Folding Bikes - 20 inch Bike Rack & DIY Panniers?

Hey guys and gals,

For my bike tour i am looking into getting a real sturdy and hopefully not too heavy bike rack that will fit (i don't mind tinkering) my Twenty. Do you guys have any suggestions as to what might be good?

Maybe something like a 'Blackburn Mountainrack I' as these are still affordable, any experience with these on 20 inch? Of course a Tubus or Old man Mountain would be excellent but they are way expensive. What i am also confused about, are there 20 inch specific racks worth considering or should you go for a full size rack?

I am thinking that the normal size rack is handy because you could hang off long(er)/deep panniers despite the 20 inch wheel. On the other hand a 20 inch specific rack would mean the center of gravity would be lower which seems preferable.

Ideally i think i'd like a 20 inch specific as it might be sturdier too and i don't intend to use huge or very deep panniers. Which leads me to my next question.

I have looked into making my own Panniers out of rectangular buckets (much info on these boards) and it seems very promising. However most of the buckets used are pretty darn huge, even for a full size bike. I want to use pretty narrow buckets and not too deep, so they still clear the ground ok, so not square big buckets. Anyone know any narrow hard shell plastic buckets with a lid that i could get? There are so many different goods stored and sold in this type of container (Kitty Litter, Mussels, Chemicals used for storing archives and post etc) that i reckon there must be some around, i am just not sure in what direction to look.

not sure about 20" specific racks, but i bet you could find the buckets by scoping out the back alleys behind local restaurants. or places like delis or something.

where are you planning the tour?

Hey guys and gals,

For my bike tour i am looking into getting a real sturdy and hopefully not too heavy bike rack that will fit (i don't mind tinkering) my Twenty. Do you guys have any suggestions as to what might be good?

Maybe something like a 'Blackburn Mountainrack I' as these are still affordable, any experience with these on 20 inch? Of course a Tubus or Old man Mountain would be excellent but they are way expensive. What i am also confused about, are there 20 inch specific racks worth considering or should you go for a full size rack?


I am thinking that the normal size rack is handy because you could hang off long(er)/deep panniers despite the 20 inch wheel. On the other hand a 20 inch specific rack would mean the center of gravity would be lower which seems preferable.




Here are some 20" racks at gaerlan, although they're for Dahons and you might have to do some tinkering. The Arclite looks neat.

20" racks (http://www.gaerlan.com/dahon/rack.htm)

Personally, my Twenty came with an ancient Pletscher rack and I haven't tinkered with it. But on my Dahon, I rigged a normal Blackburn MTN rack using a clamp and bracket from an old light, and it worked great--the advantage of using normal panniers was nice, although the disadvantage was that I couldn't fold all the way with the seatpost up. It didn't significantly affect my handling (except trying to lift the bikem, since it was lopsided!)-it still had a pretty low center of gravity.

Hmm, you don't happen to read Dutch or do you Andy? I have set up a Blog (in Dutch) so that i can converse on all the ins and outs of the tour with the 2 to 4 friends that will prob. come. Basically we want to Depart from Rotterdam and go South or South East. Possible routes: Vogeses, Arendener mountains, France, Belgium, Germany and further afield. It will involve some (covert) camping as well as sleeping at the Different squats along the way. I know quite a lot of the squats and some are like veritable palaces and others are Mad Max villages complete with own bars, cinemas and other infrastructure. Best thing: people are cool and staying there is free.

We are actually doing lots of planning and discussion so everybody can have their say and know what they are getting in to. Of course we are also leaving a lots of space for adventure, sponteinaity and altering of plans.

I've already bought some new bike gear including a Carradice Saddle bag and i also purchased a Hennessey hammock/tent. I am pretty stoked. Hope it will be as good as i hope. I actually found some gray squarish buckets that are almost ideal except they are too large for a 20 inch. For a larger bike they are great, i think they are used for storing A4 files, lid is excellent, light and sturdy enough to sit on. Will look for something almost the same except somewhat slimmer/less wide.