I was in Walmart the other day and found a cool bag that I thought would be great as a handlebar bag:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Plano-Smal...e-Bag/16351089. The size is good, price is good, and it has Velcro loops to strap it to your handlebars. When I got home and installed it, it sagged into my brake cable, and that's when it was empty. That wasn't ideal, so I decided to fix the problem. I used an older bag I'd seen with a bent rod support and bungies as my inspiration. With a basic plan in my mind, I headed out to my local Ace hardware and found the perfect solution. They stock 3/16" steel rod in a 3' length for only $4 in change, which is perfect. I didn't want to scratch up my bars or stem, so I began looking for plasti dip to spray on there. Luckily, they didn't have it so I walked around looking for a different solution. I ended up getting some vinyl tubing with a 3/16" inner diameter in the plumbing section, and it worked perfectly.
The first step was to push the vinyl onto the rod. This was a pain, but some silicone sprayed into the vinyl tubing helped. In retrospect, champfering the sharp end of the rod would have also made this go easier. With that done and some rough measurements, I started bending. I used the handlebars and stem as my mold to get the radius of my bends correct. The rod was pliable enough and the vinyl tough enough as not to mar the bars or stem. The 3' length was slightly too long for my purpose, and I need to hacksaw about 4" off of one side when I was done. Some small bungies lashed to my front rack finished it off.
Anyway, I hope this helps anyone out there with a sagging handlebar bag. I think it turned out pretty good, was pretty easy, and works well. Thanks for looking, Mike.
