Bicycle mobile... perhaps?

Recently a friend of mine suggested I should go on a bike ride with them, presumably when the weather is better, in their local area, I've already looked at a cycle carrier for my car (only one exists that will fit it) and worked out everything that this entails, this gave me another thought, bicycle mobile operation.

My bicycle is fitted with a luggage carrier and pannier bag (both from Halfords unsurprisingly), the carrier is metal so a magnetic mount antenna could in theory be used on it, however I've not tested this in practice.

I also require some kind of electrical arrangement to run a radio, to keep the size down and make operation more convenient with a suitable headset I am looking at solely HTs for this, and many of these come with car adaptors or have them available as an aftermarket accessory, this then requires a cigar lighter type socket (available online or from, you guessed it, Halfords, though Maplin Electronics sell these too in some of their stores that I have seen lately), and a 12-volt battery (or two 6-volt batteries), with the circuit protected by a fuse naturally.

As I have two CB HTs that I know to work, I can use these for any licence-free purposes over a reasonable distance (PMR446 is also an option but none of the radios for that band have car kits except for one designed for in-car use which would prove impractical as it is not an HT), I already have the Midland 42 Multi, the car kit modified somewhat for the abandoned scooter CB project that for various reasons did not happen (I say modified, just waterproofed with Sugru), my Intek H520 Plus can also be used in this manner though the Midland is smaller overall with it's car kit attached, both radios still work on both bands, though if I am out cycling with others and they use a similar setup then we'd agree on a channel before departing,

I still have the top box from my scooter (as I still have the scooter itself), I was thinking to use this to mount the batteries and the antenna to as it's a cheap top box and it locks, I would need to work out how to fix this to my bicycle's luggage rack with the antenna as far back from my head as possible and make it possible to remove for stowing on the bicycle rack on the car when transporting it.

Running coax and power along the frame should be relatively straightforward, cable tied to the frame out of the way of the brake and gear lines, thus allowing the brakes and gears to function, but then comes the issue of mounting a PTT and the radio itself.

On the front of my bicycle there is a light bracket manufactured by Bicygnals for their wireless turn signals, the front unit of the pair takes up most of the width of the handlebars leaving little room for anything else aside from the bell (the gears are grip-shift), fitting a radio and a PTT could be a tall order however I intend to look at the bike with the lights fitted (as they are indicators they are fitted at every ride, the rear set don't pose too much of a problem from what I can tell as they are a smaller set and therefore I'd still be able to get away with the top box battery box solution.

Although I primarily want to use the setup for CB/11 metres I may use it for 2-metres as well but should realistically be able to get away with using a longer antenna on the HT

I'll let you know how I get on with it in the near future.

73 de 26CT730/M6RSQ