Soma Grand Randonneur with VO Randonneur front rack?

[Jim Bronson]

Anyone tried this combination?

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Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down!

[nm matt]

does the soma have eyelets for that rack? i used a VO rack on a trek conversion and it worked just fine but it needed p-clamps for the fork blades and bending the tang around the brake proved to be a real pain. i might recommed the tried and true m13, maybe the m12 would work but its designed for 700c so i would imagine quite a bit of manipulation would be required to get it to fit... good luck!

[Jim Bronson]

Yes, the Grand Randonneur model does have the braze on eyelets on the fork.  It's meant for this sort of rack.  I'd rather use the eyelets than mount the rack to the cantis.

http://www.somafab.com/archives/product/grand-randonneur-frame-set

On Tue, Jul 22, 2014 at 12:17 PM, nm matt <ma...@modulusdesign.com> wrote:

does the soma have eyelets for that rack? i used a VO rack on a trek  conversion and it worked just fine but it needed p-clamps for the fork blades and bending the tang around the brake proved to be a real pain.  i might recommed the tried and true m13, maybe the m12 would work but its designed for 700c so i would imagine quite a bit of manipulation would be required to get it to fit... good luck!

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[Daniel]

It may need some bending to work. I'd go with either Soma's new rack, the Nitto M-13 (I used one on my Soma GR) or the Haulin Collin (if you want something bigger).

[Sven-Olof Johansson]

Well, I tried. After a few evenings worth of bending the rack, scratching the paint and cursing loudly, I gave up and bought a rack that connects to the canti posts. 

I couldn't get it to work on my bike, your mileage may vary. 

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[mikeha...@comcast.net]

I tried to mount a VO Randonneur rack and the rods on the rack aren't long enough to reach the eyelets.  The Nitto Campee 32F Campee front rack will fit the eyelets but it costs a bit more.

Mike H

Nor-IL

 

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From: "Jim Bronson" <jim.b...@gmail.com>
To: "650B" <65...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 12:22:09 PM
Subject: Re: [650B] Soma Grand Randonneur with VO Randonneur front rack?

[Daniel]

I mean I used a Nitto Mini Campee (not the M13)

[Nick Bull]

Are you referring to this rack?:
http://store.velo-orange.com/index.php/accessories/racks-decaleurs/vo-randonneur-front-rack-stainless-steel.html

If so, the arms are not long enough to clear the cantilever studs.

If you are referring to this rack:
http://store.velo-orange.com/index.php/accessories/racks-decaleurs/vo-pass-hunter-rack.html

then the answer is that it doesn't work.  I spent probably three hours trying to make it work and then emailed Velo Orange and Mike Kone of Boulder Bikes (where I bought my Grand Randonneur) to discuss the problem.  In the end, all agreed that it wasn't a go, so I sent it back to VO for a refund and bought a Nitto Campee rack from Mike.  I wish I could get my three hours back!

Nick

[Jim Bronson]

I was referring to the first one.  Thank you for saving me the hassle.

I guess it's Campee 32F or bust!

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[nm matt]

i'm sure you have your reasons, but why not use the nitto m13 that has been suggested? why not mount to the brake bosses as most folks do. as tone/intent is difficult to discern frequently on message boards please let me say that i am really curious, and don't harbor any other intentions. the campee is a sweet rack but if you are only mounting a rando type bag may be overkill, if it is carrying more of a load it is a much better option that the VO affair anyway, or the m13 for that matter. as a last ditch effort maybe check out the rack sold by cycles toussaint. i know it mounts to bosses on the fork, but the distance to those bosses from the crown i don't know-hopefully it will be different than the VO. i use a m18 on my Rawland, but the struts may j terfere with the swing of your canti arms

[Jim Bronson]

I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding here.  There is more than one Nitto Campee, the one that Boulder (who worked with Soma on designing the frame) recommends is the Campee 32F:

http://www.renehersestore.com/servlet/the-973/Nitto-Campee-32F-Campee/Detail

As you can see in the pics it is not a big heavy rack.

Why don't I want to mount to the brake bosses?  Seems sub optimal when the bike is designed to accommodate racks that hook into the fork eyelets.  Why complicate the braking mechanism when you don't have to?  With a rack that uses the fork eyelets to mount, I can use any cantilever under the sun.

I was just curious about the VO rack because it had the type of mount for a fork eyelet, and is less expensive than the Campee 32F.  But per Nick and others it doesn't work, so I will get the recommended rack.

On Tue, Jul 22, 2014 at 5:03 PM, nm matt <ma...@modulusdesign.com> wrote:

i'm sure you have your reasons, but why not use the nitto m13 that has been suggested? why not mount to the brake bosses as most folks do.  as tone/intent is difficult to discern frequently on message boards please let me say that i am really curious, and don't harbor any other intentions.  the campee is a sweet rack but if you are only mounting a rando type bag may be overkill, if it is carrying more of a load it is a much better option that the VO affair anyway, or the m13 for that matter. as a last ditch effort maybe check out the rack sold by cycles toussaint.  i know it mounts to bosses on the fork, but the distance to those bosses from the crown i don't know-hopefully it will be different than the VO.  i use a m18 on my Rawland, but the struts may j terfere with the swing of your canti arms

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[Daniel]

I believe this is a viable, less expensive alternative: http://www.somafab.com/archives/product/soma-champs-elysees-mini-front-rack

They show it on the GR frameset in this blog post:

http://somafab.blogspot.com/2014/04/having-fun-on-bay-trail.html

Daniel

[Jim Bronson]

Looks nice.  I wonder about the light mount being behind the strut though.

[Evan Baird]

The braze ons are positioned 140mm below the crown hole, which is the standard for Nitto, Soma Champs Mini and Haulin Colin racks. VO uses their own shorter position for some reason. The Campee 32 is defiantly burlier than the Soma, but the Haulin Colin racks were the real motivation for including those.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/haulincolin/8435979393/

[Evan Baird]

Having the mount behind actually makes it considerably stronger if you accidentally lean the bike up against it. They're designed to fit with p clamps for a flashlight or an extender bracket like the soma wingmann or the Boulder Bicycles one.

[David Banzer]

I picked up the Soma rack on discount from Boulder as it was a sample sent to them for consideration for the GR. I paid significantly less than retail price and am happy with what I got at the price I paid. That being said, if I had paid full retail, I'd be pretty bummed. The finish quality is not similar to Nitto. I'd go with a Nitto option personally. For a less expensive option than the Campee 32F, I'd get an M12 and do a little bending.
David
Chicago

[Jim Bronson]

Well I ended up picking up an M12 for $50 shipped after all that haha.  If it can't be bent enough to use on the GR, I'll just use it on my tandem or mountain bike or something.

On Tue, Jul 22, 2014 at 5:03 PM, nm matt <ma...@modulusdesign.com> wrote:

i'm sure you have your reasons, but why not use the nitto m13 that has been suggested? why not mount to the brake bosses as most folks do.  as tone/intent is difficult to discern frequently on message boards please let me say that i am really curious, and don't harbor any other intentions.  the campee is a sweet rack but if you are only mounting a rando type bag may be overkill, if it is carrying more of a load it is a much better option that the VO affair anyway, or the m13 for that matter. as a last ditch effort maybe check out the rack sold by cycles toussaint.  i know it mounts to bosses on the fork, but the distance to those bosses from the crown i don't know-hopefully it will be different than the VO.  i use a m18 on my Rawland, but the struts may j terfere with the swing of your canti arms

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[erick]

i use a VO passhunter front rack on my soma GR, i have to bend a little but ended very well. 

i select the pass hunter rack vs the VO randonneur model, becouse support much more weight