Pass and Stow recommendation

[Friend]

I am feeling ready to spend on a nice front rack for my Appaloosa.  I was going to get the Pass and Stow and and am wondering if anyone has experience with either the 3 rail or the 5 rail option.  I was leaning towards the 5 rail option because it would better support a basket.  I'm wondering if anyone found unexpected tradeoffs when they bought one or the other and just trying to get some peace of mind before spending $280

[Collin A]

Hello Friend,

I had one on my Clem H for a few months, and it is an excellent rack for baskets, panniers, and generally heavy grocery runs. However, I ended up selling it as I felt it put the weight too far forward and impacted steering too much for my liking (when combined with the far-backness of boscos). See below for camping setup.

If it fits your style and type of riding (i.e. used to the impacts on steering), then it is 280 well spent dollars in my opinion. The guy who makes it is an excellent human, which usually means something to people.

Cheers,

Collin, formerly an Oakland Neighbor, in Sacramento

[Jeremy Simon]

I've had mine (5 rail) for a few weeks now on my appaloosa and can't recommend it enough. I've got bullmoose bars and find the steering to be minimally impacted with my camping set up. Here it is after some light trail riding the morning after a camping trip. Rack felt truly solid. 

Also, +1 to Collin's note about Matt who runs P&S. One of the nicest people you'll ever meet. 

Jeremy in Oakland

[Jon Dukeman]

Great rack. A nice feature is a hollow strut you can run your wire for a light and. Dynohub

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[John Stowe]

I've had my Pass & Stow since 2012 - he only had the 5 rail design at the time. I've ridden with it empty, loaded with boxes from Costco, with a Swift Porteur bag, and even Porteur bag + tent + pannier! The different weight distribution can take a little getting used to, but when I've had actual trouble with weight up front it's turned out to be user error (packing things in a way that allows the weight to shift, etc.) - the rack has been solid. The light mount is great (I have mine mounted inside the legs, next to the wheel, for a bit more protection), as is the ability to collapse it flat: I've packed it up with the rest of the bike in a hard-sided case for air travel. The width of the 5 rail design does occasionally make it more difficult to lock up at a crowded rack.

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

Why not both?  Easy to ask when discussing someone else's funds and I realize that... but I've long considered a Pass & Stow myself and seems he's now offering several add-ons and (depending on stock/lead times, of course) it looks like you could purchase, say, a 5 rail and add a 3 rail top.

I was most recently thinking of getting one mostly for my Clem but adding a side-pull and center pull yoke and say you could add a 3 rail deck only, though this tacks on another $100+ just for the deck, but I love the modular aspect that could serve different uses across a couple bikes as needed.

I still need to do some saving but planning for potential one rack to do it all investment.

Brian Cole

Lawrenceville NJ

[Bob Cook]

I add my vote of confidence for the 5-rail Pass and Stow. I had mine for several years on a Pugsley, carrying my winter commuting and shopping loads in a Porcelain Rocket x Monkey Wrench Cycles bag. The dynamo wiring accommodation is outstanding. Though useful, I found the setup on the Pugsley a bit cumbersome for anything but transport hauling.

I recently moved the rack to an Albatross'd 1993 Trek 950. Quite unlike on the Pugsley, the Trek handles beautifully with the rack. Unloaded or minimally loaded, I can ride no-handed as if the rack weren't there. A heavy grocery load slows the steering down considerably, but not unpleasantly.

I should add that, when I decided to move the rack from the Pugs to the Trek, Matt didn't have sets of spare legs listed on the Pass and Stow website. I e-mailed to inquire about purchasing the correct legs, and he got right back to me. I had the set of legs a couple weeks later. He also included a complete set of fresh hardware. Installation was a breeze.

If I had not sold my AHH several years ago to fund a custom, I think I would have a silver 5-rail rack on it now.

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Bob

[Jason Fuller]

A good point was made about far-back bars and front loads - this has a huge impact in my experience; the further your hands are from the load, the worse it feels basically.  The 5-rail is great for bigger loads or a Wald 139 basket (the bigger size), I'd go 3 rail for a 137 basket.  

  

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

Points made regarding bar placement vs. load location probably explains why I found no discernable handling difference with 25-30lb passenger in a stem mounted mini child seat (regardless whether with ChocoMoose, Jones loop, or BullMoose) but definitely felt the handling difference even with a moderately loaded Surly front rack on my Mega 65cm Clem and the original Bosco set-up.  I haven't actually had a front load on my Clem since trading away the Surly Rack but had been rethinking things again after recent use with a Wald large 139 basket on another bike (where I mix and matched Wald hardware from their giant delivery basket since I was able to find a mounting set complete with adjustable legs and the desired bar brackets.)

Anyway, I guess my point is that although my current set-up works fine, if not a bit wobbly because of the long drop from bar to basket and my mods to make it all work, I've been thinking how the Pass and Stow would likely be more rigid and also eliminate the need for bar bracket's altogether (which would play nice with some of my bar swapping tendencies that have begun to resurface after a couple years of practicing contentment.

This thread prompted me to quickly check the Pass&stow sight for more accurate #'s and at $170 extra for my desired add ons ($140 for 3rail deck and $30 for the sidepull yoke) I'm clearly in 'why not just get a separate/second/dedicated rack?' territory if needing more than one front racked bike.  Guess my thinking is more in line that a one rack investment that could easily be adapted to go from one bike to another might be worth it if it eliminates the rest of the front racks and baskets I've been previously messing around with.

Best,

Brian Cole

Lawrenceville NJ

[John Stowe]

Yes, wide/set-back bars paired with a load on the front rack can let you put a lot of torque through the stem/steerer interface, enough to feel some flex or even twist the bars out of position with a quick jerk. Two mitigation strategies: steer by leaning more than turning the bars, and connect the load to the bars directly, as we've done with a couple of Irish straps on my wife's Cheviot. The stem-mounted child seat won't have this problem because the force to move the load (child) doesn't pass through the steerer tube.

John

[Clark Fitzgerald]

I have the 3 rail, and it's wonderful. The platform is a bit longer in front than the 5 rail. I found it works well for strapping a backpack.

I'd be willing to sell mine, as I'm not using it much. It has a Schmidt Edelux II internally wired. Make me an offer. You can see it in this thread: https://groups.google.com/g/rbw-owners-bunch/c/F2Xb1h39K4w/m/UfsHj7XBAgAJ

Best,

Clark

On Monday, April 19, 2021 at 5:39:31 PM UTC-7 Friend wrote:

[James Copp]

Hey Clark,

Did you my reply I'm a separate thread?

James

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