First Platrack/Slickersack impressions...

[René Sterental]

After getting a Slickersack on my famous winning visit to RBW on Saturday to go with the Platrack I had ordered a few weeks before, I proceeded to install them on the Atlantis to use on my work commute. When I stopped using the medium Saddlesack on the Atlantis due to the shimmy it was creating when loaded with the laptop and clothes, I began my search for a better alternative. I also love bags, so coming up with an excuse to try the different Sackville options among a few others wasn't exactly unbearable for me.

 

While my old Arkel commuter worked, I've never been too happy with it and I always felt it just didn't "fit" nicely with the whole Atlantis/Rivendell look I like so much. So, I got the Sackville panniers which are nice for commuting and using around but aren't the best to carry and protect my largish 14" Dell laptop with its extended battery. It does fit, but there is no protection, no padding and no seal against dirt/water. They work very well for clothes and miscelaneous and are wonderful at doing the additional function of protecting the rear of the frame from other bikes when taking it on Caltrain. They look pretty much the same loaded or unloaded as the canvas is quite stiff and the fact that each one has a zippered exterenal pocket is excellent for IDs, keys, wallet, etc. I don't quite understand how to use the bungee balls to tie the bottoms to the rack, but I came up with my own way to use them on the top of the rack. I forgot to ask Grant how to use them. I just used zip-ties on the bottoms, but that makes them non-removable.

 

Next came the Slickersack which I debated with myself for a long time before deciding to get one. The laptop fits snuggly with its neoprene sleeve since the bag is flexible and I placed the two flexible dividers on the bottom to provide additional padding. In that sense, it works very well and still has room for other stuff to go on top. The fit was perfect, the rack is very solid and better yet, provides the additional protection for the front of the frame while on the train. I'll have to see if between the panniers and the Platrack the downtube cannot be scratched by the pedals of other bikes that are leaned against it, and I know that it's going to be unavoidable long term, but the more I can do to prevent it the better. It's one thing to get beausage on your bike from riding it or getting chain-suck (which sucks real bad) and another from getting it because other riders carelessly throw their beaters on top of your bike since they don't care about theirs...

 

Anyway, coming back to the Slickersack, as soon as I put my laptop inside, the first thing I noticed was how hard it was to keep it on the dual kickstand without the wheel completely flopping over. Thanks to StatrixBob's advice, I put some bartape on the corners where the rack rubs against the top of the downtube if the wheel flops completely. That spot is right in between the two downtube braze-ons for the shifters so downtube shifters would also protect it and then discovered that my Kleen Kanteen 27oz bottle with sports cap also stops the rack from hitting the down tube as long as the bottle is in the cage. Still, it's a bit of a hassle.

 

Riding with the loaded Slickersack was very nice. There is a bit of a different feeling on the handlebars that you adjust to right away and best of all, the shimmy was significantly reduced with the front load. Sometimes, due to the flex of the frame (no diagonal tube on my 61 Atlantis) coupled to the higher handlebars on the DirtDrop stem, I can feel front wheel hits over rough stuff translated as flex on the bars which I also call shimmy as it's a bit disconcerting. But riding no handed on a shallow incline showed the real shimmy was significantly reduced.

 

I will be having the CK headset swapped for a NOS Stronglight needle bearing headset I was lucky to find on eBay to see if as expected, it reduces or eliminates the shimmy on the Atlantis. As a comparison, the unloaded Hunqapillar with its Tange headset doesn't even have a hint of shimmy or handlebar flex. I'll report once I load it with the different bags.

 

The actual commute itself was just marvelous. There was no wind so the water was like a mirror, the birds were majestic, the temperature ranged from 55 - 65 on the almost 2 hour, 19.5 mile ride. The best part is that aside from getting from my house in Palo Alto to the Arrastradero bike bridge (the underpass at the end of East Meadow is still closed), everything else is either on mostly dirt trails. The only paved section is on Shoreline Park. A tail wind would have been nice, but doing the ride in the morning is much nicer than doing it in the evening when you're battling the headwind all the way through. As the days get progressively shorter and the sun starts rising progressively later during the ride, the sights are going to be priceless. Just like the sunset rides but without the headwind... :-)

 

Here are some photos from this morning's commute: http://tinyurl.com/yjptb5q

 

Summer is beautiful in the Bay Area this year!

 

René

[Thomas Lynn Skean]

Maybe these photos of how I do it will help with pannier mounting:

http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/7568778/1/pannier%20bungee%20balls?h=b77ce6

Oh, and +1 for the SlickerSack!

Yours,
Thomas Lynn Skean

[René Sterental]

Thanks!

 

Just to clarify, you make several turns with the bungee before looping it over the ball, correct?

 

René

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[Robert F. Harrison]

On Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 1:24 PM, René Sterental <orth...@gmail.com> wrote:

Anyway, coming back to the Slickersack, as soon as I put my laptop inside, the first thing I noticed was how hard it was to keep it on the dual kickstand without the wheel completely flopping over. Thanks to StatrixBob's advice, I put some bartape on the corners where the rack rubs against the top of the downtube if the wheel flops completely. That spot is right in between the two downtube braze-ons for the shifters so downtube shifters would also protect it and then discovered that my Kleen Kanteen 27oz bottle with sports cap also stops the rack from hitting the down tube as long as the bottle is in the cage. Still, it's a bit of a hassle.

Yeah, I wish I hadn't learned that one the hard way.

I'm glad you are enjoying it the setup. I use my SlickerSack regularly but when I'm not transporting things that need protection I often use an elastic cargo net to hold things to the Platrack. Sometimes I just use an old piece of cardboard to keep things from falling through or from getting squished on the metal (long sandwiches come to mind). I've managed to carry way too much up front and have never had a handling problem.

Bob

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Robert Harrison
rfhar...@gmail.com
statrix.com

[René Sterental]

Robert,

 

Your feedback had a lot of influence on my decision. Coincidentally, EcoVelo very recently posted a comparison of the Platrack and the Pass & Stow racks by Mel Hughes, who by the way, tested both on a very beautiful A. Homer Hilsen: http://www.ecovelo.info/2011/08/13/two-porteur-racks-one-users-experiences/

 

I found it very well written and informative.

 

René

[Rob]

What a fantastic commute! The bike looks great too. :) 

Rob in (chilly) Seattle

[Thomas Lynn Skean]

That's right; I wrap the bungee behind the ball two or three times (I forget exactly how many; whatever is needed to take up slack), like a too-long rubber band. I've since thought about feeding the bungee through the pannier's leather patch's slots twice to take up the slack. I haven't taken any opportunities to try this though; it might take up *too much* slack (i.e. make it too tight to thread through the band clamp easily when mounting).

 

Using the technique in the photo, the panniers have always been firmly in place on the good trails and roads I ride. I've never felt like they needed to be tighter at all. I can't say how they'd handle fast rocky descents or anything; I've never done anything like that. I quickly got good enough at attaching and detaching the panniers as depicted that I can do either blind now, including threading each bungee through its band clamp. Which seems like it should be hard but just isn't.

 

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

 

[René Sterental]

Thanks Rob!

It is indeed, a wonderful commute. 

Rene

Sent from my iPhone 4

On Aug 16, 2011, at 2:31 PM, Rob <robh...@gmail.com> wrote:

What a fantastic commute! The bike looks great too. :) 

Rob in (chilly) Seattle

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