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FRIEZE NEW YORK 2013
Brooklynite and industrial designer Nicholas Fjellberg Swerdlowe does what many of us do, when saddled with plastic bags and riding home on a basketless bike: He hangs the bags off of the handlebars. I did this often in Japan, where a mountain bike was the quickest way to my local grocery. But I quickly learned that you can't let the bags hang too low, and you have to occasionally wrap the bag handles around the bike grips to shorten the bag's hang. You're also limited in the amount of bags you can carry.
Swerdlowe documents the problems with this method of mobile transport:
This bad habit has left me with ripped bags, wheel pinches, and near accidents which could have seriously injured both me and my cargo. I wanted to design something lightweight, easy to carry in my bag or on my bike which could be used in a moment's notice and removed immediately after my journey.
His solution was to design a simple clamp that sits on the bike's handlebar grips.
By positioning them on the further edges of the grips, he's able to keep the bags away from the front tire, while still providing enough room for his hands to grab the grips and work the brakes.
Furthermore, the design of the clamp is such that the weight of the bags increases the clamp's tightness.
The clamps are small enough that you can toss them in a bag or pocket when not in use, or clamp them elsewhere on the bike's frame, if you're not worried about light-fingered passersby.
Swerdlowe's Bag Buddy has just been posted on Kickstarter, and he's seeking to hit a $20,000 target by mid-February.
Comments
Wow! When I was a kid, I would often go to a local pizzeria and buy too many garlic knots, then bring home the extra by hanging the doggie bag off my handlebar. (Nowadays, I just use a pannier.)
I think I'll kickstart this for the nostalgia value alone. Plus, it's a clever idea that deserves a chance on the market.
This 'solution' fails to address any of the problems highlighted...
Seems dangerous to have extra, unbalanced weight on an intergral part of controlling the bike...
I agree with Clark...and what is the difference to just hanging your bag on the end of the handle bar?
Good luck keeping those bags out of wheels on those fixie with the 12" bars haha. Otherwise great idea!
I find when riding with weight on the handle bars, unless its evenly distributed it can get awkward. Plus when you get out of the saddle and pedal it gets very tricky to balance the bags. Keep up the good work.
Its a great, simple and easy idea. This is great only if you have multiple bags on each handle bar. With one bag on each bar, I am able to manage them staying on the ends of the bar with out something like bag buddy. One thing that does help though is not using plastic bags which often will break under the weight of the groceries. Keep up the good work!
Ditto Mike's comment. Don't go too fast. For ideal balancing you want the weight as close to the center as possible. If you have only one bag these wouldn't work - I guess you'd just put the bag on the bars like "normal". But honestly - a big courier bag works much better. Best of luck with the KS.
A second hand rack or larger rucksack would be a better buy than this, that shopping is still going to end up hitting your spokes unless you only make large smooth turns.