Jim’s Tech Talk
By Jim Langley
The best way to carry something you need quick access to – say a swig of coffee from your insulated bottle as you pedal to work – is to carry it right smack in front of you on the handlebars. That way you can reach it, take a drink and put it back, all without having to take your eyes off the road or trail ahead.
That’s the reason, I’d like to draw your attention to a couple of handy accessories from the ingenious crew at PDW (Portland Design Works – in Portland, Oregon). The first is their Bingo Headset Spacer ($25).
It’s definitely a spacer because it goes on the fork steerer and is held in place when the top cap is installed and tightened. But, it’s more than just a spacer because it features two holders with slots in them for attaching PDW’s bottle holders.
The Bingo Spacer is CNC’d from aluminum, it fits 1 ⅛” steerers and is 5mm thick. The slots are 20mm long. It weighs 6 grams. Included are two hook-and-loop straps. The Bingo can be installed above or below the stem and according to PDW, it’s especially useful on short gravel and mountain bike stems.
Designed to complement the Bingo Spacer is PDW’s Swigamajig Bottle Holder ($30). Available in Olive, Fuchsia, Coyote Brown and Black, this expandable pouch is made of 100% recycled EcoPak material. It accepts bicycle water bottles and cans up to 8 cm/3.15″ in diameter.
Three points of attachment fasten the Swigamajig to your Bingo, handlebars, and steerer tube. There’s a drawstring closure to keep drinks in place and it’s height adjustable on the bottom to make room for taller containers. The dimensions are 11.5 x 8.5 x 8.5 cm and it weighs 48 grams.
Portland Design Works fully guarantees their products and as a member of 1% For The Planet, each year they donate 1% of their top of line revenue to nonprofit organizations working to protect our planet.
For more information, here’s PDW’s video on using their Bingo and Swigamajig holders
Jim Langley is RBR’s Technical Editor. A pro mechanic & cycling writer for more than 40 years, he’s the author of Your Home Bicycle Workshop in the RBR eBookstore. Tune in to Jim’s popular YouTube channel for wheel building & bike repair how-to’s. Jim’s also known for his cycling streak that ended in February 2022 with a total of 10,269 consecutive daily rides (28 years, 1 month and 11 days of never missing a ride). Click to read Jim’s full bio.
It seems like a clever design, if you need something like that.
Didn’t know where else to comment. Could you do an article on bike shorts? I’m doing longer rides and am often in the saddle for 3-5 hours. I also ride my age on my birthday every year which this year will be 82 miles and almost 7 hours in the saddle. There are so many road bike shorts options from $30 to $200 that the choices are dizzying. Is it necessary to pay for expensive shorts if you’re in the saddle for many hours or are the cheap ones just as good? Would love your opinion. Thanks! Steve
This is a nice design. I have really taken to these kind of bottle bags for bikepacking mostly because it keeps the bottles from getting dusty on unpaved roads or worse, keeps them from being splattered horse/cow/bear poop kicked up by the front wheel! The only possible issue with these is knee strike when you are out of the saddle.
That’s a great point you’re making about stuff getting thrown onto your bottles when riding Alex. Thanks for pointing that issue out.
Jim
I have an insulated bottle holder velcroed to the back of my saddlebag. Easy to get to.
My wife has a Yeti Beti SB5 mountain bike. It was designed with no spot for a bottle cage (not sure why). This item appears to mitigate the problem.