Front rack ideas

[johnb]

Last year I got a new Atlantis for my 50th birthday. Originally, I outfitted it with a mini front rack with a small trunk sack and a Tubus Cargo on the back end. I bike commute to work 2-3 days/week. My ride to and from work involves 1 or 2 — depending on the route — 18% grades (one way with a cemetery conveniently located at the top of the steepest part). Having no weight on the front leaves the front a bit jumpy. My thinking is that if I put my clothes etc in the front, it will be less jumpy. 

I have some serious lust in my heart for a Pass and Stow rack for both its touring capabilities (in theory at least) and its hauling capabilities. Anyone with P&S/Swift Industries/Freight Baggage bag combination experience I would be really interested in your thoughts.  That said, any experiences good or bad with either the Pass and Stow or other bigger front rack/bag combinations would be greatly appreciated!

[Allingham II, Thomas J]

I have a Pass & Stow rack that's going on the front of my Rohloff-equipped Bombadil this weekend (work permitting!), and a Freight Baggage bag that's just waiting for the rack to be installed.  I'll let you know what I think as soon as it's on.

---

From: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com [mailto:rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of johnb
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 4:18 PM
To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [RBW] Front rack ideas

Last year I got a new Atlantis for my 50th birthday. Originally, I outfitted it with a mini front rack with a small trunk sack and a Tubus Cargo on the back end. I bike commute to work 2-3 days/week. My ride to and from work involves 1 or 2 — depending on the route — 18% grades (one way with a cemetery conveniently located at the top of the steepest part). Having no weight on the front leaves the front a bit jumpy. My thinking is that if I put my clothes etc in the front, it will be less jumpy. 

I have some serious lust in my heart for a Pass and Stow rack for both its touring capabilities (in theory at least) and its hauling capabilities. Anyone with P&S/Swift Industries/Freight Baggage bag combination experience I would be really interested in your thoughts.  That said, any experiences good or bad with either the Pass and Stow or other bigger front rack/bag combinations would be greatly appreciated!

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[dougP]

John:

Congrats on getting an Atlantis for a milestone b'day. Mine is coming
up on 9 years old now & it's still my go-to bike for everything.

On your commute, are you carrying weight on the back and not much up
front? On an 18% grade, that would be twitchy. I'm not familiar with
the specific rack'n'bag combination you mention for the front but I
can attest that my Atlantis (58 cm w/40mm tires) handles better with
weight up front rather than at the rear, especially on steep grades
where speeds are low.

An easy, economical experiment would be to zip tie a basket to your
mini-rack and carry your commute gear there in a stuff sack or similar
cheap bag, just to see how you liked the handling.

dougP

On Feb 15, 1:18 pm, johnb <jbust...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Last year I got a new Atlantis for my 50th birthday. Originally, I
> outfitted it with a mini front rack with a small trunk sack and a Tubus
> Cargo on the back end. I bike commute to work 2-3 days/week. My ride to and
> from work involves 1 or 2 — depending on the route — 18% grades (one way
> with a cemetery conveniently located at the top of the steepest part).
> Having no weight on the front leaves the front a bit jumpy. My thinking is
> that if I put my clothes etc in the front, it will be less jumpy.
>
> I have some serious lust in my heart for a Pass and Stow rack for both its
> touring capabilities (in theory at least) and its hauling capabilities.
> Anyone with P&S/Swift Industries/Freight Baggage bag combination experience

> I would be *really *interested in your thoughts.  That said, any

[johnb]

Right now, the weight is on my back in a terrific Tom Bihn Synapse but that won't cut Baltimore summers. I have also used one of my Swift Industries panniers. Both work but the pannier is 10% full and seems like overkill and the Synapse is very full and will be too hot in the summer.

To say I was going up the hills slowly would be generous to me.

[Steve Palincsar]

On Thu, 2012-02-16 at 05:32 -0800, johnb wrote:
> Right now, the weight is on my back in a terrific Tom Bihn Synapse but that won't cut Baltimore summers. I have also used one of my Swift Industries panniers. Both work but the pannier is 10% full and seems like overkill and the Synapse is very full and will be too hot in the summer.

Have you considered a seat bag like a Carradice?

[johnb]

I had a large SaddleSack that I tried. I found that its attachment to the bike a detriment for commuting. I had to put a bag inside the bag to get my stuff into the building where I have access to a shower. What I really like about the pannier and the Synapse are their ability to easily come inside with me. I also hated the idea of leaving my laptop in the bag if I had to run an errand on the way home.

[Allingham II, Thomas J]

I have the answer to your prayers: the Nitto Saddlebag Quick Release Grip.  And in stock at Riv: http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/r13.htm  This little device makes on/off for a saddlebag the work of an instant.  It also stiffens the connection between bike and bag, so that there's less sway.  And the piece that releases when you take the bag off functions as a handle for the bag while it's off the bike.  A great little device.

---

From: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com [mailto:rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of johnb

Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2012 9:50 AM
To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [RBW] Re: Front rack ideas

I had a large SaddleSack that I tried. I found that its attachment to the bike a detriment for commuting. I had to put a bag inside the bag to get my stuff into the building where I have access to a shower. What I really like about the pannier and the Synapse are their ability to easily come inside with me. I also hated the idea of leaving my laptop in the bag if I had to run an errand on the way home.

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[Earl Grey]

I second Doug's suggestion. I use a big Wald on a Nitto mini front for
commuting and grocery-shopping, and have had over 30lbs in there on a
Sam Hillborne. Not ideal, but it works. A Bombadil-riding buddy of
mine had a pass and stow and sold it. I think front racks that attach
at the drop outs tend to stiffen the fork too much. I'd go with the
basket, or maybe a Platrack if you can find one. The great thing about
the basket plus bungie net is that you can throw pretty much anything
in there, from loose groceries to a messenger bag when you get too
hot. The only thing it doesn't work for well is yoga mats, which are
too long. :)

Gernot

[Michael Hechmer]

Ah the search for the perfect commuting set up!

I have no experience with the Pass and stow rack, but they look very nice on the web site.  After much trial and discovery I decided that I did not like panniers for commuting.   About a third of my commute 30 mile commute was over dirt roads and I found it didn't take much wet weather to get the panniers pretty grimmy.  I did use a carradice office bag if I absolutely had to carry the macbook, but otherwise tried to keep everything above the fenders.  The Carradice SQR system with a barley bag is still my go to combination.  No other system cam match it for easy on & off the bike.   But you want  to front load.  You didn't mention the size of you bike, or your budget, but either the Acorn bag, which also comes on & off the bike quickly, or the biggest Bertoud  bag might give you the added front weight you need. 

Commuting on dirt roads I found the only hill problem ( and I had about 6 miles of 7%+ grade every day) I had was standing  up and loosing traction on the rear wheel.  Perhaps on pavement you might be better off standing up and leaning forward to weight the front wheel?

michael 

[Montclair BobbyB]

I have a Nitto Platrack that fits over my Nitto Mini, to which I have
zip-tied a Wald basket, in which I carry any one of several bags of
choice... While I think this config definitely extends the capacity of
the basket option, one can still run a basket without the Platrack, as
long as the size and weight on the rack don't overwhelm.

Having said that, a Pass & Stow rack up front would be my first
choice. I also REALLY love my Zimbale (Carradice-like) saddlebag for
tools and stuff, and were it not for having my trusty Wald basket up
front, I'd have one of those quick-release saddlebag doo-dads that Tom
describes and carry more stuff in my saddlebag. Lots of
options...

[Michael Williams]

hey John,   I also have an Atlantis and have a Pass and Stow up front and it is GREAT!   it def helps keep the front end down on steep climbs and I have actually come to prefer the handling of a bike with weight up front vs. no weight.    I commute daily to work on 3 different bikes(depending on the route),  and all 3 are equipped solely with front racks/bags(Riv Shopsack), and no rear rack.   And the Pass and Stow is also able to take smallish panniers.   hope this helps!  -Mike

On Wed, Feb 15, 2012 at 1:18 PM, johnb <jbus...@gmail.com> wrote:

Last year I got a new Atlantis for my 50th birthday. Originally, I outfitted it with a mini front rack with a small trunk sack and a Tubus Cargo on the back end. I bike commute to work 2-3 days/week. My ride to and from work involves 1 or 2 — depending on the route — 18% grades (one way with a cemetery conveniently located at the top of the steepest part). Having no weight on the front leaves the front a bit jumpy. My thinking is that if I put my clothes etc in the front, it will be less jumpy. 

I have some serious lust in my heart for a Pass and Stow rack for both its touring capabilities (in theory at least) and its hauling capabilities. Anyone with P&S/Swift Industries/Freight Baggage bag combination experience I would be really interested in your thoughts.  That said, any experiences good or bad with either the Pass and Stow or other bigger front rack/bag combinations would be greatly appreciated!

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[Tony Lockhart]

John,
I'm not sure that my Sam handles the way your Atlantis does,
especially when considering big climbs. I do know that having some
books and clothes up front is quite doable even with an 18% grade.

Both, Pass and Stow and Swift Industries, have really good products
that are very durable. From experience, having a lot of weight up
front on long climbs is no problem so I'd definitely recommend the
setup that you're looking into. And I definitely agree with dougP in
that you should get a basket to try it out. While you have your heart
set on a new rack and bag setup, the Wald baskets are super cheap and
convenient. You can easily stuff all of your clothing in the smaller
Wald basket....I can only imagine what you could fit in the bigger
one.

[DaveN]

I've been commuting with an ortleib travel biker for two years. It's
not a very tweedy solution but it's large (holds a suit, shirt, shoes,
extra gear, etc, is completely waterproof, and clips on/off the top
of a rear rack in 5 seconds. Only issue is the weight is a bit high
but think the other advantages offset that.

[Matthew J]

Pass Stow is a very well built rack. Swift bags are very well made.
Had the combination on my Retrotec commuter.

Very practical around town.

For longer trips you can attach Arkel or Ortlieb panniers underneath
with your sleeping bag and what not on top.

On Feb 15, 3:18 pm, johnb <jbust...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Last year I got a new Atlantis for my 50th birthday. Originally, I
> outfitted it with a mini front rack with a small trunk sack and a Tubus
> Cargo on the back end. I bike commute to work 2-3 days/week. My ride to and
> from work involves 1 or 2 — depending on the route — 18% grades (one way
> with a cemetery conveniently located at the top of the steepest part).
> Having no weight on the front leaves the front a bit jumpy. My thinking is
> that if I put my clothes etc in the front, it will be less jumpy.
>
> I have some serious lust in my heart for a Pass and Stow rack for both its
> touring capabilities (in theory at least) and its hauling capabilities.
> Anyone with P&S/Swift Industries/Freight Baggage bag combination experience

> I would be *really *interested in your thoughts.  That said, any

[johnb]

I have a 52cm frame and it being tax return time, money is not the deciding factor. I had an acorn bag — great bag as an aside — and with drops, it was quite cramped. My stature poses problems with most large bags. I had the medium saddle sack and it would have rubbed the wheel without a fender/rack supporting it.

[Montclair BobbyB]

I just installed a Jandd Extreme rack, which required a special
hack... a bracket mod to make it fit the mid-fork mounts and still
remain level. It's a beautiful rack, (similar to the Surly Nice
Rack)... I'll have to see how it performs, but so far I like the way
it sits on my bike ('86 Schwinn Cimarron).

BB