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| A free wooden wine box makes a cool bike basket. |
Today is the third Thursday of November and thus the official release day of
Beaujolais Nouveau. It's a date that we at VO celebrate every year. And since you'll probably also be headed to the wine store this afternoon, may we suggest asking the nice folks there for a wooden wine box. Many shops will give these away if you buy a few bottles. Wine boxes make neat carriers when mounted to a
porteur rack.
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| Wine box on a VO Polyvalent. |
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| After much testing, the VO staff recommends the 2014 Pascal Chatelus (about $11, rooster label). |
Try to get a sturdy wine box; some are a bit flimsy. And try to select a good vintage if the box has a logo printed on the side. Some wine boxes even have lids, which might be useful.
You'll also need four
3/8" p-clamps and four bolts, washers and nuts. For tools you'll need a drill and bit and whatever is necessary to tighten the nuts and bolts. Remove you porteur rack's rail and secure the wine box as shown in the photos below.
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| While a beard is not strictly necessary, Mark feels that it establishes a proper artisanal gravitas. |
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| Drill the holes and secure the wine box to the rack; there's not really much to it. |
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| This is the p-clamp placement Mark used to prevent the box from shifting. |
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| Great for a trip to the orchard. |
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| Also great for carrying wine. |
Are all your employees as hot as the guy with the beard? MeeeYOW!
ReplyDelete@Anon 3:17pm,
ReplyDeleteYes.
At the risk of being banned, am I the only one tiring of VO posts getting too pretentious, and less cycling or product oriented? Less than 1% of your customer base lives near an orchard, and likely would not ride that single speed pictured with those bars in hilly apple country. Same for the wine, it's gonna get stowed safely wrapped in panniers. Lastly......that pine box looks hideous on a beautiful $2k bike. Rant over, still love VO stuff.
ReplyDeleteOh wait, you could buy a Wald basket and mounts for 25.00 shipped and use all that money saved to buy more wine. Depends on priorities I guess.
ReplyDeleteLove the post, keep up the humor and whimsy! Ignore the scrooges! :-)
ReplyDeleteGood stuff. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
ReplyDeleteAnd I can't see how a FREE box is more costly than the $25 Wald rack?
I also see a 3 speed there... but maybe it's just me?
I think Ints L. is referring to the price of the porteur rack + free box in relation to the Wald basket.
ReplyDeletegreat post!! (I live near a lot of orchards you wackado, and so do all my customers…who are in love with VO everything)
ReplyDeleteI'll be sharing this on my shop page, thanks!!
is it LEGAL to carry wine in a box like that? for CARS it is ILLEGAL to have alcohol within reach of the driver. i put it in the TRUNK.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong the Porteur racks VO offers are nice, and if I needed one I'd definitely consider theirs. If I needed to carry more than two growlers from the brewery, then I'd probably need to order one! I have and will order things from VO as they do offer some nice products.
ReplyDeleteUnless I'm carrying bales of newspaper or other loads that need the sturdiness of a Porteur rack, I'd rather spend my money on the wine.
of course it's legal to carry like that as is it legal to carry inside your car! only time it has to be out of reach is if the bottle has been opened and even that law only applies to certain states.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone considering this, I found that a 3/8" piece of plywood cut to fit in the floor of the crate makes for a much sturdier mount - that flimsy wine crate wood can't stand up to many bumps on its own (it splits along the grain between the drilled mounting holes).
ReplyDeleteGreat Idea, and I need to do this on my rare Peugeot 3 speed town bike ... I even have a wine crate that has a 'Lion Rampant' on it quite similar to the headbadge!
ReplyDeleteFurther to the guy who suggested adding a piece of plywood to he base of the crate, I'll also use little brass L-shaped supports in each corner of the box, as it is a bit flimsy. Whether to add to the outside or the inside of the joint depends on the aesthetics of what I find at Home Depot...
I like this idea it's amazing hope that you will also share such ideas in future
ReplyDeleteGood job! maybe that's the very meaning and passion of life...
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong the Porteur racks VO offers are nice, and if I needed one I'd definitely consider theirs. If I needed to carry more than two growlers from the brewery, then I'd probably need to order one! I have and will order things from VO as they do offer some nice products.
ReplyDeleteUnless I'm carrying bales of newspaper or other loads that need the sturdiness of a Porteur rack, I'd rather spend my money on the wine.