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Lets talk about the strength of the stock cable. On a trip several months ago when I was pulling up to a stop with a left slope, I lost footing and the bike fell over on the left. I had a bag strapped to the luggage rack, maybe 7-8 pounds. I hadn't locked the tour pack and it sprung open. The cable stopped it from going too far. So there I am, bike over to the left with the left side down hill, the TP lid open to the cable limit and NO damage to anything except my pride. I locked the thing after that.
I checked the hinges and cable attachments very closely for any cracking and all is good. The retractable one has too many moving parts and moving parts break. I'll stick with stock.
As commented, rotate the lower swivel 360 degrees and the cable stays inside the TP lid when closing.
If you take the bottom of the lid cord off turn it half a turn and reinstall it the cord will stay in and not get caught. Much cheaper, got that tip from a post here.
You don't even have to detach it. Since it rotates, just rotate it once around the screw, which puts a twist in the cable and it will naturally curl in on itself as the lid is closed.
16000 miles on mine and still going but I am carefull when opening the lid not to let it fall open with all its weight. I hang onto the lid and hold it until it is at the end of the cable.
Has anyone had one of these retractable tour pack tethers break and how old was it?
Thanks,
Tinman
Never understood the need for this.
If you just rotate the cable 180ş from its attachment point on the lid it stays completely out of the way when closing. Simple and free fix. Takes all of 3 seconds to implement.
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