Best front rack for Appaloosa?

[Anthony Coffin]

Looking for feedback on what front racks people are using or have used on their Appaloosa. I am leaning towards a 32F for two reasons; I like that I can throw on a big Wald basket and I don't have to worry about overloading it, plus I can attach a dynamo light to the front and lessen my wheel shadow. The only thing that makes me hesitant is all the pictures I have seen (mostly from Blue Lug) show the 34F attached with P-clamps on the fork blades. Has anyone had luck attaching it to the upper fork braze-on?

Alternatively I could maybe go with the Surly Big Front Rack. It has a similar center front light attachment, plus more adjustability in mounting. I just really love the finish of Nitto's racks though. 

My hope was to use a Nitto 32F that I have on hand but the fork crown mount does not play with V-brakes. So now that I'm in the market for a new rack I thought I might as well get one that is even more functional. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks,

Anthony in St Louis

[Tim Bantham]

On my Appaloosa I've had a Mark's rack and the Nitto big front rack. The Mark's rack which is similar to the 32F is a good rack. Light but the weight limit is on the lower end. I use a Wald basket and tend to load it up when camping. I didn't like the Nitto Big Front rack. In fact, I took it off only after a few rides. I hated the way the bike felt with it on there. It felt like steering a big yacht. The Big Front is also extremely heavy. If loading your bike up with big mondo panniers is your thing then the Big Front is the rack to get. Didn't work for me at all.  I ended up going with the Obento Rack by Sim Works. It's a beautiful rack. A step up from the Mark's in my opinion. I am pretty sure that Nitto makes these racks for Sim Works as well. The weight limit on these are 14 lbs while the Mark's is only 4lbs. I would check out the Obento rack if you can find one.

Tim

[Ed Carolipio]

I ran the Mark's rack on the Appaloosa with four stays (the rear stays mounted on the top of the fork), no diving board, wide canti brakes (Tektro CR 720), and a regular Wald. (Not sure if the Mark's will work with a V-brake in that configuration.) For extra hauling, I would tack on a Nitto hub area rack with both racks sharing the mid fork braze on. That was my preferred setup because it gave me flexibility, and no configuration under load affected handling with the Albatross bars and 90mm stem I was running.

I tried running a Nitto R14 with a "big" basket but that put too much weight forward of the hub. I wouldn't have run the 32F for that reason, nor the Surly Big Front.

--Ed C.

[brendonoid]

The 34f is a lot of rack. The 32f isn't enough rack for a basket with any kind of load in it. Not even because of the weight. The wald basket allows a small weight to put a torque on the rack that it isn't designed to take and Nitto says specifically not to do it. The Marks rack is actually stronger in this application. Nitto still says don't do it but in my (and everyone else with a marks rack + wald 137) experience it's fine.

I have run a 34f mounted on my appaloosa using the supplied P clamps flattened out into a bracket that screwed directly to the middle fork brazeons. Very sturdy.

If looks matter a 137 looks weird mounted to it. Mounted longitudinally and the weight is toooooo far forward and mounted normally the rack sticks too far out and looks awkward. Mind you a 139 would fix this aesthetic issue and give you huge capacity. However Rivs don't handle great with lots of front weight, in general.

Can post a photo of the bracket hack if you are interested. Any bit of flat aluminium with holes drilled would also work. Probably still can't recommend the 34f though, Unless you need it.

[Adam]

This discussion is useful.

I'm curious if anyone has tried the VLC Rockit rack? It looks like it might be something in between the various Nitto options. I can't tell how well it might work with panniers.

I'm also curious about the Rawland options. (With an additional low-rider)

[Bones]

I settled on the 27F for my Appaloosa:

• Not nearly as bulky as the 34F
• Much stronger than the 32F
  
• Has four mounting points (I used the mid fork and dropout braze-ons, no brake interference)
  
• Can support a wald medium or large (without looking weird), or even just a trunksack
  
• Detachable pannier mounts (and looks pretty minimal without them)
• Dynamo eyelet

If I didn't go with this I'd probably be looking into a Pass and Stow rack.

Bones

[Anthony Coffin]

Thanks for the solid feedback everyone. My plan to carry any significant weight is limited to the occasional grocery run. It sounds like it would probably make more sense to run a rear rack and a big pannier or two for that purpose. I still want a front basket for small loads and it sounds like a Mark's Rack and Wald 137 are the proven combo. If I could find an older version of the Mark's with the light plate that would be perfect, but I'll probably have to settle for well enough.

Anyone want to trade their Mark's Rack for a Nitto 32f?

[Anthony Coffin]

Bones, that 27 looks great! My only qualms would be that it puts the weight farther forward than a Mark's or 32f. I'm running a Mark's on a different bike and actually drilled a hole in the diving board so I could sit it as far back as possible. I'm a bit anal about the weigh being as low and central as possible. I love the looks of your set up though, very clean!

[Adam Smith]

Hi all,

I've been lurking for a few weeks. I'm reading this thread with great interest as I managed to snag one of the orange Appaloosa frames from Riv and am now speccing it out so they can build it for me. For the front rack, I intend to go the route that Bones has chosen, the 27F Nitto Campee rack with the Wald basket, likely the 137.

Bones your bike looks great! Would love to see more photos actually. Is that the Wald 137 basket attached to your rack? Question about the Dynamo eyelet on the 27F, is the eyelet on the right side only? And I assume I would need the Nitto lamp holder to attach the light to the rack, correct? (hopefully this question didn't detract from the focus of this thread)

Take care,

Adam

[Bones]

Thanks Adam. Yes, that is the 137. Lately I've been using Voile straps to keep it on. I also have a 139 I can toss on if needed. The eyelet is only on the drive side. You don't necessarily need a lamp holder; I have a pile of left lamp holders but didn't have any right holders on hand so I used a long brake nut and bolt instead.

Bones