Bike trunk bag quick release?

April 21, 2010 2:09 PM

I have a bicycle trunk rack that is Trek Interchange compatible. My trunk bag is not. I'd like an easier way to take the bag off the bike when parking it in public. Is there really no such thing as an Interchange adaptor for non-Interchange bags?

Not interested in buying a new trunk bag. Am willing to do some tinkering if it helps get me what I want. Any suggestions?

posted by caution live frogs to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (4 answers total)

Could you link to a picture of the bag and rack you have?

I picked up a trunk bag for $1 but not whatever anchor/rack piece went with it. At each end of the bag is a nylon loop with a plastic snapping connector piece in it. Presumably, the rack anchor would have the matching clips. For one side, I found a connector from an old backpack that fit so I attached it to my rack with a velcro strap. For the other side, I couldn't find a fit so I took a velcro strap and would just run that through the plastic bit and around the rack.

This worked pretty well for a year but then the velcro straps started to wear out. So I replaced the one strap with a large carabiner, putting it through the nylon loop directly. (the cheap kind that snaps closed, not one used for actual climbing). I ran the clip piece from the backpack through a carabiner as well. I think I salvaged the carabiners off some old water bottles. I had to play with different sizes to get a good fit - easy enough to get on/off but snug enough to not slide around.

Now everything is secure and it only takes me a moment to unclip/clip the bag in place. I can send pictures of this if it is not clear.
posted by mikepop at 6:21 AM on April 22, 2010

Response by poster: I have this Novara trunk bag and a basic Trek mountain bike rack similar to this one. The Novara was picked up on sale at REI - I'd wanted a trunk bag for a while, and this one fit the bill (integrated foldaway panniers, built-in rain cover, color didn't clash with my bike). My wife and I just bought new road bikes, so replacing a perfectly good bag on my commuter bike just to save myself 5 minutes of work to take it off or put it back on is a no-go. I can justify spending a few bucks to modify what I have but would not be able to successfully convince her I need to spend more money on bikes right now.

The bag has two Velcro straps to hold it to the rack. The Interchange bags have a pushbutton clip to snap them in place. You can see the clip on this bag for example. There's a set of Interchange replacement hardware bits for sale on the Trek site (scrollbar at bottom shows more parts) but I can't get any information about what the specific parts are, or if I would be able to get them to work with my existing bag with a little work.

Ideally what I'd like is a stiff base (plastic, aluminum, wood, whatever works) with the Trek-style pushbutton. I attach my bag to the base using the Velcro straps, and then snap it on or off of the rack using the button and clip on the base.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:22 AM on April 22, 2010

Response by poster: (er... spend more money on bike PARTS, that is.)
posted by caution live frogs at 7:23 AM on April 22, 2010

That's a nice bag. I can see where getting a couple of key parts would make this an easier project. Failing that something rigged up to attach that clip to the top rail of the rack combined with the velcro straps should do the trick. For added grip, you can buy some bulk velcro at the hardware store, cut it to the right shape and stick it directly to your rack/bag where they come in contact.
posted by mikepop at 5:38 AM on April 23, 2010