bodge gallery

[sam]

A 'bodge' is a measure of oats, about half a peck. Oats can serve as fuel for cyclists.


also makes a fine floor covering

The more common definition of bodge is an ostensibly temporary fix for something which can, depending on your mechanical competence, transcend the mediocre. I make no such claims for my own handiwork.

I think that in the cycling world it's accepted that a bodge is also an honorable alternative to something manufactured and mass-produced: DIY gear.



The definition can be expanded to include the unconventional use of an item made in the normal way, in which case acf itself is a bodge.

[sam]

Spotted in Copenhagen some years ago.

[sam]

At least there's an art to knot tying. Click here on the Noises Off thread to see the lowest level of bodge.

[sam]

Whoever invented tape is the patron saint of bodgers. In this case I also employed foam normally used for bar grips to seat the bracket. The problem was the rack didn't come with a fitting for a rear light. I guess it's expected you'll mount it on the seatpost, but that isn't always practical. This was my wife's bike. She often wore a coat which blocked it.

Alternatively I could've replaced the reflector with a light, as below.


 

Another bit from my big box of bits, forced into service (upside down, I think) on a mudguard.

[sam]

Made necessary by my preference for clean handlebars. Instructions on how to make this are here. I still await its replacement.

[sam]

Exhibit A: Bike Friday. A folder made in the States, engineered to be packed into a suitcase which can be towed behind you. Flag optional.

Exhibit B: Mudguard. You can see the stub of one to the lower left of the rack.

Exhibit C: Rack. Custom built by Steve Parry in Somerset, England, who specialises in modifications to the Brompton [see glossary]. Note that I don't have his contact details.

I had to cut the mudguard to make the rack fit, as I hadn't specified adequate clearance for it. Unfortunately this meant I still kept getting sprayed by roadwater. My first quickie bodge was a thin sheet of plastic, cut from a notebook cover, taped to the rack. That lasted about as long as you'd think. Then I raided the packing material that came with the bike. The blue fender is actually a stiff vinyl cover for the seatpost. It works -- for me, if not for anybody riding behind.

A subsidiary bodge can be seen on the far side of the rack. Yet more tape. It provides a stop to keep a pannier from sliding forward into the pedalling zone.

[sam]

I don't know what this rubber thing used to be, but now it's a dampener, screwed to the mudguard, which braces it against the seat tube to keep it from rattling.


Click for different angle. Yeah, just like a DVD player

[sam]

Objective: To secure panniers to rack while keeping rat trap free for other purposes, perhaps to bait and catch bike thieves. In the past I have sewn the panniers on.

Solution: Saw curtain rod into two 12" lengths. Cut down wire hanger using Shimano cable cutter (also handy for cutting cables). Place rods underneath panniers, run hanger wire through curtain rod and twist ends around rack. Suddenly remember that I have zip ties which I could have used instead of mangling my fingers twisting the wires; add them to tighten up the whole affair.


more bodgework here