Front rack and panniers

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yashicamat

New Member
Evening all,

I'm looking to buy a front rack and some panniers for my Surly LHT. Last tour I had everything crammed into two rear panniers, which on reflection wasn't ideal at all.

There seems to be a bit of a minefield on front racks . . . I'm assuming that a "low rider" is one where the panniers mount lower down, as opposed to the top of the pannier being above the wheel top? I'm also assuming it's a low rider that is the one that would be better to go for?

The forks have mounting points on both the outside and inside at midfork and at the end near the hub, but currently the latter have the outside mounts occupied by the mudguards . . . would that be a case of a longer bolt to mount it, or could the inside mount holes be utilised somehow?

As for panniers, I think they'll be easier to decide on, I'm assuming that they all fit to the different types of front rack?

Sorry there's a good few questions, just has my head spinning a bit this.;):sad:

Cheers

Rob
 

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
I bought these Tubus racks last year and they were a vast improvement on my previous ones. There were a variety of attaching positions which should suit most tourers although I have no experience of Surly LHTs
 
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yashicamat

yashicamat

New Member
rich p said:
I bought these Tubus racks last year and they were a vast improvement on my previous ones. There were a variety of attaching positions which should suit most tourers although I have no experience of Surly LHTs

Thanks for the reply. Ouch - nearly £70 for a front rack though!:biggrin: I had spotted that one and it looks well put together, just wondering what the money is going into though . . . :laugh:
 

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
yashicamat said:
Thanks for the reply. Ouch - nearly £70 for a front rack though!:biggrin: I had spotted that one and it looks well put together, just wondering what the money is going into though . . . :laugh:

I have to agree and I squirmed for a while but having bitten the bullet and spent the money I have no regrets. They are solid, sturdy, well made and I will get years and years of value out of them whereas the ones I had before fore half the price only lasted 2.5 trips.

There's some truth in the saying, Buy cheap, buy twice! Not always though which is the tricky decision!
 

Ergle

Über Member
I bought a front rack this year.

I chose a high rack, badged as a front rack for a mountain bike. The reason was that I wanted a rack onto which I could strap occasional things such as bits of shopping. The rack I chose was this one

http://www.evanscycles.com/products...oogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle


I was mindful of the general wisdom that low rider panniers are more stable, however never having tried a low rider rack I couldn't comment.

I used this arrangement during my recent cycle camping trip in France, and it was fine. I used the rack top to strap a 2 litre water bottle to for most of the trip.

Thank you Rob - your question has given me the opportunity of a blatant plug for my latest adventure, Normandy to Vichy - link is attached to the sig below.
 

robgul

Legendary Member
Ergle said:
I bought a front rack this year.

I chose a high rack, badged as a front rack for a mountain bike. The reason was that I wanted a rack onto which I could strap occasional things such as bits of shopping. The rack I chose was this one

http://www.evanscycles.com/products...oogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle


I was mindful of the general wisdom that low rider panniers are more stable, however never having tried a low rider rack I couldn't comment.

I used this arrangement during my recent cycle camping trip in France, and it was fine. I used the rack top to strap a 2 litre water bottle to for most of the trip.

Thank you Rob - your question has given me the opportunity of a blatant plug for my latest adventure, Normandy to Vichy - link is attached to the sig below.

.... I just fitted the same rack to the front of my Galaxy - really to strap waterproofs and few odd bits on to ... seems file. I bent the upstand part on the top very slightly to make it more vertical and give better clearance for cables etc. [Note: Shopping around will find that rack for about 40% less than Mr Evans wants to charge]

Rob
 
Location
Midlands
In my first 6 years of touring I destroyed 3 aluminium front hi - racks - the welds breaking was not too much of a problem - it was the vertical from the fork drop outs developing a plastic hinge - OK for the first year/18 months of touring but would go wrong in the second year - now I use a nitto steel rack - 3 times the price but hassel free
 

willem

Über Member
I think Tubus racks are probably the best you can get, and Nitto the nicest. However, I wonder if you really need one. If you are cycling to the other end of the world, then probably yes. If you are riding in, say, most of Europe, I suggest you spend the money on lighter and more compact gear instead.

A good rack and good panniers will set you back something like 150 pounds, and will weigh some 2-2.5 kilo, even when empty. Just use those 150 pounds to shave both weight and volume from your luggage. In my experience less than 15 kilo is quite feasible for three season camping in Europe, and that should work well on a decent rear rack.
Willem
 

earthuman

New Member
I'm currently touring through Europe on an LHT and I put on this. So far so good. been happy with them and no problems as of yet...40 days into the tour.
 

willem

Über Member
If your mid fork mountings are through and through, a Tubus Duo should fit. If you want a front rack, I think they are the best money can buy (but only of they fit your fork).
Willem
 

Ricd11

New Member
Found some Altura Orkney 34 panniers for cheap second hand, wondering if they would fit these low rider racks as they have the rixen and kaul klickfix attachments?

By the sounds of it the low racks are better so don't want to buy the bags for them to not fit (as I have rear Dryline 56 panniers already)

thanks,

Rich
 

willem

Über Member
I would be surprised if they don't fit, or cannot be made to fit. Lowriders are pretty much the standard, and Tubus in particular, and Klickfix is so common that you do not want to market a rack where they don't fit. Avoid older Blackburn lowriders and copies, however.
On a different note, 56+34 litres really is cavernous. Unless you intend to travel the world, just the 34 litre panniers in the rear should be enough if you pack carefully, let alone the 56 litre ones.
Willem
 

Crankarm

Guru
Location
Nr Cambridge
willem said:
I would be surprised if they don't fit, or cannot be made to fit. Lowriders are pretty much the standard, and Tubus in particular, and Klickfix is so common that you do not want to market a rack where they don't fit. Avoid older Blackburn lowriders and copies, however.
On a different note, 56+34 litres really is cavernous. Unless you intend to travel the world, just the 34 litre panniers in the rear should be enough if you pack carefully, let alone the 56 litre ones.
Willem

I would say avoid Blackburn low riders as the design is a bit pants and they slip around. But have now modified mine by drilling a small hole through the lower mount clip through which the cross bar fits, through the cross bar itself and fitted a 2mm split pin through the hole, soon to be a stainless steel bolt. The panniers are now solid. Have also wrapped old inner tube, just like handle bar tape but thicker, around the low rider tubing so the pannier clip fits snugly and the pannier does not rattle. Have used insulating tape and a thin cable tie to stop the inner tubing coming undone. All looks a nice solution for what was driving me mad. Panniers are Vaude Aqua Roll Tops, Ortlieb Front Roller Classics or Altura Orkneys the originals. They all mount fine now and don't rattle. To allay confusion not all at the same time I might add.

Would post a pic of the mod but you can't upload pics to threads here without hosting them on flickr which I'm not willing to do. So if anyone has Blackurn low loaders and wants to see what I have done to solve the problems these racks have then PM with your email and I'll email you some pics.
 

Ricd11

New Member
thanks both,

Willem- i bought the 56s because i am using them travelling to and from uni and home, so bring laptop and books and clothes etc. I want some for the front because of the stability issues people seem to be raising, i'm a newcomer to the world of cycling really but it seems to make sense to have weight on the front. Then I think if i don't use all of the space it's not a problem?

I will be touring europe for a couple of months this summer, so wont be anything too ridiculous. To me though 34 alone sounds abit on the slim side, I don't want to be scrimping too much, planning on stealth camping and cooking my food and what not. But as I said i'm a newbie so all advice is greatlfully received!
 
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