Touring - touring on a cyclocross bike?

hi. i just bought a cannondale xr800 (you may have seen my post in the cyclocross section) and would like to know about touring w/it. obviously ill have to adjust the gearing, but the main thing i dont know about is if it is at all possible to mount a front rack without the mid-fork braze-ons -- is it? thanks.

yes it is possile.. easy actually. If thehadware you get with the rack doesn't help then a trip to home depot is in order.
I built a factory looking mount for my front rack and rock shox fork. I'd post pics but need a place to park the pics.
Doug

well, you could email me them: schizolage@hotmail.com
or just explain in more detail what it is you did.

also is this a decent touring rack?: "blackburn custom front lowrider"

Hey,
check out oldmanmountain.com, they build racks specifically designed for bikes with suspension or one's without braze-ons.
The racks connect through the axel of the wheel, where the load should be. Good luck, and by the way, where are you looking at touring?
journey on
chris

thanks for the link. they seem like the way to go (great quality) but pricey!

i live in portland, or. i would like to tour the oregon/washington area. a havent lived here long though and dont know much about touring the northwest. im hoping to do a few overnighters early this summer once the weather improves and then try for longer in august or so.

If you take a close look at the Oldmanmountain mounts you'll see that they really aren't that sophisticated. I'll try to E-mail you some pics tomorrow after 8 PM central time. (cell phone internet connection... free minutes after 8)
I used some electrical conduit material to attach the top of the rack and some L brackets to attach the bottom to the skewer. Almost the exact same mount as the old mountain... but about 1/4 the price.
Take a close look at the upper mount on the old man... a little sketchy if you ask me. I'm not questioning their durability.. tons of reports on there durability, but, since there a fit all type of mount.. I think you can do better, for cheaper.
Doug

picutres would be great! so do you think buying the blackburn rack and then modifying it would be a reliable front rack?

You could always pull a trailer. like the BOB. They aren't cheap, but neither are good quality racks and panniers. It's something to think about anyway.

Here's a link to the pics. I posted on the mechanics part of bike forums.
front rack pics (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22589)
Doug