Securing gear to bike WITHOUT panniers etc.?

[PeterL]

Does anyone know of a way to secure a tent, sleeping bag and other odds and sods to a bike without the use of hard luggage? I'm planning on keeping the gear under a cargo net on the pillion seat as I cruise through France, Italy and Croatia before returning to the UK.

However, I'm concerned that I don't fancy lugging a load of gear around whenever I get off the bike, but don't fancy leaving it just under a cargo net for anyone to steal.

So, any ideas?!

Cheers!

[Sirakor]

A bit heavy, but Pac-Safe - amongst others - do these metal 'nets' that you can use to secure gear.

Pacsafe Anti-Theft Bags & Travel Security Products

[markharf]

Pacsafe stuff isn't terribly heavy, but it is awkward to use. Still, it's the only game in town.

My approach has leaned heavily on making things look ugly and unappealing: no neatly-packed, color-coordinated baggage in graduated-size stuff sacks for me. I wrap stuff in tatty raincovers, wrap these in whatever straps or rubber bungies I've got, and tie them on. Don't know whether this makes a difference: with or without Pacsafe no one's stolen anything off my bike.

Other approaches include: locking cables around or through gear, and/or battery powered, motion-sensitive alarms with or without pagers, and bike covers (again I go for the patched, ragged look).

enjoy,

Mark

[pottsy]

I use a large Pacsafe over a drybag which is then cabled to the bike's rear rack. It is a bit of a pain to set up so tended to use it for periods when the bike would be left unattended whilst loaded-up, such as ferry crossings, cafe's etc. But generally i found that the EU is safe/rich-enough that it wasn't required on a daily basis, or is that now the kiss-of-death now i've said it

[PeterL]

Yea, I'd been consdering the Pacsafe stuff but was worried about how secure they really were. The wire looks pretty flimsy - nothing a pair of scissors wouldn't cut through anyway!

[markharf]

I don't know about scissors (haven't been willing to try this), but certainly any old wire cutters would work. Then again, a flat prybar would open my hard boxes easily enough, and I'm sure a dent puller would pop my ignition switch. Plus, any random four thieves could pick up my bike, throw it in the back of a truck, and be gone.

You're not trying to make it absolutely secure, or you'd carry a giant chain, an alarm system and a ferocious dog with you. You're just trying to slow someone down a bit. Pacsafe probably accomplishes this, as does a cover, or hard panniers, or a tilt-sensor alarm. But it's normally impossible to know whether you've prevented a theft by any of these means (except the last): you mostly only know when you've failed to prevent a theft. I haven't failed just yet.

enjoy,

Mark