Basket on front or in back?

[James]

What do ya'll prefer for a basket?  On the front rack on the rear?  I've ridden with both extensively and see an argument for either.  I'm specifically asking regarding long wheelbases & heavy loads

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Tough call. I have a bike with each. Whatever you choose will feel a little foreign but you’ll get used to it and not think about it anymore. I think I like the front basket a bit better, but then you do have the annoyance of a front rack that makes your bars swing when parked.

[Marc Irwin]

On the rear for a mixte because the extra stays stabilize the weight when it's loaded and you don't have to raise your leg over it.  The front for diamond frame.

Marc

[Chris Halasz]

I transported this squirming little nuisance, well tethered, in a front basket: 

Her most favorite thing to do, and she'd shift side-to-side enjoying the lean into the turns, not to mention sighting squirrels. 

I worried that some bug would smack her in the eye, and she'd have no part of goggles. No sir. 

Relocating her to a rear basket (sorry, no photos I could quickly find) was a dramatic improvement in stability. She still squirmed, but nothing like the sudden changes you'd feel when she was up front. 

A bicycle is designed for its center of mass to be somewhere in the vicinity of the saddle (irrespective of the vogue 'low trail' of days that may work slightly better, for some, with a rando bag). 

- Chris 

[Patrick Moore]

Chris (and others): How heavy is your front-basket dog? And how much does its weight hurt handling, and how?

I'm curious because I keep thinking of a down-market Clem as a "no-shoes-ruse," lock-up-outside, thieves-be-damned errand beater, and it would be very nice to have one that can carry a ~20 lb dog on a front rack with attached basket.*

*Said dog is very high-strung, so a secure front-load carrying solution would be preferable -- recall how 25 years ago a very cute but very nervous Shi Tzu tethered to a crate on the rear rack decided to save herself by diving over the side while we were under way on our tandem, causing everyone to fall over and narrowly miss crushing the dog. A front position would allow me to keep an eye on him and intervene quickly at need.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

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[Patrick Moore]

Whoops, sorry, I wrote this without having seen the text below the photo. Still, I'd be grateful for others' apercus about the effect of 20 lb front loads on the handling of a Clem.

[Ezri Rose]

I have a basket on the front of my Clem that I use for cat-packing. My boy is 16lbs, must be near 20 with the weight of the basket and rack. And once going it's just fine. But the wheel flop is very bad when stopped or very slow manoeuvring. Basically can't take my hands off the bars or the whole bike will be on the ground. 

[Chris Halasz]

Patrick 

The little dog in the basket was right about 10lbs. Handling was never an issue with her up front; as stated, I felt she was safer in the back, but maybe that was just my own anxiety!  

The dog would be tethered by harness to the rear center bottom of the basket when up front, and front center bottom of the basket when in the rear. 

I used a Topeak rear rack, whose big rear basket slides off easily to change to a trunk bag EXP bag-pannier thing, to another large rolling basket with extended handle. This way my wife and I could swap who was transporting what and when. Not nearly as nice as a Shiny or Nitto rear rack, but utilitarian for our dog and farmer's market needs. 

One thing the dog seemed to prefer about riding in the back was the ability to look back to see who was following, you know, like kids used to do in station wagons (remember station wagons)? 

For the dog, it seems it provides the joy of a convertible, with no windshield or noise. As for the people you pass, it's a pleasure how a dog on a bike brings a smile to their day. 

Dog photos are as welcome as bike photos! 

- Chris 

[Patrick Moore]

Thanks Ezri and Chris. Doubtless 20 lb dog in front basket is not the best way to ride a Clem. I dislike extreme front wheel flop much more than toe overlap, particularly as I also dislike wide bars more than TO, and I'd not want to risk falling over with Perry in a front basket.

Anticipating: Bill Lindsay will surely say that I've been blathering about an outside-lockup beater for years and that I've already gone through 2 beater frames and am (in fact) no closer to building something (these are That Libertas and the monstrously heavy but the tall and almost square Technium mtb -- cost of both frames $120 or $130). But I've also blathered for years about buying a Clem, and this may just be the right conjunction of stars for this to happen before the end of the year. We shall see.

Back to dogs: long ago I recall seeing a rider about town on an old mountain bike who carried a wee Chihuahua in his backpack; the rider told me that the little dog was quite comfortable riding with her head sticking out of the main compartment.

On Tue, Aug 20, 2024 at 8:26 AM Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Patrick Moore]

BTW, that modular Topeak system looks very useful. I'd be very interested were this not to be a "thieves be damned" bike. I'll probably use a large milk crate or wire basket from an Office Depot modular storage system lashed to cheap heavy duty generic rack with hose clamps. 

Again, we'll see. Perhaps I'll have the list's first Clem fixed gear using that S3X hub if I can rig up a floating chainring or do a Sheldon with the rear dropouts.

Patrick "dreaming, not doing" in ABQ, NM.

On Tue, Aug 20, 2024 at 6:01 PM Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks Ezri and Chris. Doubtless 20 lb dog in front basket is not the best way to ride a Clem. I dislike extreme front wheel flop much more than toe overlap, particularly as I also dislike wide bars more than TO, and I'd not want to risk falling over with Perry in a front basket.

Anticipating: Bill Lindsay will surely say that I've been blathering about an outside-lockup beater for years and that I've already gone through 2 beater frames while I am no closer to building something (That Libertas and the monstrously heavy but the tall and almost square Technium mtb -- total outlay with some 26" cheap tires <$150). But I've also blathered for years about buying a Clem, and this may just be the right conjunction of stars for this to happen before the end of the year. We shall see.