Front Rack & Panniers

[rualexander]

Do they also attach to the inside of the fork blade? The photo doesn't make it apparent if they do.

There's no loop over the wheel, so no attachment on the inside means a dodgy rack that would be prone to fatigue failure in the mountings and may allow the pannier to twist into the wheel.

I would avoid these 'Lifeline' low riders for this reason, especially on a cheap product, I would be very worried about them possibly twisting under load into the front wheel causing an accident.
Blackburn 'custom' low riders are a bit behind the times and their design is not ideally suited to modern panniers but they are still useable with Ortlieb Front Rollers if the hooks are positioned carefully, and they are secure from the possibility of twisting due to the bracing effect of the inner rail.

 

[Crankarm]

Do they also attach to the inside of the fork blade? The photo doesn't make it apparent if they do.

There's no loop over the wheel, so no attachment on the inside means a dodgy rack that would be prone to fatigue failure in the mountings and may allow the pannier to twist into the wheel.

I would avoid these 'Lifeline' low riders for this reason, especially on a cheap product, I would be very worried about them possibly twisting under load into the front wheel causing an accident.
Blackburn 'custom' low riders are a bit behind the times and their design is not ideally suited to modern panniers but they are still useable with Ortlieb Front Rollers if the hooks are positioned carefully, and they are secure from the possibility of twisting due to the bracing effect of the inner rail.

Very carefully indeed as the hooks are still a pain to get on the mounting rail as the Ortlieb hooks are slightly too wide for the narrow spacing between the rails of the rack which converge to a point at the front most edge. Plus Blackburn rails are 8-9mm thick so you have to use spacers in the hooks that Ortlieb provide which tend to drop out unlike R&K hooks or Vaude hooks. If you are planning purchasing Ortlieb panniers then you should buy the Tubus Ergo front low loader rack as it is the most suitable for Ortlieb pannier hooks.

 

[willem]

That rack with connecting loop is for fork blades with bolt holes that are through and through, as on many upmarket touring bikes. Use them on ordinary forks and you have a problem. As for panniers, I think Ortlieb are still the best buy, even though heavy. However, do you really need front paniers? Would it not be smarter to invest the money in lighter and more compact kit so you can do without front panniers? I have just come back from a tour in Norway, with gear to cope with freezing temperatures and driving rain, and I did not need front panniers. I think you only need front panniers if you carry some of the load for others (such as your children), or if you go to a third world country, and/or remote regions.
Willem

 

[Plax]

Thanks for all the replies. I've splashed out on yellow ortlieb front roller classic panniers. I've also opted for the Lifeline front rack. The reviews seemed favourable, and one review said they were fine with ortlieb's. I've just mounted them to the bike now and put the panniers on and it seems to be a decent enough piece of kit. The ortlieb panniers fit onto them fine. Just need a test ride now. Eventually I may well go with Crank's rec of the Tubus Ergo.

However, do you really need front paniers? Would it not be smarter to invest the money in lighter and more compact kit so you can do without front panniers? I have just come back from a tour in Norway, with gear to cope with freezing temperatures and driving rain, and I did not need front panniers. I think you only need front panniers if you carry some of the load for others (such as your children), or if you go to a third world country, and/or remote regions.
Willem

Of course I need front panniers, I'm a girl. I mean where would I put my hairdryer? . I could probably get away without front panniers with what I want to do, but I've splashed the cash now. I like the thought of distributig the weight over the bike as last time the back end was very heavy and was a pain trying to open gates and stuff whilst trying to hold the bike upright. Also can separate out the stove away from the food, away from the clothes and so on easier now.

 

[HelenD123]

My bike is definitely more balanced with front and back panniers and doesn't swing round so much and twist about when manoevering it like it did with just back panniers. Just don't fall into the trap of taking more stuff. I read on here a good tip to fit everything into your back panniers and then split the stuff between the four.

 

[willem]

My bike handles just fine with only rear panniers. That only changes when I load too much on the rear rack. 13 kg on the rear and 2 kg in a handle bar bag is fine. Having your heavy fuel bottle in a bottle cage under the downtube also helps. In Norway I had about 18 kg total, and 16 kg is about the maximum my bike will take just on the rear rack. It was still fine on level roads, but on very steep climbs the steering became rather light. But most times I do not need that much bad weather gear (in fact, I did not need it in Norway either). The next project is to lighten my load even further, to balance the bike better on those rare occasions that I do need to take this much bad weather gear, and to climb those mountains that much more easily.
Willem

 

[Ben M]

Hi everyone, sorry for a bit of a bump on an old thread but I have a question.

You slate the blackburn rack, saying that the sides aren't linked, does that mean that you aren't talking about this one for£34.99, you're talking about this one for £31.39 or have I mis-interpreted?

The panniers I am looking to buy are these.

 

[Crankarm]

The 1st link £34.99 are for forks without braze-ons. The 2nd link £31.99 are for forks with braze-ons which enable bolts to be screwed into the fork allowing mounting of the rack such that the top horizontal bars are either side the fork.

Wrt to you Carradry panniers fitting the Blackburn pannier rack, no idea, sorry. They do appear to use R&K hooks which tend to fit the 8mm Blackburn diameter tubing, as my Altura Orkney panniers do, although they might be too thick meaning they won't pass bewtween the converging top mounting rails.

As for Blackburn racks, they are generally crap as the welding is of such poor quality. I have had two racks break .

 

[Ben M]

The 1st link £34.99 are for forks without braze-ons. The 2nd link £31.99 are for forks with braze-ons which enable bolts to be screwed into the fork allowing mounting of the rack such that the top horizontal bars are either side the fork.

Wrt to you Carradry panniers fitting the Blackburn pannier rack, no idea, sorry. They do appear to use R&K hooks which tend to fit the 8mm Blackburn diameter tubing, as my Altura Orkney panniers do, although they might be too thick meaning they won't pass bewtween the converging top mounting rails.

As for Blackburn racks, they are generally crap as the welding is of such poor quality. I have had two racks break .

Cheers, obviously my reading skills are weak when I'm tired!

I have a TorTec rack on the back of my road bike and have had it fairly heavily laden without any issues, but it would seem that they only do one front rack and it's a "for bikes with and without braze-ons" effort

Do you have any recommendations for a rack for a bike with braze-ons under/ around £40 ?

 

[Plax]

Cheers, obviously my reading skills are weak when I'm tired!

I have a TorTec rack on the back of my road bike and have had it fairly heavily laden without any issues, but it would seem that they only do one front rack and it's a "for bikes with and without braze-ons" effort

Do you have any recommendations for a rack for a bike with braze-ons under/ around £40 ?

The Lifeline front rack I've bought seems pretty robust so far. Proper test this weekend so I can report back after if you'd like. They seem to have good reviews on the Wiggle site;
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/LifeLine_Alloy_Front_Rack/5360033788/

 

[doog]

I think I will buy some front panniers / rack just to tidy things up a bit. I end up with not only the tent on the rack but also my sleeping bag and mat in drybags plus flip flops etc and any other stuff that gets stuffed on there ,it all seems to get a bit top heavy and looks it.

My panniers are 42 litres but once cooking gear is in one bag, clothes in the next its getting a bit crowded. Would be nice to stow the sleeping bag ,mat, tent pegs and poles,cooking gear away at the front and even some of the weight out....

 

[HelenD123]

I think I will buy some front panniers / rack just to tidy things up a bit. I end up with not only the tent on the rack but also my sleeping bag and mat in drybags plus flip flops etc and any other stuff that gets stuffed on there ,it all seems to get a bit top heavy and looks it.

My panniers are 42 litres but once cooking gear is in one bag, clothes in the next its getting a bit crowded. Would be nice to stow the sleeping bag ,mat, tent pegs and poles,cooking gear away at the front and even some of the weight out....

If you have 20 litres worth of clothes you're taking too many. You should be able to cut that down and get at least your sleeping bag in the clothes pannier. If you need any tips I'd be happy to help.

 

[willem]

The aim is weight reduction, of course, but volume reduction is an important tool. The first thing to do is to leave home anything that you do not really need. This is cheap, but mentally very hard for many. The next step is to see if you already own lighteran dmore compact alternatives for what you do need. Weigh your clothes and you will discover that some shirts are far heavier than others. The next step is volume reduction, to get everything into two rear panniers - even empty lowriders plus rack weight about 2-2.5 kilo, and cost quite a bit of money. There are a few things that do not go into your paniers, so you do not need to worry about their volume: tent plus raingear. You do not want that wet stuff inside your bag, and it does not matter if they get wet. So how to reduce the volume of what goes inside the bags? Do not take more than one pair of trousers, to wear in the evenings. Only take the one pair of shoes that you are wearing, Avoid self inflating mattresses because they are too bulky. Instead take a Thermarest Neoair for the summer, or an Exped Synmat Basic if you need something warmer. Both of these will easily fit inside the panniers. Get a compact down sleeping bag. An expensive example would be a PHD Minimus 200 or 300 (an Alpkit Pipedream is a cheaper alternative). Get a compact cooking set. For solo use the Trangia 27 is very nice, and you can have the fuel bottle in a Bikebuddy on the bicycle frame. Some gas stoves come with even more compact pots, but those may be too small for real meals.
Even on my recent trip to Norway everything (including warm clothing and an extra warm sleeping bag) but the tent and the rain jacket fitted inside the two rear panniers (plus a bar bag). I was never cold or uncomfortable. Use the money you save by not buying a front rack and front panniers to reduce the volume of what has to go inside the panniers.
Willem

 

[rich p]

...or use front panniers and carry a few luxuries to make the trip more comfortable and less like an ordeal in minimal survival.

Each to his own!

 

[willem]

Sure, each to his own. On the other hand, lower weight also represents comfort. And in any case, using the 100+ pounds you save by not buying a front rack and front panniers to choose a lighter and more compact sleeping bag and mattress does not reduce your sleeping comfort. A Neoair or Synmat are eminently comfortable and thick (6.3 and 7.5 cm respectively) mattresses.
Willem