Review of Pro Storage Bottle/toolbox

I have just ordered myself one of these.  They look like a neat way of carrying a decent amount of tools and spares for the bike and as our Thorns have lugs for 3 bottle carriers they will provide a convenient way of moving some weight forward on the bikes and onto the main frame rather than the stays.  As the reviews below suggest, buying the bigger version (750ml) is the better idea.

Neat tools/spares container

Here are some reviews from the Chain Reaction Cycles site:

Tim  from United Kingdom Owner 08 April 2010 20:48
I bought this well over a year ago. It’s a fantastic way to carry your emergency tool kit. Mine takes a spare inner tube (road-700c), a few patches, 3 tyre levers, two CO2 cartridges with the adapter, a mini-tool, spoke key and a couple of extra allan keys plus a bit of rag to stop it all rattling. It is completely watertight and has been out in some pretty bad weather to confirm it. The only down side, and it has nothing to with its design, is that it takes up a bottle cage so on longer rides you’re limited to one bottle…….having said that, I’ve always managed.

Chris from United Kingdom Owner 12 April 2010 07:15
Highly recommended.

Bryn Dodson from Australia Owner 21 April 2011 06:28
I love this item and it is great value. I store heaps in this container. Although if you’re buying I recommend the 750ml – Protein Bar – C02 Cartridge – Spare Tube – Electrolyte powder – Repair Kit

The Don from Ireland Owner 04 September 2011 19:38
Excellent storage solution with tardis like properties. In mine (a large one) I keep…a spare tube, tyre levers, mini tool, some clueless patches and some lightweight rain overtrousers. Bought this to replace a topeak saddle bag which was nothing but hassle (basically fell apart with light usage, bad mounting and would’nt carry half the stuff). This and a bottle cage cost much less and works great for me. Only suggestion would be an opening on both ends so you could push your gear out but its no big deal. Buy it, you’ll be happy.

Ti Yam from Malaysia Owner 13 December 2011 07:07
Good quality for the price. 500ml height is only 12.5cm as oppose to the 14cm advertised. Anyhow is just the right size to fit my Endura Pakajak rain jacket. Will get the bigger one soon.

Gilbert5050 from United Kingdom Owner 06 March 2012 17:00
Great little tool bottle, keeps everything dry, would buy this product again!

Update: January 2013

I am sorry to say I abandoned this item before our last long tour.  In use I found it a little frustrating for a number of reasons:

1. Because it’s a fixed shape I found it could not hold all of the items I hoped.  For example, spare tubes had to be carried somewhere else.
2. Small items carried always seemed to find there way to the bottom and so all the contents had to be tipped out to get to the item I wanted.
3. I was worried that the threaded lid was not as secure as it might be and so might get lost or allow rainwater to seep into the container.
4. As it’s in full view on the bike and easily detached I was worried it might get stolen if left on the bike and it was a footer to remove and carry each time.

So, while it seemed like a good idea, I fear that in use it proved to be a disappointment.  I think it would be better suited to a road bike than a tourer. I have reverted to carrying my tools and spares in a canvas roll-up tool bag: much more flexible and serves as a work area when rolled out on the ground next to the bike on the road.  It fits nicely and securely into my trusty Carradice Long-flap Saddlebag

via Review Pro Storage Bottle | Chain Reaction Cycles Reviews.

Accessories: Pro Bike Tool Storage Bottle

I found this via the Cycle chat forums.  Looks neat!  Original link below.  My only fear is that I seem to be finding every more neat ideas for carrying ever more gear on the bikes.  Not a good way to go!

At a glance Low-cost, tool storage tube that fits in a bottle cage

Tested by Jon Adams, tester for The Bike List

“Now this is a great idea. If your trusty bicycle repair kit is rattling around in a bum bag or bouncing around in a pannier, then it’d be a good idea to stick your multi-tool, tyre levers, spare tube, puncture kit and pair of pin-nose pliers elsewhere. But where do they go? In a barbag, so they can scratch your phone and bruise your banana, or in a jersey pocket so they can eat through the fabric or burrow into your back? Unless you have a specific pannier pocket or a saddle bag for the purpose, stowing tools is, quite frankly, a pain. Until, that is, you discover Pro Bike Gear’s Storage Bottle. It’s a simple plastic tube with a watertight, screw-on lid, and it has sculpted inserts shaped to fit into a standard bottle cage.

Most hardtails and road bikes have bosses for two cages (tourers often have three), and the majority of riders only need one water bottle. If that sounds like you, splash out a fiver on a second bottle cage, and then get one of these to put all those rattly tools in. The Storage Bottle comes in two sizes, and unless you’ve a reason not to, you may as well go for the larger 750ml, as cycling provides more than enough small bits and bobs to fill it. I put my spare tube in the bottom, then add the other essentials on top. There’s space for half a dozen zip ties, and a spare rear flasher and batteries, and I finish off with a couple of Bodyguard gloves so I can avoid getting my hands covered in crap when the chain falls off the rings (or the air falls out the tyres). The gloves also stop any rattles from the contents. Of course, you could cut down a standard bottle to achieve the same end, or fashion something ingenious from stuff you stumble across at the back of the garage, but why bother? For £6 (or just a fiver for the 500ml size) it’s all done for you. Love it!”

via Pro Bike Gear Storage Bottle £6 | Gear Reviews | The Bike List.

Accessories: Click-Stand – the folding kickstand – looks great!

I have been keen to add a kickstand to our Ravens for some time, but not sure which might be suitable.  Tonight researching the Thorn Forums I came across this little number.

The Amazing Click-Stand

Seems an odd concept – you think it would fall over if the bike rolled forward or back, but owners seem to swear by them.  So worth a thought I guess.  The sellers suggest these features:

• Handmade & custom cut to fit your bike.
• $31 to $42  +  Shipping  +  Tax if shipped to WA.
• Two models of Click-Stands support all types of bikes, from loaded tandems to racing bikes.
• Made from expedition/aircraft grade 7000 series aluminum tubing.
• The Mini’s tubing is .374″ (9.5mm) in diameter.
• The Max’s tubing is .433″ (11mm) in diameter.
• Supports your bicycle above its center of gravity, which makes it stronger and more stable than a traditional kickstand.
• Weighs approximately 75 grams. A Mini can weigh less than 60, and a Max up to 90 grams.
• Supports fully-loaded touring bicycles, even loaded tandems pulling a Bob! Tour tested
• Paint friendly rubber coated cradle.
•  Non-slip rubber foot.Lean your bike to either side.
• Works up, down or side hill just as well as on flat ground.
• International shipping for $10; to Canada for $6.
• Satisfaction guaranteed.

Tourer with Click-Stand

They seem to be made by a one-man-band company in the States ( Aberdeen WA, would you believe!) and are very reasonably priced, given that each is hand made to length once you provide the measurements of your bike.  I am well impressed and think I might take a punt at one.

Details are on the Click-Stand web site.

UPDATE: It gets a positive review from Paddy and Laura, of ‘Pedalling About’ fame.

Technology: Take Care Creating Map My Ride GPX Files

We are just back from a 10 day mini-tour in the Algarve and Alentejo, Portugal.  Brilliant trip, wonderfully quiet roads, dramatic Atlantic coast scenery and kindness and a warm welcome everywhere we went.  One wee ‘operator error’ crept in, however: I hold my hands up – all my own fault.

I created a set of GPX files for our Garmin Edge 800 before going, using Map My Ride on my Apple iMac before leaving.  On the very first day we ran into trouble with the first of these routes.  After 15 glorious K of complicated navigation on very remote roads north of Messines we were directed to, ‘take the unpathed road’ to the right – and spent the next 20K battling up and down the roughest and remotest track imaginable.  We were on a track gouged into the hillside to service the radio masts built at the top of each summit.  No hamlets, no farms, no civilisation, nothing. No shade.  Wonderful if on a planned trip off road on the right bikes, but hardly what you want to be doing on commuter bikes with road tires and luggage for a week or more.  It made for a hot and sticky day and a certain amount of tension on the team!  There is a solution, however: read on.

On the Dirt Again

Overnight I realised my mistake.  Sitting at a 27 inch iMac, and determined to avoid major roads, I had zoomed in to a degree that showed up every house drive, dirt track and worse – all unaware that I was no longer dealing with ‘proper’ roads.  Zooming out just a little brought up roads with numbers and villages.  So each night thereafter we used Google Earth to check what we were getting ourselves into for the next day.  In passing I might say, the Garmin never missed a beat and always knew where we were and prompted us onto the right ‘track’ at every turn.  Without it carving a path for yourselves would have been very difficult. In that sense it was very reassuring.  Unfortunately, it could not keep an idiot from himself!  A lesson hard learned!

It's Hot!

Accessories: Carradice Long Flap Saddlebag

My Thorn Raven has a new bit of kit on board – a Carradice Long flap Saddlebag.  I think it looks just great on the bike and will more than earn its keep.

My 'new' Carradice Saddlebag

I have one been convinced about this particular model of saddlebag (and saddlebags in general), but its taken me sometime to get one into place – they are great value for money, but hardly cheap.  With new ones costing the better part of £50 I have been watching them come and go on Ebay for months, hoping to pick up a bargain: but have you seen the prices they go for?  I have seen some very tatty examples go for over £30.

I was delighted to be offered one by a mate who has decided to put his touring days behind him.  It’s all the better to have a bag with some personal ‘history’ and I’ll carry it from now on with great pleasure and happy memories of a generous spirit.  We agreed a bit of bartering for a book token in exchange that allowed me to say my thanks properly.

The bag will be great for day runs carrying bike repair gear, waterproofs and a nice picnic, or for weekend trips and will come into its own once we are packed for longer tours.  The saddle bag which hangs from the back of my Brooks saddle will help with weight distribution overall and take weight away from the rear stays in particular.

If a new one takes your fancy to to find out more, check them out on the Carradice site.

Technology: Video of creating Map My Ride GPX Files for a Garmin Edge 800

This is a simple screencast I have done showing the steps and stages in mapping a cycle route on Map My Ride, saving it as a GPX file and transferring it for use on your cycle Sat Nav.  Made on an Apple Mac, but should work just the same on a PC.

Technology: Creating Routes for the Garmin Edge 800 with Map My Ride

Map My Ride is the web site of preference I use to create Routes for use with the Garmin Edge 800.  I access the site from my Apple Mac with Safari,but I suspect that the site will work well with any platform and browser.  Here’s how I go about it.  I use this site in preference to, e.g. Garmin Base Camp as it seems to be to be much more straightforward and reliable in use.

Navigate to the Map My Ride site and register/login.  You can register and use the site for free, but I have decided to commit to it and I pay for a Bronze monthly subscription.

1. To begin mapping a Route either select Map a Route from the Routes drop down menu to the left or  Click on Map a Route using the button to the top right.
2. Provide a Start Location  e.g. Aberdeen, UK. Click on e.g. Road Cycling and click on Continue.
3. Click and Drag the map to show your intended start position.
4. Point and double click to create a start point.
5. Click  on Follow Roads in the tools menu to the right.
6. Click on the next junction point you want to pass through, and continue clicking in at each decision point.
7. If anything goes wrong, click Un(do) on the tools menu.
8. Click Follow Roads to toggle on and off between following roads or open spaces as necessary e.g. to go though a park area then back onto roads.
9. Click decision points on the map to complete the route.
10. By default your route will be titled, “A route mapped on date” – Select this text and rename with a meaningful title.
11. Click Save to complete your Route.
12. Add a description if you care to and Click  Save and Complete.
13. A map will appear with Elevation data underneath.  Click on Export Map Data and select the Export as GPXOption.
14. Click on Download GPX File.

This will place a copy of the file in your computer’s download area, ready for transfer to your Garmin device.  Click here for details of how to transfer files to your Garmin. 

Update: If you prefer I have added a video screencast of these instructions.  To view, click on the Technology tag to the right of this post.

Accessories: Ortlieb Bar Bag Organiser

While I am a big fan of the Ortlieb Bar Bag for its toughness,waterproof quality and ease of mounting on the bike, on my last trip I found the lack of any internal organising divisions a real pain: I found I was constantly rummaging about in the bag to find individual items.  I cannot find an organiser system for sale, except for cameras, so I set to, to make my own from a recycled camera bag.

The set up here adds almost nothing to the weight (which totals 1650 gms so is virtually half the maximum Ortlieb recommends) and neatly holds these items:

1. wallet
2. digital camera – Canon IXUS 75
3. Garmin Edge 800
4. sunglasses and reading glasses
5. iPhone
6. cycle computer – Cateye Vectra Wireless
7. binoculars – 7Dayshop.com own brand 10×25
8. pen and notebook – Moleskine
9. daily paperwork – hotel vouchers etc.
10. handtowel
11. keys (attached to lid)
12. micro-torch
13. Passport and insurance documentation
14. Ortlieb shoulder carry strap
15. additional waterproof cover – just in case!

This arrangement leaves plenty of space and weight for any essential extras and emergency energy bars needed from time to time and so I am pretty pleased with it in prospect.

Technology: First Trip with the Garmin Edge 800 – Review

We are just back from a first trip using the Garmin Edge 800 as a principal navigation device.  Verdict?  Well, perhaps 8 out of 10: certainly, I was more impressed than I expected to be and have seen enough to want to keep trying with the Edge.

What I did
I  used the Map my Fitness site to plot 3 day routes to use on the trip.  MMF makes this easy to do and also allows you to download the route as a GPX file that the Edge can see and read. (see details in the sister post to this one tagged under GPS and Technology.)  Each of the routes started from a fixed point that I expected to be able to find easily: e.g. our hotel, a railway station etc.

How things worked
When switched on at the start of the route and the route selected (Garmin refers to Routes as Courses), or any point along it, the Edge, ‘buzzed’ and indicated that it has detected the route.  The route is shown as a pink line on the map and your position as an elongated triangle.  The triangle moves along the pink line as long as you are on the right line.  If you move off route the Edge ‘buzzes’ to alert you and flashes up an ‘off course’ message.

What worked well with the Edge 800
Most of the time the Edge did a great job of keeping us on the planned route. A glance at the map was enough to see where to go at junctions.  It was very reassuring to be ‘buzzed’ very early when off route.  Seeing junctions ahead and having an indication of direction of travel presented was very helpful and motivating.  Being able to anticipate changes of direction was useful.  You can also ‘swipe’ from map to a numbers page that indicates your speed and distance to final destination.  This was very motivating and encouraging.  The Edge was very accommodating when you stop – for a coffee or whatever –  and just resumes where you left off.  You can stop the supplementary timer if you wish and resume when you set off again.  Battery life stood up really well over 4-5 hours, at which point it was more than ‘half full’.

What worked less well with the Edge 800
At first sight the screen size is very small.  So small it’s impossible to get a sense of where you are going ‘on the bigger picture’ from the device in the way you can from a map.  It’s much better to forget that thinking and rely on your advanced planning and the pink route line.

On a couple of occasions the Edge ‘buzzed’ the off course message when there really was no other sensible alternative route – both times on the outskirts of towns or villages.  Ignoring the error message resulted in a second message indicating the the route had been found again.  This was not more than a minor irritation on these two occasions.

I found it difficult to manipulate the screen display on the map page: it’s not obvious how you ought to change settings.  Some of this might be because my eyesight did not allow me to read the map detail without putting reading glasses on.

Overall Verdict on the Garmin Edge 800
I was impressed on this first outing.  On each of the three days the Edge performed well and kept us on track with the minimum of fuss or bother.  It was especially good on complicated routes on remote small road with few signposts and many decision points that would have required frequent stops to consult a paper map.  This is always a frustration and the Edge removed all of this worry and ‘checking’ as you go allowing you to focus on the cycling and the scenery.

Technology: Starting out with the Garmin Edge 800

Perhaps it’s only me, but I have had the most miserable of times starting out with the Garmin Edge 800 GPS system.  Something about the way Garmin write their user manuals just does not sit well with me.  After a few weeks of ownership I am still fumbling my way towards being comfortable with the Edge on my Apple Mac.  These lessons hard learned, may be useful:

1. The Apple Mac does not always seem to ‘see’ the Garmin device.  For more reliable performance follow this procedure.  Turn the Garmin off.  Hold down the Lap/Reset button for 10 seconds while you attach the USB cable to the Garmin, or until you see the computer image appear on the Garmin screen and the disk image icon appear on the Apple Mac.  This forces the Garmin into, ‘mass storage mode’ and ensures communication between the Apple and the Garmin.
2. I have had more success using the upload file facility from a third party site (I use, ‘Map my Fitness/Ride/Run’) than from the Garmin sites.
3. Likewise, Map my Fitness gives much better control over the mapping tools for creating routes than the Garmin site tools do.
4. When exporting a GPX file to the Garmin (connected as above) you have to save the file to the ‘New Files’ folder on the Garmin navigating to it via the Garmin disk image icon on the Apple Mac.  Disconnect the Garmin only after,’unmounting’ the Garmin by dragging the icon into the waste basket and waiting a second or two.
5. Once disconnected, if you start the Garmin you will find the new route listed under the ‘Courses’ icon on the Garmin menu page.
6. If you rename the GPX file for neatness, make sure you don’t add any odd characters or spaces.  If you do, the Garmin will not ‘see’ the file.

These lessons were learned only after many frustrating hours reading the manual and searching through the various Garmin forums.  I really cannot understand how a company as big as Garmin can produce such shoddy user documentation and software.

Update: It turns out I am far from alone!  This Garmin 800 Blog by Frank Kinlan seems to be attracting quite a bit of attention from equally frustrated users.