Handlebar Harness - "Barness" (DIY/MYOG)

I got itchy hands, and the only cure is to make bikepacking gear. In theory, the bar harness (how has no-one coined the term 'barness' yet?) is an extremely simple, stable piece of kit. They're capable of hauling a surprising quantity of gear, without compromising your handling or adding too much additional weight. The barness itself weighs 320 grams in its current state, certainly not the lightest.

In practice, getting the barness stable and fitting nicely, avoiding the brakes and gear cables, is a little more fiddly than one might imagine.

I choose a harness (like the Wildcat Gear Mountain Lion) rather than a waterproof bag (like a Revelate Designs Sweetroll) because it avoids the necessity of seam sealing or using waterproof materials. It's also much more versatile - holding a variety of bags and types of cargo.

I added double-layered elastic straps to jam items for quick access, like gloves and a buff.

I salvaged the majority of the material from a suitcase. The main body is a piece of relatively flexible plastic. I reckon the degree of flexibility is an important consideration - too flexible and it won't provide support - the bag will flop around the place. However, if it's too stiff it won't conform to the load well when it's cinched tight. Additionally, it could fatigue and break.

The rest of the materials are from various places.

Removable spacers. The spacers are sections of a second suitcase, cut into a shape to accommodate the brakes.

Sections of inner tube line the inner of these straps. This provides a bit more grip when cinched against the bars. It's also possible to add a few more layers, due to the compressibility of the rubber, this should put the straps under tension, increasing the stability further.

This lower strap arrangement wraps around a "Crud Fast Fender Front Mud Guard" with the mudguard section removed. This isn't the only way of fulfilling this role, but it's simple and I'm lazy. I'm slightly worried the bag will eventually fatigue the plastic stays, but only time will tell.

I added another length of (hidden) plastic to reinforce the main section. All the holes were made by pressing a tack through the section and then sewing through. I'll probably glue something over the treads on the internal side, for protection from wear and tear. The fabric on the back is pretty unnecessary, but it doesn't add much weight. The edging is more important - preventing chipping/abrasion and softening the edge where the barness meets the dry bag.

At some point I'll add a removable mesh pocket stretched across the front for quick access to a rain jacket and gloves.

Partial Framebag - (DIY/MYOG)

I wanted to make a partial framebag to utilize the space within the triangle without compromising the bottle cage position and or easy handling of the bike. I salvaged a suitcase from a neighbour’s trash. Everything was hand stitched.

The majority of the material is a relatively stiff foam, with fabric on the outside. This was all from the suitcase, minimizing the necessary stitching. Salvaged suitcases are good sources of material for this kind of work – they’re often available, and the materials tend to be water resistant. The outer material possesses a reasonable mixture of flexibility and stiffness, and is often not too difficult to work and stitch through.

I cut the basic shape with a pocket knife and used a scalpel to score out the grooves where the folds are. It’s very stable in my mountain bike, as it was specifically designed to fit the frame. Fortunately, it also happens to kinda fit into my Crosscheck frame. The bag isn’t waterproof, but the foam should repel water, and any that gets in should drain out through the zip. It weighs ~160 grams. Every tool inside is held with elastic material, because I'm hella cool.

It works well, I'll probably make two small modifications at some point - a buckle to change the length of the strap attaching to the down tube. This would allow a secure attachment to both my bikes. I may stitch sections of inner tube to the attachment straps. This should increase the stability, even though it's already very stable.

Framebags are a good DIY project, they're expensive to buy and not too difficult to make. There are dozens of variations available, if you wanna have a crack at at making one, I'd recommend making a model out of cardboard to check it fits and everything. You can then cut this model up and use it as a template for cutting the material.

Rhymney Overnighter

So, me and my friend and associate, Ell-Dogg, rigged up our mountain bikes to be sweet bike-packing machines and went to a whole different country. Here's our route. We hopped on the (doddering) train to Rhymney , which sits in a valley to the East of Merthyr Tydfil. It seems to be populated by exclusively teens and friendly drunken men with impenetrable accents. We rode out of Rhymney through Trefil , into the darkness of the Moors, Mynydd Llangynidr and Cefn yr Ystrad, all the while being moisted upon by the prevailing wetness.

Riding into open countryside, we turned off the track and onto a bridal-way that led into a forest, thinking we'd be able to go off the path far enough for secrecy in the forest. This turned out to be an impossibility, prevented by the slope and rocky outcrops. So, instead, we rode along the bridal-way , the world reduced to the balls of light from our headlamps, which made the already challenging single-track even more interesting especially when the fence was strewn uselessly halfway down the valley-side. In day-time, this track would be a lot of fun to ride. Eventually we found a wider spot of path and made camp, fire and drunkenness.

Here's the views from the camp-site, the next morning;

Elliot dicking around, as usual;

Myself doing very important things, and being cold, from Ell's perspective;

A little way up the trail, the path became much gentler. Elliot attempts to ambush a waterfall;

I attempt to ambush my bike;

We left the forest, and the valley opened up before us to reveal the Cefn yr Ystrad quarries.

One of Elliot's shots of the same trail, cropped to a square format because he's too cool for school;

Looking toward Tor y Foel;

Looking towards Bryniau Gleision :

This photos shows the tail-end of the green-lane that bisects Bryniau Gleision and really doesn't do it justice - it was great, gunning it along this track, the ruts and undulations along this route made it awesome fun. I didn't stop to take a picture, it was just too much damn fun.

We head off the marked paths to get onto the footpath, which involved some bog-slogging fun, although this was expected and didn't last long. The footpath we reached would lead us to the peak of Pant y Creigiau was pretty spongey.

Another of Elliot's, looking towards the ridges of Pen y Fan;

Not my idea. The view towards Pen y Fan from the trig point of Pant y Creigiau :

We pitched the bikes and gear in a forest, hoped no-one would rob them, and shoed it up Craig y Fan Ddu , along the Nant Bwrefwr.

Yet another waterfall. Jeez, Brecons, get some originality:

From the east edge of Craig y Fan Ddu , looking north toward Graig Fan Las. It was windy as a mother-fucker.

I love peat bogs, unless I get lost in one.

Elliot's innovative jacket storage solution (IJSS) continued to evolve throughout the outing;

The Red Cow, a great pub in Pontsticill. A few good beers, nice atmosphere, relatively cheap and an open fire, which you don't appreciate properly until your shoes and socks have been sodden for a night and day;

Looking towards lovely Merthyr Tydfil from Merthyr Common;

On the road back to Rhymney;

This was a damn fun trip for the most part, some of the trails were excellent, there some great sights across the valleys and a couple of half-decent photos. I'll definitely be returning to this area, and try and link some of the fun bits of trail. My trip from last December took a route that was close to what me and Elliot rode on this overnighter, and sections could be joined together to make a sweet circular route out of Merthyr or Rhymney.