Front vs. rear loads for AHH

[James Copp]

I am in the market for a rack for my Hilsen.  It would be light loads, 10lbs max, and I want to run a basket on it.  I figured people here would have advice/opinions on front vs rear loads on the Hilsen, and maybe even a specific rack recommendation.

[Justin, Oakland]

Front: Marks rack with double stays on the front, basket voile strapped to it.
Rear: Marks rack with a saddle bag resting on it.

-J

[Joe Bernard]

More power to ya if you're committed to a front basket - Riv staff use them - but Rivs are optimized for rear loads and I don't like 10 pounds of floppy steering up front. In your case I would use a Nitto R14 rack, and saddlebag or basket on the rear.

[John G.]

+1 to Joe’s comment. I hated the way my Atlantis handled with a front load above the wheel. It’s much nicer with a rear load, or low riding front panniers. My point of comparison is my Crust Lightning Bolt, which is a delight with a front load.

To be completely honest, I think the need for carrying more than 2-3 lbs of stuff up front on rides shorter than 300k is grossly exaggerated. Taking a quick brake to pull a banana nut muffin out of your saddlebag is hardly a massive constraint on most types of rides.

That being said, I did buy a low trail bike so that I could enjoy some sweet “swap my glasses for sunglasses while eating a stick of jerky while still maintaining 16 mph avg pace” action.

The Homer is the Riv I wish I bought—don’t let its suitability for rear loads keep you from loving it!

[Brian Campbell]

=2. I took the front load off my AHH because I felt it made the steering sloppy. YMMV.

[Drw]

I have a front basket on all my bikes, but I don’t use them for regular/all the time loads because I agree that it makes steering less than ideal. I leave them on the bike for picking up food or other random things. As soon as I take one off a bike, the next ride I go on is always the one where I find something I want to take home that won’t fit in a small saddlebag.

[blakcloud]

Five pages on using or not using a front rack with baskets. https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!topic/rbw-owners-bunch/m3Y3EdRhxv4%5B1-25%5D

On my Riv I started with a porteur rack and basket. Seemed like overkill, so I switched out to a Mark's rack and basket. Then I switched out to the smaller basket. Every time there was an improvement in handling, because I wasn't loading it as much.  This summer I took the basket off and it won't return anytime soon. I may love the convenience but it does affect the handling. Like some of the suggestions I am looking at some type of seat/saddle back to take a small load and see how the bike feels with that. I do know a front basket won't be returning at least for a while.

[lambbo]

Saddle-Sack is the best thing IMO - unless you're locking up your bike for short amounts of time a lot in risky areas...kind of a hassle to take off. Great for all rides except commuting essentially.

[Lum Gim Fong]

Front loads make my Bleriot and Rambouillet wobbly up front.

I rode a couple years with front rack and Berthoud bag but now that I have had no front loads for a while, having returned to a front rack and load on my Rambouilet, I don't like it anymore. It was fine when I was enthusiastic about it and easy enough to handle but now just feels dangerously floppy on the front wheel.

Bike handles way better with a seat bag.

[Toshi Takeuchi]

I personally use a Nitto big rear rack with panniers, but with only 10 lbs, you can also use a larger size saddle sack with a small rack as a support.  I also have a Mark's rack up front with a front bag.  It should do fine with a basket and 10 lbs, but yeah, the rear rack would handle better...

Toshi

On Mon, Sep 10, 2018 at 8:53 AM James Copp <jtp...@gmail.com> wrote:

I am in the market for a rack for my Hilsen.  It would be light loads, 10lbs max, and I want to run a basket on it.  I figured people here would have advice/opinions on front vs rear loads on the Hilsen, and maybe even a specific rack recommendation.

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[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

On Monday, September 10, 2018 at 8:53:09 AM UTC-7, Jamo. wrote:
> I am in the market for a rack for my Hilsen.  It would be light loads, 10lbs max, and I want to run a basket on it.  I figured people here would have advice/opinions on front vs rear loads on the Hilsen, and maybe even a specific rack recommendation.

I’m surprised everybody loathes a front load! I load my Nitto Big Front with large Wald to near the limit! I love a front load; rear loads feel like heavy, dead weight to me now. The bike feels squirrelly to me when it’s unloaded. Huh, now I wonder if I’ve been doing it wrong... Well, here’s a photo to prove it; the heavier backpack, chromebook, and lunch sit up front. The violin goes in one Backabike bag, and little son’s backpack and lunch in the other. My necessities go in the multisack on the bars.

[Leah Peterson]

Why is it always upside down? Let’s try this...

[John Phillips]

  I think one of the reasons Riv staff really like using a front basket is that it balances a bike such that it makes carrying a bike easier when it comes to going up & down stairs. Some of the Riv staff navigate flights of stairs on their commutes on Bay Area BART trains and maybe in their apartment buildings. This is another reason they appreciate using left-hand down tube bar end shifters to keep their eyeballs safe.

   I using a front basket for loads made carrying my bike up and down stairs much easier compared to using a rear load. For riding, I prefer my load in a saddlebag, but my Mark's rack is perfect for mounting my dynamo light and I have my front fender bolted to it as well.

John

[Ryan M.]

I use a Saddlesack banana sack up front on my appaloosa and a medium saddlesack on the rear, which gets all the heavy stuff. I just got some panniers for this bike but haven't had a chance to use them. bagging and racking a bike seems like one of those things that is never set 100% for me, and I'm always changing.

I've never really been a fan of front loading a bike, but I think a person can get used to anything when riding. Loading a bike down affects the way it rides and sometimes it's negative and sometimes it is positive....really depends on the person. I did use a wald basket on my Jamis Aurora when living in a city and found it worked very well, and was super convenient for that kind of commuting. I just tossed my backpack into it, pulled the net over, and rode in happy bliss.

If I were going to put a rack and a basket on a Hilsen I would probably use the Mark's rack and not overload it or a Nitto front rack. I think the Nitto front rack that can take panniers is really great looking on a bike when not loaded down too, so that does factor into my thought process. My appaloosa can easily take a Nitto R14 rack on the front because it has those bolts on top of the fork crown...that would be the method I would personally choose on my bike.

[Shoji Takahashi]

I ride my AHH for commuting and toodlin' with my kids.... great country bike. 

It's had many configurations, but the current one has been in place for the past few years, so it works for me:

Front: Nitto Mark's Rack+Wald Basket+Shopsack

Back: Nitto R14+Medium Saddlesack

Notably, this is with Albatross bars for upright-ish riding. Handlebars impact how [front] loads feel. I do experience wheel flop at very low speeds or when I'm leaning the bike. But after at normal or high speeds, it's great! 

In the past, when I've taken off racks+fenders in the spring to clean a bike, I marvel at how light an unladen bike feels, and how nicely it rides. Then I add back all the stuff.

Front baskets are nice for all the reasons people say they're good for. If I had to choose one carrier (basket or bag) for my AHH, I'd take the Medium Saddlesack. Takes light loads, heavy loads, small vol, big volume. Nice organization pockets (but not excess), out of the way, little/no effect on bike handling... 

Good luck!

shoji

[Michael Hechmer]

Here's another data point.  With both my Saluki (which was the forerunner of the AHH) and Rambouliet I use large front bags - either Acorn or Bertoud.  I don't overload it - tools, glasses, wallet, phone, a little food, rain jacket,  about 2 lbs of stuff.  If I'm going to carry more than that I add a saddle bag, most often on the Saluki.  I have both the Carradice Barley and Long Flap and attach them with Carradices' excellent QR setup.  I rarely use the long flap because the Barley can carry lots of stuff, including a wool jacket strapped to the outside.  Neither bag creates any side to side sway at all.  I do experience some back and forth sway when I stand up.  Although I also own front and rear panniers I rarely use them because I much prefer keeping my gear above the fenders and out of the wet & dirt.

OTH, my wife is happy with a small rear pannier on her Betty Foy, but then she almost never, ever goes riding if it looks like rain.

Michael

[lambbo]

I also would clarify my response - I rode with a large front basket on my cheviot for 2 years loading it REALLY full of heavy things (Jannd touring front rack) and adding large panniers often, and have done a handful of camping trips only loading the front with everything I brought, no rear basket. It was great, and I never would have changed it except I just did and now I love having the rear basket and nothing up front, it's a little zippier and for big loads that I tend to carry it's safer (Pletscher). Front is great IMO for anything small, under 10/15lb

[Mark Schneider]

I think Rivendells in general handle better with a rear load bias. They have a high trail front end geometry, at least the older HH's did. Low trail bikes with 60-70mm of fork rake only handle well with a front end load. It's really a difference between French and English bike geometry preference, or Jan Heine vs Grant Petersen if you prefer. That said, I run my Homer with light loads on the front and it doesn't feel too bad,(no where near 10 lbs.) The combination of a banasax up front with a small or medium saddle sack in the rear,  works great for long day rides.

On Monday, September 10, 2018 at 8:53:09 AM UTC-7, Jamo. wrote:

[Drew Henson]

i'm on the pre-order for the MIT AHH and it will be my primary commuter, and plan on setting it up like Grant's AHH as shown on the staff bike page- Mark's rack with basket on the front and pletscher rear rack and medium saddlesack  on the back. this should easily handle my typical load (change of clothes + lunch + tools). if i need a heavier load i'll just use panniers on the rear. i suspect i wouldn't like a heavy front load handling based on my experience with a front load on a surly lht I used to have. never felt quite right.

my current commuter is an elephant nfe which is low trail. it handles a front load beautifully unless i go too heavy. then i get a shimmy at high speed and that's a whole other ball of wax.

[Belopsky]

I dont know if this helps but my partner's Cheviot rides a lot better with just a rear load than also a basket up front

[EasyRider]

I really like the sackville trunksack small. It carries a lot more than I would've thought, but it's hard to make it heavy, even full. I use mine to carry life's doodads ... snacks, wallet, keys, phone, tools, hardware store errands, camera, all that stuff at the same time. I pair it with a small carradice saddle bag if I'm commuting and need to take a change of clothes. It comes on and off a small front rack very easily but it is also the most secure front bag I've ever used.

I also use and enjoy the swift ozette on a low trail bike, and a basket and medium shopsack on another. Those bags are better for commutes that include a beer run, but the trunksack is better for traveling light or when the handlebar situation makes a basket or randonneur bag difficult to fit.

Pete
Arlington, VA