Drink holders!

Here's how you install the single drink holder...aka the Solo, aka the Copilot.

Thread the webbing under the down tube and into the cam buckle. Pull that thing tight. Maybe it's a good idea to go under any cables...unlike in the photo. It's your call.

Now what to do with this extra webbing? If you plan on never using it on another bike with a larger head tube you can cut it off (not really recommended). Or you can fold it under the wrap-around strap like so (keep reading for that step):

 Open that cam buckle.

 Now close it.

Enjoy riding with a beverage close at hand.

Drink holders now available at Maude Vintage, downtown CoMo.

Ultimate Hip-pack Project

A couple months back my friend requested a pair of hip-packs. They had to be relatively small, hold a mini u-lock, and have a secure pocket for a cellphone. Here's what I came up with:
8" across the top, ~5.5 deep, 6x2 on the bottom. 1000d Cordura nylon, acrylic-coated poly liner.
I usually don't use velcro, but since this was a special job I made an exception.
Typical u-lock holster design. There's some thin padding in the u-lock straps on these, though.
Now, here's how I got to the above bags...prototypes galore:

This is a nearly complete bag. I pretty much just moved the label and nudged the zipper up a bit. On the final packs, the pocket is lined with a mil-spec oxford nylon.
Below is the first finished design. Zipper pocket, floating liner...super water-resistant but hard to get into. The final design is a little smaller than this but has better accessibility.
Dumb place to put a label. Whoops.
Same lock holder strap. I'm also not wild about how the binding looks on this bag. It's an okay design (I use it a lot)...just a li'l goofy on a bag this small.
For scale.
No floating liner (above). But no holes in the corners. Hell no.
And here are most of the prototypes I made, excluding some paper ones...and I gave one of the vinyl ones away before I took this. A big thanks to the public library for providing me with such fine prototyping material. Books are great.

Special Wallets

Just made these wallets. They have an extra bike-tube card pocket. Pretty swift, huh?

How to use a ladderloc buckle

Here's a little bit about ladderloc buckles...aka tensionlock buckles. Both those are proprietary names...I wonder what the generic would be... How about cinchable tension-locking buckle. Anyway, I've been seeing people misuse these so I thought I'd write a little post.
This guide is really only for the three-bar ladderloc. I see people threading their webbing through the bar on the end, and that's wrong. I think that bar's there to keep the buckle from flipping back and releasing the webbing tension. I mean, it works like this---you're just not using your buckle optimally. The end bar isn't as strong as the middle bar so you could potentially have a buckle failure...especially when it gets older and is in sub-freezing temperatures. It's kinda like not closing the quick-release lever on your bike and instead just screwing the skewer tight. It'll keep your wheel on most of the time but there might be a time when it just comes off.
And I'm not saying I didn't make this same mistake when I first started. But I wasn't selling bags for $200 back then either.
Here's what it looks like all set up and ready to go.
And from the side.

And here's what a two-bar ladderloc looks like. What you might call a low-profile version (with quick-release d-ring added).

Now you know.
Woo!

Dirt Bags

The best use (in my opinion) for vinyl sign material:
Dirt bags.
I'm doing some digging under my house and hauling the dirt out with these. Vinyl courtesy of the public library.
I put some some dump straps in the bottom seams, ignoring my own advice about putting straps in seams...naturally they're ripping out. I still need to go at 'em with the sewing awl...

Serger Stitch Test

Here're some stitch tests with my 654DE. I still haven't bought any overlock thread, so I'm using embroidery thread.

Red: 1000d Cordura. Brown: #10 waxy cotton. Black: #8 cotton duck (dry).

Leif Labs Action Shot

Some friends of mine rode their bikes from Columbia to Salt Lake last September. I made a handlebar bag for the trip. I finally got around to procuring a picture:
The bag was in charge of holding the camera. You can see it open there on the right. Woo.