike I used to use (with hometrainer tire).  I haven't put the trainer tire onto the caadx yet as I'm still hopeful to get some road time in.  I don't love it but it did give me a chance to watch some more Sons of Anarchy.  I'm kind of over it but invested to all but 2-3 episodes left that are on netflix then I'll watch what I've DVR'ed.  I liked the early seasons a lot but will have to see how the end goes.

Progress on the frame bag

Started actually putting some needle/thread to the fabric last night.  Got the side panels cut to size, then got the two zipper strips prepped for the drive side of the bag.

I need to work out my little zipper covers and how I'll do those, I think I need to rethink how I have these set up and may have to redo some of the sewing I did last night.  The biggest thing I did was get these worked out and got thread tension set properly for my heavier "outdoor" thread on Kris' new machine.  I am more used to my Mom's old machine so there is a lot I have to figure out.

Frame Bag Planning

I've decide after doing some reasearch on different frame bag options to just build my own.  Should be an interesting process.  I looked all over, got some costs together, and truth be told, I don't think the price of $175-250 for a good custom frame bag is really reasonable to me.  It just seems to be a lot to spend that much.  I've spent plenty of money on bikes and bike related stuff but figure this is a good shot for me to try something on my own.

I've sewed a bit here and there, mostly back in middle school maybe when I took Home Ec class.  I have helped Kris sew things here and there and I guess what I've got going for me is a bit of a technical mind, being able to visualize where things will be if I sew different angles/cuts/etc and picture all of that. 

So, to start I have done some learning about materials.  I can say for sure what I'm going to use is X-Pac ripstop nylon, it's waterproof and rugged.  I'll do waterproof zippers, I'm thinking 2 on one side into the main compartment and one on the other for a map/thin stuff pocket.  I'm going to do some internal dividers to separate out parts so I can get a bit of organization going, and I'm thinking about some mesh pockets inside the big part as well so I can make some small items easily accessible.  I saw some bags use a lighter colored liner fabric to keep things easier to see - if I can find lime green I think I'll do that but may have to settle for yellow or white even. I think under the velcro that will attach to the frame I'll put some soft fleece to hopefully avoid scratching my beautiful Yampa.

I decided to find somebody with a bag I could look at for ideas - George lent me his Revelate/Salsa bag.  It's got a lot of room but with my XL Yampa I have a lot more room to work with.  The bag is nice with a lot of the touches I want to include on my finished bag.

Next step is to make a template to start thinking about measurements and what amount of materials I'll need, along with design ideas.  I don't think anybody is reading, but if you are and you want to give input, please do.

I'll get a more close up picture of my design ideas soon.

Rough material list so far:

• x-pac material - enough for 2 x side panels + top, bottom, rear wrap piece about 120mm wide, I think 1 linear yard should be enough
• liner material - same amount as the outer material, about 1 linear yard
• waterproof zipper material - one side will have a 22"ish zip and a 14"ish zip, and the other TBD, up to 22"ish.  I'll buy 2 yards of #8 zipper I think and a few zipper pull things.
• velcro - some 2" wide, some 3" wide, some 1.5" wide.  I'll have to decide here but I'll probably get a few different rolls. These will be for the connection to the bike, the internal dividers, and I'm not sure what else
• fleece to go under velcro on connections to the bike
• mesh material for internal pockets - not much
• elastic material for the mesh internal pocket tops - not much
•  Some nylon webbing for pulls to hold the bag when opening the zipper (George's bag has these and they are very nice)
• Some other nylon webbing for reinforcement
• Seam tape stuff to run around the seams on the inside of the bag, probably not necessary but will make it all look much more finished and nice.
• Thread - some sort of nylon, gotta figure that out. I think i'll do a contrasting color to the main bag fabric.  I'm thinking red thread on black bag to match the bike.
• Anything else?