Enduro Biker's Helping Handle

Enduro biking is a kind of biking i know literally nothing about but apparently it involves occasionally finding your bike being stuck in some dirt. And this kind of accessory being strapped to the front fork of the bike is meant to provide a convenient handle for a person or maybe even a good grip on the situation of pulling the stuck bike out of whatever it's been stuck in.

So I've been approached with a request to make some of these handles mainly because this it turned out to be more affordable than the expansive quality product yet ways better than cheap Chinese stuff. And since I'm making a small batch at once don't be confused by additional parts on the photos.

You'll need:

• 25mm nylon webbing. Notice that it comes in different weave density. Mine is quite dense which is good, but you may be get sure your sewing machine can handle it.
• 8mm plastic tubing
• Metal buckles for 25mm webbing. These may be not that easy to find. The ones I use are actually produced for sailing gear. In any case you want to make sure it's the strongest buckle you can get.
• Rubberised fabric, the kind used for bike seat upholstery and such.
• Sturdy lace
• 25mm rubber strip

To begin I prefer to cut all the necessary parts first.

Starting with a strap cut two pieces of 91 and 72 cm

To prevent edges from fraying i prefer to melt them with a flat side of a soldering iron.

It helps to have a silicon baking mat as a working surface for this operation.

First I'm dealing with the 91 cm piece.

Then the 72 cm piece needs to be cut in two with an angled cut at the middle. So i fold the piece in half to mark the middle point and then I just use a template and the soldering iron to cut through. I found it more efficient than cutting with scissors first.

Out of the upholstery fabric we will need to cut two pieces.

The first one would be 370x63mm and I'll be calling it a wrap.

The second piece is 21x320mm which I will be calling the face cover.

Two 10 cm pieces of lace is cut.

And two 8,5 cm pieces of rubber strip are cut.

When I'm in the mood I address the edges with a soldering iron.

On the customer's request a small tab is added. It can be any label, but in this case its a bit of stripe in Ukrainian flag colors.

To make a neat crisp fold on the strip I use a small hair iron. Regular iron would do to for a singular item.

To address the edges of the wrap I mark 5 cm sections on both sides with a piece of dry soap.

Then the edges should be fold and glued down. I mainly do it to simplify the sewing later so I only pay attention to sewing the parts rather than keep them all together in place at the same time.

I use contact cement for this. I found out few kinds work but in general I stick to glues with short drying time: bout 2-5 mins. After applying the glue I put the part on the heater for about half a minute then glue the edges and put them onder pressure for few minutes. It provides quite good adhesion.

The next part would be preparing the main body of the handle.

First of all sliding the buckles on. Then the both ends of the strap are sewn together end-to-end with a zig-zag seam.

Further step would be the preparation for sewing the sides together which requires next to be done.

Fold the strap in two to find and mark the middle.

Align the seamed ends with the middle mark.

Mark 32 cm wide area in the middle.

Sew along the sides within the 32 cm area. This will create the place for the plastic tube to sit in.

I strongly recommend to do some tests to determine the distance from the edge before the final sewing. Try to fit the tube inside, it should slide in snuggly but without excessive effort. If you miss this part and later realize the tube doesn't fit there'll be very little you can do and the whole item could be scrapped.

After the seams are done it's the time to attach the upholstery fabric wrap.

First step would be to glue one side to the strap placing the wrap within the 32 cm area. Same glue and technique are used.

Then glue is applied to the corresponding edges and the wrap is secured around the strap.

Now the label and the face cover can be glued on.

Notice that here I glue the face cover strip with the back side of the material to the front. The reason being that the back side is suitable for applying branding. Otherwise it can be attached the other way around.

Now all the parts are being sewn together along sides. Again, make sure the tube fits in.

To install the tube first of all I cut a piece about 1,5 cm longer than required 32 cm.

If your tube slides in easily, then just slide it inside in place. Since I like it to sit in really tightly I developed the next technique for inserting the tube.It can also be used if you can't insert the tube straight forward.

First of all I tale a metal rod, in this case is 6 mm 30 cm drill bit that works just perfectly. I slid it inside the tube and the limp end I insert insider the item. Then I prop the tube against the table and using both hands slide the item down the tube. After some adjusting I use a nail or a screwdriver to drive the metal rod out of the tube.

I cut the excessive tube on both ends.

Loops. Loops are used for tying the handle to the bike fork to prevent it from sliding down.

This step is optional, but since I like gluing stuff together I prepare the loops by connecting the piece of string at the ends.

After that the loops are glued in place within the main body of the item.

And ultimately the loop gets secured with a dense zig-zag seam.

Now it's time to remember those 72 cm straps we have splitted in two at the begining.

I secure them in place on the back side of the item with a bit of glue.

Then I really attach them with a couple rows of triple stitches.