Unpacking Groceries

These bungees made for hooking
Hooking's what they gonna do.
These bungees made for hooking
Gonna tangle up on you.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

On Tue, 27 Aug 2019 14:25:17 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

These bungees made for hooking
Hooking's what they gonna do.
These bungees made for hooking
Gonna tangle up on you.

Nice poem. The problem with bungee cords is that they are far too
stretchy. Typical is 50% to 100% of unstretched length. They need to
be so stretchy in order to have a fixed distance between hooks fit a
wide range of attachment points. The fixed length also sells more
bungee cords because users need to stock a range of lengths.

Some suggestions:
1. Buy an extra long bungee cord and remove the hooks. Use the
bungee cord as a tie down rope.
2. Buy shock cord with less stretch and use it like rope.
3. Use straps or climbing rope, which have 10% to 40% stretch.
4. Use a net instead of a rope for stabilizing the bag.
5. Install boat cleats on your bicycle (for that nautical look) to
use as tie downs. Use cam, clam, or jam cleats (no knots needed):
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=cam+rope+cleats
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=clam+rope+cleats
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=jam+rope+cleats
Available everywhere, except your LBS (local bike shop).


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Tuesday, 27 August 2019 14:25:22 UTC-4, Joy Beeson wrote:
These bungees made for hooking
Hooking's what they gonna do.
These bungees made for hooking
Gonna tangle up on you.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

Precisely why I use Coghlans Arno Straps. They look and work just like super-long toe-straps. They're available in 24", 36", 48" or 60" lengths. I like either the 36" 0r 48" lengths. Where I am the surplus store usually has the 48" long ones but they can be easily shortened to whatever length I need or want. They're nylon with metal buckles that don't break even in sub-zero temperatures and they're very easy to either tighten or loosen but they DO NOT loosen by themselves. I used them touring on very rocky, bumpy gravel/dirt logging/mining roads and have never had anything that was secured with an Arno strap fall off.

Link to 60" ones in Canada.

https://www.armyandnavy.ca/products/...60-arno-straps

Cheers

On 8/27/2019 2:25 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:

These bungees made for hooking
Hooking's what they gonna do.
These bungees made for hooking
Gonna tangle up on you.

There's not nearly enough poetry on this group!

SHOVELIN' COAL

There are those who think the tandem is the instrument sublime
For the serious cycle-tourist, and the man concerned with time.
It has drive and rolls much faster as it gobbles up the track,
But it's quite another matter to the guy who sits in back...shovelin'
coal.

But just look at the advantages with twice the power at hand,
And half the wind resistance as it travels o'er the land.
The weight is less than double. This alone gives peace of mind.
But it's still another matter to the guy who sits behind...shovelin'
coal.

Yes, the man up front is master. It is he who shifts the gears.
He decides when brakes are needed, and on top of this he steers.
He can go the wrong direction and wind up in Timbuktu;
But refuses any protest from the guy who's number two...shovelin' coal.

It's just like a locomotive, with the front man engineer,
He sits back and shouts instructions to the fireman in the rear.
It's the way to run a railroad. With a bike it's not so sweet
To the sweating, swearing fellow on the secondary seat...shovelin' coal.

True, the pilots work the throttles while their partners work the flaps.
They are barely more than slaves -- a society of saps.
Co-pilots do the labor. They are not supposed to feel.
It's likewise with the suckers above the rearward wheel...shovelin'
coal.

His view ahead is blank and to peek would be a sin;
So he can't see where he's going -- only places where he's been.
He would love to lean to starboard when to port they make a turn,
But such pleasure is verboten to the fellow in the stern...shovelin'
coal.

Yet there will be retribution on some future day in hell,
When all tandem frames have melted, and the tandem leaders yell.
In agony they writhe, and some mercy they request;
But the back men just keep doing the thing they've done the
best...shovelin' coal.

Tony Pranses


--
- Frank Krygowski

On 8/27/2019 3:23 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 27 Aug 2019 14:25:17 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

These bungees made for hooking
Hooking's what they gonna do.
These bungees made for hooking
Gonna tangle up on you.

Nice poem. The problem with bungee cords is that they are far too
stretchy. Typical is 50% to 100% of unstretched length. They need to
be so stretchy in order to have a fixed distance between hooks fit a
wide range of attachment points. The fixed length also sells more
bungee cords because users need to stock a range of lengths.

Some suggestions:
1. Buy an extra long bungee cord and remove the hooks. Use the
bungee cord as a tie down rope.
2. Buy shock cord with less stretch and use it like rope.
3. Use straps or climbing rope, which have 10% to 40% stretch.
4. Use a net instead of a rope for stabilizing the bag.
5. Install boat cleats on your bicycle (for that nautical look) to
use as tie downs. Use cam, clam, or jam cleats (no knots needed):
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=cam+rope+cleats
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=clam+rope+cleats
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=jam+rope+cleats
Available everywhere, except your LBS (local bike shop).

Two responses:

1) My favorite bungee cord is on my shopping bike. The 3/8" (?) cord is
quite long, but the hooks on each end are very easily adjustable. They
have a little tunnel through which the cord slides; then it hooks into a
V-shaped slot that holds it at the right length, and the free end clips
to the other side of the hook.

I was greatly distressed a few weeks ago when we got back from the
grocery and I found one of the fancy hooks was lost. Searching all
around including backtracking over the route yielded no joy, and I
couldn't find a replacement online. But about three days ago, the lost
hook magically appeared on our sidewalk.

2) Speaking of straps like Sir's Arno straps: I sometimes use a
strap-mounted bike rack on the back of the car. (More often I use a roof
rack.) But no matter how tight I cinch those straps, after a bit of
driving they seem loose, often loose enough for their hooks to rattle.

I think the problem is expansion of the nylon webbing via temperature or
moisture. But in any case, it would be good to have some strong spring
built in to each strap or mounting point, to allow a little give without
losing all tension.


--
- Frank Krygowski

On Tuesday, 27 August 2019 16:56:44 UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:
Snipped
2) Speaking of straps like Sir's Arno straps: I sometimes use a
strap-mounted bike rack on the back of the car. (More often I use a roof
rack.) But no matter how tight I cinch those straps, after a bit of
driving they seem loose, often loose enough for their hooks to rattle.

I think the problem is expansion of the nylon webbing via temperature or
moisture. But in any case, it would be good to have some strong spring
built in to each strap or mounting point, to allow a little give without
losing all tension.


--
- Frank Krygowski

That'd kind of defeat the purpose of the Arno strap. There's no slackening and tightening of the strap when I use them and that's why my loads secured with Arno straps don't fall off or even shift around. Hence I don't need or want any spring built into my Arno strap assembly. I also like the fact that the Arno strap is strapped directly to what I want o hold and there are no hooks to fiddle with.

YMMV and most likely does.

Cheers