TA front rack and Berthoud mini86: a match made in France?
somervillebikes
I've played
around with the diminutive TA front rack made for MAFAC
centerpulls but always dismissed it as not being serious enough of a
rack to be worth anything, or at least not able to support a bag without
a decaleur. The two or three hbar bags I use in rotation are used
sans-decaleur. The other day I played around with the smallest bag in
my collection, the tiny Berthoud mini-86. This small bag is made for
use exclusively without a decaleur, and ingeniously attaches to a rack
via a toe strap and pre-cut slots on the bottom of the bag. It has
always secured very nicely to larger racks such as the Nitto/Grand Bois
M13 (the toe strap method is perfect, you just cinch it tight and that's
that; bag is rock solid), but I never tried it on the tiny TA. I tried
it the other day and have been riding around with various loads in the
bag. It's perfect! The two are the perfect match for each other. This
is a nice solution for someone running MAFAC centerpulls who wants an
inexpensive rack; from time to time you can find these NOS for under
$40. Initially, with the rack being so narrow, the Berthoud slid around
from side to side a bit, but I rerouted the strap so that it loops
around each side of the rack (see photos), and that keeps the bag rock
solid and free of any sliding. The rack keeps the bag nice and low,
close to the wheel, and back, close to the brakes (the straddle wire
rubs slightly against the bag but functionally there's no interference).
I've never carried any more than 2-3 lbs of stuff in this setup, and
that amount doesn't cause any noticeable flex in the rack.
Overall,
I am very pleased with this arrangement, and thankful that after
several years of wondering how this rack could actually be used for
anything I can finally put this petite rack to actual use!
I don't know if this rack works with all MAFAC centerpulls or only Racers (i.e., I don't know if the stud distance varies with different MAFAC models), but one caveat is that it won't work with MAFACS mounted to brazed on studs-- the rear attachment point of the rack would interfere with the fork crown.
Anton
