Flinger trunk box or similar

[Naveed]

I have been looking for some type of locakable hard box for my commuter bicycle which i can place
lights, pumps, tools, and other items in when the box is locked up. I saw the following box and
wanted to know if anyone has used it and has an opinion on it:

http://www.velotique.com/bag-hb.htm

Have you seen anything similar that is better/worse? How does it mount? Not much point in having a
locking box if it is simple to just take the box. is it durable?

Thanks.

Naveed

 

[Lorenzo L. Love]

Naveed wrote:

> I have been looking for some type of locakable hard box for my commuter bicycle which i can place
> lights, pumps, tools, and other items in when the box is locked up. I saw the following box and
> wanted to know if anyone has used it and has an opinion on it:
>
> http://www.velotique.com/bag-hb.htm
>
> Have you seen anything similar that is better/worse? How does it mount? Not much point in having a
> locking box if it is simple to just take the box. is it durable?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Naveed

A while back on the Chain Guard list there was some talk about hard shell bike trunks. The Allround
Fahrrad Set was mentioned ( http://www.khw-geschwenda.de/Fahrradzubehoerengl.htm ). This is made in
Germany by plastic manufacturer KHW who mostly makes snow sleds and outdoor furniture. KHW snow
sleds are imported to the U.S. by MPH Associates Inc. After several false leads (KHW kept giving me
the wrong e-mail address), I got in touch with Lauren Putney ( [email protected] ) at MPH
Associates who was very helpful. She told me that they did not normally sell the Allround Fahrrad
Set but they agreed to import one for
me. The Allround Fahrrad-Box was $118. The metal heavy-duty carrier rack was $13. $15 UPS shipping
for a total of $146. . They included a small animal carrier for free.

I mounted it on an elderly mountain bike that has been heavily modified for commuting and which is
now used as my rain utility bike. Installation was easy. You need to have a standard rack as the
mounting rail attaches to the rack and to the seat tube (
http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove/fahrrad-01.JPG ). That should take 15 to 30 minutes with the
10mm/8mm open end wrench and 5mm Allen wrench included. Once that is done, the box itself can be
mounted or removed in seconds. The front end hooks under a rail and it is held in the back by one
knob screw. The box is 30 liters in volume, has a key lock, two water bottle mounts (bottles not
included) and a reflector with a single, very bright nonflashing LED powered by two AAA batteries.
It has a variety of attachments that mount on top. It comes with an open basket (
http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove/fahrrad-16.JPG ) but I will probably use it mostly with the metal
heavy-duty carrier rack ( http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove/fahrrad-02.JPG ). The small animal carrier
( there modeled by the lovely Cleopatra http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove/fahrrad-13.JPG ) is suitable
for cats and very small dogs. **WARNING: the space between the cage bars is big enough for a cat to
get its head though and possibly stuck. Don't leave an animal unsupervised.** All these attachments
mount and remove in seconds by hooking though holes in the box in front and a single knob screw in
the back. Also available is a child seat.

The box is easily big enough to hold a helmet ( http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove/fahrrad-12.JPG ) and
anything you would normally carry and light utility use but not really big enough for a serious
shopping expedition. The box key locks and is proof against casual thievery. The attaching knobs for
the box to the bike and the attachments to the box are on the inside so no one can simply walk off
with the whole thing. Of course as with anything light enough for bicycle use, a serious thief could
have it open in no time. The box is claimed to be waterproof, but there are two holes in the top of
the small center compartment where the attachments hook in. As this is my rain utility bike, that
could be a problem. I sealed these holes with some silicone sealant but haven't had it in the rain
yet. The two large side compartments are separate and seem to be reasonably rain and spray proof.

On this bike, I had the seat slid back near the rear limits. With it like that, my legs hit the
mounting on the seat tube and the mounting rail. It also prevented the open basket and the pet
carrier from being mounted due to lack of clearance from the seat. Moving the seat forward on it's
rails corrected both these problems. I'll have to play around with it so it all fits.

While it is designed strictly for upright diamond frame bikes and there may be problems with fit
even on some of those bikes, over all I would say that this is an excellent product, very well
designed and a very good value. Contact Lauren Putney at [email protected] at MPH Associates for
purchasing info.

Lorenzo L. Love http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

"Americans are broad-minded people. They'll accept the fact that a person can be an alcoholic, a
dope fiend, a wife beater, and even a newspaperman, but if a man doesn't drive there's something
wrong with him." Art Buchwald

 

[Naveed]

Thanks for the input. That looks very interesting, but perhaps more than i need. Also my wife will
be having a baby soon and i'm a little skeptical of the child seat for it. I think i will try and
find out more about the child carrier portion before deciding. I was hoping for something that comes
off easily to put a child carrier. The nice thing about the unit you referenced is that you can have
a child -and- storage. One usually requires the other. If i am satisfied with the saftey concerns,
it may serve me well.

 

[Risto Varanka]

Naveed <[email protected]> wrote:
: I have been looking for some type of locakable hard box for my commuter bicycle which i can place
: lights, pumps, tools, and other items in when the box is locked up. I saw the following box and
: wanted to know if anyone has used it and has an opinion on it:

: http://www.velotique.com/bag-hb.htm

I have a black Flinger box for my trike, though it's not yet installed. Keep an eye on
http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/viper.html

I bought it because a fellow bent rider recommended it. Somebody else took the advice as well, it
seems I only paid 23 euros, not sure if they got the price correct (at Suomen Polkupyörätukku).
The website lists it for 30 euros at http://www.suomenpolkupyoratukku.fi/tarvikkeet1.html

It appears robust, weatherproof and practical. Combine with pannier bags and you can haul a huge
amount of stuff. And is lockable, though I bet the lock is easy to pick or force open. Mounting can
be only done from the inside. Maybe you could consider a homebrew mounting system that is convenient
to detach.

--
Risto Varanka | http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/hpv.html varis at no spam please iki fi

 

[Lorenzo L. Love]

Naveed wrote:

> Thanks for the input. That looks very interesting, but perhaps more than i need. Also my wife will
> be having a baby soon and i'm a little skeptical of the child seat for it. I think i will try and
> find out more about the child carrier portion before deciding. I was hoping for something that
> comes off easily to put a child carrier. The nice thing about the unit you referenced is that you
> can have a child -and- storage. One usually requires the other. If i am satisfied with the saftey
> concerns, it may serve me well.

I haven't seen the child seat. Ask Lauren Putney at MPH Associates for the "Joy Family" catalog from
KHW for some good pics of it.

Lorenzo L. Love http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

"We recognize, however dimly, that greater efficiency, ease, and security may come at a substantial
price in freedom, that law and order can be a doublethink version of oppression, that individual
liberties surrendered for whatever good reason are freedom lost." Walter Cronkite, in the preface to
the 1984 edition of 1984

 

[Naveed]

On Thu, 02 Oct 2003 22:14:01 +0000, risto.varank wrote:

> Naveed <[email protected]> wrote:
> : I have been looking for some type of locakable hard box for my commuter bicycle which i can
> : place lights, pumps, tools, and other items in when the box is locked up. I saw the following
> : box and wanted to know if anyone has used it and has an opinion on it:
>
> : http://www.velotique.com/bag-hb.htm
>
> I have a black Flinger box for my trike, though it's not yet installed. Keep an eye on
> http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/viper.html
>
> I bought it because a fellow bent rider recommended it. Somebody else took the advice as well, it
> seems I only paid 23 euros, not sure if they got the price correct (at Suomen
> Polkupyörätukku). The website lists it for 30 euros at
> http://www.suomenpolkupyoratukku.fi/tarvikkeet1.html
>
> It appears robust, weatherproof and practical. Combine with pannier bags and you can haul a huge
> amount of stuff. And is lockable, though I bet the lock is easy to pick or force open. Mounting
> can be only done from the inside. Maybe you could consider a homebrew mounting system that is
> convenient to detach.

I am not too concerned about the lock strength. I mostly want to through a toolkit, lights,
cylcometer in it. Nothing too valuable, but that i wouldn't really feel like dragging with me when i
lock up the bike.

Of course, now that i have decided i will probably get one, I can't find any dealers in North
America that will send one to me until spring =P

Naveed

 

[David Kerber]

In article <[email protected]>,=20 [email protected] says...
> On Thu, 02 Oct 2003 22:14:01 +0000, risto.varank wrote:
>=20
> > Naveed <[email protected]> wrote:
> > : I have been looking for some type of locakable hard box for my commuter bicycle which i can
> > : place lights, pumps, tools, and other items in when the box is locked up. I saw the following
> > : box and wanted to know if anyone has used it and has an opinion on it:
> >=20
> > : http://www.velotique.com/bag-hb.htm
> >=20
> > I have a black Flinger box for my trike, though it's not yet installed. Keep an eye on
> > http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/viper.html
> >=20
> > I bought it because a fellow bent rider recommended it. Somebody else took the advice as well,
> > it seems I only paid 23 euros, not sure if they got the price correct (at Suomen
> > Polkupy=F6r=E4tukku). The website lists it for 30 euros at
> > http://www.suomenpolkupyoratukku.fi/tarvikkeet1.html
> >=20
> > It appears robust, weatherproof and practical. Combine with pannier bags and you can haul a huge
> > amount of stuff. And is lockable, though =
I
> > bet the lock is easy to pick or force open. Mounting can be only done from the inside. Maybe you
> > could consider a homebrew mounting system that is convenient to detach.
>=20
> I am not too concerned about the lock strength. I mostly want to through =
a
> toolkit, lights, cylcometer in it. Nothing too valuable, but that i wouldn't really feel like
> dragging with me when i lock up the bike.

Just enough to keep honest people honest, eh? That's about all it's=20 usually worth doing, IMO. If
they really want it, nothing you could=20 reasonably do to a bike would prevent it.

--=20 Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

 

[Naveed]

On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 14:09:39 -0400, David Kerber wrote:

> Just enough to keep honest people honest, eh? That's about all it's usually worth doing, IMO. If
> they really want it, nothing you could reasonably do to a bike would prevent it.

exactly. i won't lock anything in it that i really care about, just the things that i wouldn't want
taken by casual thieves walking by the bike. I bring it indoors at night and at work, so this is
really just for running in and out of stores, restaurants, etc. I have the whole 5 minute ritual of
taking off the computer, lights, pump, bottles, bags everytime i go into a store and it is starting
to get irritating. Also, since i tend to park in highly trafficed visible spots, it is less liekly
that someone will break open the box or steal it entirely.

If someone really wants to steal the bike and everything on it, there isn't much i can do about it.
making it slightly less difficult and desirable will problem keep people from even bothering. And,
less face it, putting a hard box on my bike will make it look dorky and no self respecting thief
would want to take it anyway.

Naveed

 

[David Kerber]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...

...

> If someone really wants to steal the bike and everything on it, there isn't much i can do about
> it. making it slightly less difficult and desirable will problem keep people from even bothering.
> And, less face it, putting a hard box on my bike will make it look dorky and no self respecting
> thief would want to take it anyway.

Good point; I'll have to remember that! Of course, just the rack and bungee cord net on it helps
with that look on mine.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.