Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 5,955
Bikes: 2015 Charge Plug, 2007 Dahon Boardwalk, 1997 Nishiki Blazer, 1984 Nishiki International, 2006 Felt F65, 1989 Dahon Getaway V
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It's a couple of bungee cords strung through the seat frame and around the front of the seatpost, then secured to the rear of the rack.
I have one setup on my two bikes with a rack, So I don't move them from bike to bike. (I wear the backpack on the rackless 2-speed)
I started doing this about 20 years ago on the green bike and replaced the bungee after 10 years.
I put the orange cord on the black bike when I bought it in 2015 and replaced the cord after 3 years.
I bought a box of bungees at Harbor Freight 20 years ago, and I think I paid $12.
Before that I had fastened a milk crate to the back rack and put the back pack in the crate, like I saw other people do.
Then one day a picture of this way of doing it just popped in my head.
On the black bike (without baskets) when I have something to carry besides the back pack, I strap it to the rack and wear the backpack.
I know there are more elegant systems you can buy, but this has worked for me, especially since I like to wear the backpack out to the bike shed (and back to the house), and from the bathroom in the office where I change, to the warehouse where I park the bike. And I can wear the backpack when I run errands to the bank, store, etc. It has a pocket for my water bottle, and if I'm going to be long I clip my helmet to the pack, too.
If I went with a pannier it would have to be the kind you could wear as a backpack. If I needed two panniers, I guess I'd have to carry the other.