Long Distance Cycling - M12 Nitto rack..mounted on the rear?

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tacomee

11-28-07, 05:56 AM

Hi everybody,

I'm starting to think about a Surly Cross-check build I'm going to start after the Holidays. I'm thinking about a Nitto mini rack mounted on the rear and a Carradice saddle bag on top of that. I'm sure somebody has tried this already. :) I'm going to think about a shopping basket to mount on the rack as well (smaller than the huge Wald ones, of course) when I'm not using the saddle bag.

My second question is about saddle bags... is the Carradice Pendle big enough for a set of street clothes? Or should I think about a bigger overnight bag?

Thanks, tacomee

spokenword

11-28-07, 07:03 AM

I'm thinking about a Nitto mini rack mounted on the rear and a Carradice saddle bag on top of that. I'm sure somebody has tried this already. I have a full rear rack on my bike that supports my Carradice Super C, and it's a pretty decent solution as far as keeping the bag off the tire and/or fender. It's also nice to have the rack to use for bungee-ing additional items.

here's a picture of my bike at PBP with a third water bottle lashed to the rack behind the Super C.

The only caveat is that if you're relatively short or don't have a high seatpost, then the rack might limit how much depth you can have in the centre of your bag. I only found this to be an issue when I needed to do grocery shopping and I was caught out with my Carradice instead of my panniers.

My second question is about saddle bags... is the Carradice Pendle big enough for a set of street clothes? Or should I think about a bigger overnight bag? I used to do overnights with an Axiom Laurentian rack bag which was about 6 litres and that was just enough for a change of clothes, jacket, tools and a bit of food. Adding a pair of sandals/flip-flops was doable but tight. The Pendle appears to be almost twice as large at 11 litres, so it sounds like it'd be fine as an overnight and might even allow you to take home some souvenirs too :)

supcom

11-28-07, 11:35 AM

I believe Nitto makes a small rack specifically for the rear. Check rivbike.com for them. I doubt you can use an M12. Even if the mounts line up with the rear brake bridge and canti mounts, it would probably stick up at a bad angle.

A Carradice Pendle will easily hold a set of street clothes. adding shoes might be a tight fit, but it could probably be made to work. I've commuted to work with a change of clothes in a Pendle many, many times. You might need to pack light on toiletries and other sundry items though. It depends on what else you want/need to bring along.