Bike Light Holder/Connector for Messenger Bag

by fungus amungus

16K227

Intro: Bike Light Holder/Connector for Messenger Bag

Securely attach a spare bike light to your messenger bag and give yourself some extra carrying room if you're really hauling something huge. With snaps that fit with the snaps already on my backpack I now have a light that's not going to fall off any time soon.

Now why would I have a spare light? Well, because someone stole the bike light holder off my girlfriend's bike while it was locked to a parking meter. The light was safely in her bag. Who the hell steals a bike light holder? I've had crackheads offer me stolen bike lights before, but is there some extra side market in holders as well? Freakin' junkies.

Anyway, back to the new light holder.

Ingredients:

1" strap
male and female plastic snaps
grommet
screw

STEP 1: Sew Ribbon Onto Fastener

Here the strap is fed in and out of the female end and sewed back onto itself. Thanks to Tim for his handy walking foot sewing machine. That thing rocks.

STEP 2: Repeat for Other Fastener

Check out that sewing machine in the background. So nice and sexy and in focus, unlike what I was trying to show here. The blurry bits and pieces are the male connector being fastened with the other end of the strap and lots of thread. It wasn't my regular camera, I'm sorry.

STEP 3: Burn Off Excess

I cut the extra strap off with this hot cutter. Nice and quick and cauterized. Yum.

STEP 4: Grommet

Grommet!

Grommety-grrrrrrrrrommet.

STEP 5: Drill Into Bike Light

This square is what slid into the old bike light holder that some junkie is coveting somewhere. It was a perfect fit. You could put the bike light in horizontally or vertically. Absolutely glorious and it's now just a vestigial nub to be drilled into.

STEP 6: Screw It

Screw goes through the hole and then another hole in a nut and then into the final hole where it stops. Connection!

STEP 7: Attach!

One end connects to the flap and the other connects to the body of the bag. Since who knows where the light is going to be pointing, this is useless as the only light while riding at night. Perfectly lovely as a secondary light. Or if it's my bike in its full glory when I'm Safety Boy (back light, front light, underglow), then it's a handy fourth. Quadrophotonia!

8 Comments

vermontjoe 16 years ago

Ah, yes, the best ideas seem so obvious. Thanks for the inspiration!

conceptualstratagem 16 years ago

Nice mod, it almost looks like it came with the messenger bag. I have got to get a hold of a grommet punch.

redbeardpete 16 years ago

great job fungus! nice clean and simple design and great instructions too

fungus amungus 16 years ago

Thanks, man. I gave this one to my wife and she's been loving it.

robdeadtech 17 years ago

Genius! I was just contemplating this same thing 2 weeks ago on the same bag. Scratched my head and said to myself, I guess I should try to find a light that will do this.

fungus amungus 17 years ago

I had this idea a while ago, but I didn't want to sacrifice a blinkie for it. After the holder got stolen I figured what the hell and the square nub was perfect for it.