recommend a good bungee net?

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

I've had a bungee net on the rear rack of my bike for a long time; it's handy for the occasional item of excess luggage, or for bringing flowers home from the store:

 

 

After many years of service, some of the elastic members have snapped, so it's finally time for replacement. Last year I bought a new one from Amazon, but it turned out to have plastic hooks that were too small for the handrails next to the luggage rack; unlike metal hooks, these plastic ones could not be reshaped, so this was unusable.

 

I've been looking on Amazon again for an alternative, but seeing pretty mixed reviews. Can someone recommend a particular brand/source that they found to be good quality?

[EddyQ]

I thought you was a Boy Scout??

Perhaps getting some decent elastic material and your knot skills would get yourself something better?

 

I use to use bungee nets, but after some damage I no longer use them. The hooks tend to be the cheap part. Often with exposed metal that scratches up the bike. Seriously, if you have a net that has nice hooks, consider re-building it.

[Jake]

Get that nasty bug-ridden helmet off that beautiful shiny bike.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

I thought you was a Boy Scout??

Perhaps getting some decent elastic material and your knot skills would get yourself something better?

 

True, I was a Boy Scout, and I'm pretty handy with knots - but on this particular occasion I wasn't looking for a project.

 

Seriously, if you have a net that has nice hooks, consider re-building it.

 

Actually this is a pretty good idea. I'm stuck with the net that has too-small plastic hooks, so I will look into transferring the metal hooks from my old net to the new one.

 

Thanks!

 

Get that nasty bug-ridden helmet off that beautiful shiny bike.

 

Actually the picture is six years old; the bike has a lot more bugs on it now than the helmet does.

[Mike]

Mitch, check out this one. Good reviews and large hooks.

[OoPEZoO]

I lost a few hooks from my bungee net over the years (its probably 16-17 yrs old). I found a random clothes hanger that was rubber coated and sectioned it to make some new hooks. Worked out perfect.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Mitch, check out this one. Good reviews and large hooks.

 

Those hooks aren't as big as you think: that's the actual net that I recently bought - the one that won't fit my RT's handrails.

[greiffster]

How about the Power Net at Aerostich? The hooks look pretty big.

[Mike]

Mitch, check out this one. Good reviews and large hooks.

 

Those hooks aren't as big as you think: that's the actual net that I recently bought - the one that won't fit my RT's handrails.

 

Huh . . . it makes you wonder how the heck they're measuring their size.

 

In that case, maybe the idea of using the hooks off your old net is the way to go.

[Mike]

Huh . . . it makes you wonder how the heck they're measuring their size.

 

Disregard . . . it was one of the reviews that said they were 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter.

 

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Huh . . . it makes you wonder how the heck they're measuring their size.

 

In that case, maybe the idea of using the hooks off your old net is the way to go.

 

I'll measure the plastic hooks when I get home - and if my metal hooks won't easily transfer, I will probably try the Power Net one that grieffster linked to. Even if its hooks aren't wide enough to grab the rack itself, with a big enough net, I could just loop it around under the rack so that the hooks grab each other instead of trying to grab the rack.

[Mike]

Huh . . . it makes you wonder how the heck they're measuring their size.

 

In that case, maybe the idea of using the hooks off your old net is the way to go.

 

I'll measure the plastic hooks when I get home - and if my metal hooks won't easily transfer, I will probably try the Power Net one that grieffster linked to. Even if its hooks aren't wide enough to grab the rack itself, with a big enough net, I could just loop it around under

the rack so that the hooks grab each other instead of trying to grab the rack.

 

Long ago and far away, I used some hardware store carabiners to attach a cargo net. They're not crazy expensive, at least compared to those used for climbing.

[dirtrider]

Evening Mitch

 

I can't recommend a cargo net but have used them on my dirt bikes long ago.

 

Due to riding very close to trees & trail blocking branches as well as an occasional hard get-off I always had problems with cargo net hooks coming loose or breaking.

 

So I would remove the plastic hooks that came on the cargo net then install shock cord hooks on the cargo net bungees.

 

The bungee cord goes through the end hole then a knot is made in the cord. That knot would sit in a pocket in the shock cord hook so would be captured.

 

Those shock cord hooks also have an upset in the hook end so the hook could snap back over the cord & stay put.

 

I would simply wrap the bungee cord around the rear rack or frame rail then snap the hook part back on itself over the cord coming from the net.

 

Would fit about any sized rack rail or even go around a fender, once snapped back on the cord they would stay put regardless of how I abused the bike.

 

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Disregard . . . it was one of the reviews that said they were 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter.

 

That's not right, either:

 

 

The big middle part of the hook is only 0.9 inches across on the inside, and the "bottleneck" (at right, where the tip of the hook comes close to the base) will only let a 0.5-inch rack bar pass through it. I can't think of many motorcycle racks this could hook onto...

[szurszewski]

Oh - you wanted the *usable* diameter? Perhaps the reviewer was using the longest possible dimension as diameter - that looks from your pic to be just about 1.5"....

[waynerd]

Mitch,

 

I have a bunch of short rope loops and webbing loops made up that I use to wrap around luggage rack bars when they are too big to get a hook onto. Even my ratchet strap hooks won't hook onto the Yakima bars on my vehicles. I have a few made up from 1/4" rope that I use with my bungee net on the bike. A water knot or square knot creates the loop.

 

I found this picture on the internet to illustrate the "wrapping it on a bar" thing. I know we all know how to do this, but describing it in text would have been useless. I would use a different knot to create the loop, as mentioned.

 

[Scarecrow]

How about the Power Net at Aerostich? The hooks look pretty big.

 

+1

 

I have one of these which replaced one that looked sort of like the one you first mentioned. I like this because with the design of the hooks, you can tighten up slack by looping part of the net over the end of the hook.