It is a bit precious of me, but as much as I like using ‘gas tank’ style bags for food and stuff, I have always had issues with the strap around the steerer bit.
The straps cannot be tight enough on several of my bikes due to the lack of steerer space under the stem, or truss fork clamps. The strap is also a source of wear and I have several King top caps with missing bits of material and anodising due to this.
One idea I had explored was a top tube mounted bottle or Many Thing cage. After discussion with Sean regarding my next bike, the use of midline bolt holes and heat from welding meant it was a possible weakness in a critical position, so I went back to the idea of a bag.
Mark, at Bentley Components, makes beautiful and functional things, including carb loading devices. After a brief discussion, an envelope sketch was produced and Mark made the concept a reality.
This is a proto made out of delrin. This should be a great material for this part, but it may be that aluminium is a possibility. We’re not sure where it is going, but I can tell you it makes for a super solid gas tank mount that cannot cause any wear or interference with the stem in any way.
It is just over 10mm in height so it takes up minimal space and still allows headset pre-loading if required. It can mount above or below the stem. More in time, but if you might be interested in one, leave a comment so I can gauge interest.
It goes without saying, that I am hugely indebted to Mark Bentley for his help with this. Thank you!
drj0nswanderings 
Very simple and clever. I was going to comment about wear because the piece rotates but then I saw the video… Count me in for one if it helps Bentley make a minimum batch.
Looks like a neat solution. Might be interested if I can figure out a means of attaching to my Alpkit bag with ladder style Velcro. Currently pretty clunky on my truss forks.
Something like this? http://www.extremtextil.de/catalog/Sternum-Split-Bar-25mm-20mm::1866.html
Looks like that would be perfect, yes.
I would take a couple at least, I use an alpkit bag also but as soon as you put anything weighty in it it flops about and pulls the top strap off the top the steerer to which I’m looking to upgrade to the Revelate gastank pictured
This would really make a lot sturdier fixing and although I’ll probably get the Revelate gastank anyway I think would make softer bags like the alpkit bag a whole lot more effective for carrying heavy items like batteries for lights & phone’s!
I’d grab two. Neat solution and great song.
I’d definately be interested in two or three
I’d like a couple but would prefer them in black…
Saw this on your instagram feed….if they’re going to be made I’ll take a least a couple.
Awesome job, Jon. Great idea, and well worth production.
Looks good!
That’s a great solution. I didn’t have room for a strap so I came up with something that snaps into an exended bolt: https://www.flickr.com/photos/drwelby/8990476712/
nice one! does the strap have a way to rotate where it is attached to the top cap?
Yes, it’s a standard fabric snap so it can spin.
Ingenious!
[…] I saw a *lot* of folk running these top tube bikes and I was shocked how few folk were running a Bentley Components DeWidget to mount this painlessly to their […]
This widget looks pretty awesome. If you added a couple of additional slots on either side, could also stabilize feed bags…
thanks dude! that occurred to me after seeing the Rockgeist space link – at the moment though they are different enough to serve different purposes so I think at present I’ll keep that on the back burner – appreciate your thoughts! jon
Yeah, it was the rockgeist that made me think of this. I like the widget ‘cos you got there first, plus the widget rotates. Seems like the better design to me.
the difference to how top tube bags mount is amazing. no rub and super stable! I never liked how rubbed my headsets got after a muddy bike pack and this just seemed the right way forward! Greg at Rockgeist is a top guy – I have a couple of his bags and they are amazing. If pushed, I’d agree that the DeWidget is a wee bit neater for just a top tube bag and the range of motion is probably a bit greater…both cool parts though!