Touring - one step closer

well im one step closer to bike camping this year. i have finaaly decided to upgrade my old giant innova hybrid. just finished installing some v brakes. i hated the cantalevers that it had. next is to pick a front and rear rack. how important is price when choosing a rack. am i gonna get what i pay for or will i get a fairly decent rack for little money. since i am new to this and not sure im going to be doing this much i dont want to spend hundreds on something im gonna hate. i have already a set of axiom journey panniers and a top peak rear rack that i plan to use on my first outing. but i would like to use the panniers on front and get some rears that have more options, like pockets. so i guess what i need is a front rack and rear panniers.
any suggestions that wont break the bank. say less than 150 total or am i dreamin.

Nashbar has a front rack that's a clone of the old Blackburn Lowrider. I used the Blackburn for years with no problems. If you don't have brazeons on your fork you can get p-brackets cheaply at a hardware store.

For rear panniers that aren't too expensive, I've heard good reports about Nashbar. They have some waterproof panniers I've seen lots of people using. REI also sells some waterproof panniers that aren't too expensive. I've never seen them in use, but I bought some REI panniers in the early 90's that worked great and are still usable today. (I don't know if that has any bearing, other than to say something about the quality of REI stuff. Also REI has one of the best warranty/return policies of anyone.)

Waterproof panniers are nice, but rain covers also work fine and aren't THAT much of a hassle. (Some people recommend putting everything in Ziplocs even with waterproof panniers or rain covers. I've never gone to that extreme and my stuff has stayed dry in some gnarly weather.)

Pockets are nice, but try to arrive at a system early for what goes where. When I haven't been careful about this I've spent far too many minutes rummaging through every pocket, looking for some item. It's always in the last pocket I try!

well im one step closer to bike camping this year. .....


Thats one small step for man, one giant step for mankind!


roughstuff

well after cruising the net for a few days ii have really come to like the ARKEL T 28's. i know its right at the top of my budget but i really like the features. the web site is great and full of info about each pannier. i feel i can buy from them as if in the store holding it in my hand.

Just be sure you don't try anything crazy like . . . actually camping before you are absolutely certain that you have acquired the perfect gear.

Remember all those people you used to know, but you fell out of touch with them, and now you don't have any idea what happened to them? They all DIED HORRIBLY during bike tours because they didn't spend enough time and money buying the perfect suite of camping equipment.

Depending on how long you are planning to go, you may be able to get by with not much. I wrote about my first "tour" here (http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3Tzut&page_id=46421&v=TE). I had picked up a cheapo rack from K-Mart that broke within the first five miles of my tour, but I still made it. Sometimes I look back on those days and wonder how I managed to keep touring after that disaster of a trip. But I guess the lure of the road is too strong to resist.

Just be sure you don't try anything crazy like . . . actually camping before you are absolutely certain that you have acquired the perfect gear.

Remember all those people you used to know, but you fell out of touch with them, and now you don't have any idea what happened to them? They all DIED HORRIBLY during bike tours because they didn't spend enough time and money buying the perfect suite of camping equipment.maybe all those people you used to know didnt DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH, just didnt like hangin with you cause of all the negativity.

Woof, it's not negativity, it's exasperation. A voice becomes an echo, and the echoes become a chorus, and pretty soon it's new guys listening to new guys prattle on about how they'll be "one step closer" if they drop some more money on fancy equipment.

You don't need to be "one step closer." You're there now -- fully capable of actually seeing whether camping on your bike is something you'd more than theoretically like to do. Put away your credit card, take next Friday off, and give it a try (http://youtube.com/watch?v=XMOmB1q8W4Y)! If you invest in the excuse that you're always a few expensive steps away, then who's being negative?

Woof, it's not negativity, it's exasperation. A voice becomes an echo, and the echoes become a chorus, and pretty soon it's new guys listening to new guys prattle on about how they'll be "one step closer" if they drop some more money on fancy equipment.

You don't need to be "one step closer." You're there now -- fully capable of actually seeing whether camping on your bike is something you'd more than theoretically like to do. Put away your credit card, take next Friday off, and give it a try (http://youtube.com/watch?v=XMOmB1q8W4Y)! If you invest in the excuse that you're always a few expensive steps away, then who's being negative?

Takara said it best. You don't need fancy equipment. You don't even need "good" equipment for a short, one-week tour. If you decide to ride around the world - then invest in the best. Until then, just go. Make do with what you have and get out there to see if it's something you enjoy.

Nancy, I love your first tour story (http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3Tzut&page_id=46421&v=TE). And Comet Dog, I'm not trying to beat up on you -- I think many, maybe even most people would love to travel and camp by bike if they only tried it. So try it! You already have one rack and two panniers -- that'll get you through a three-day weekend. If that's intimidating, leave those behind and just get a motel reservation twenty-five miles away. Do it! You'll probably love it, like Nancy did, and like I did.

TAKARA,
my appolagies. iguess i didnt understand or see the sarcasm in your message. i do plan on making do with what i have "for now".
maybe i am abit apprehensive and using "not the right gear" as an excuse. but i AM going to do this. however i dont plan on going till june or so. i would love to take next friday off, but nope, cant. thanks for the suggestion though. i still plan to get better gear

or maybe i will give up on touring and join the circus and become a lion tamer.

You don't even need good stuff to go around the world. Tzuo Han just did and Hienz Stucke has been going for over 40 years.

Just get out there and ride

and " I can't....".... you should stop using that phrase!!!!

george

The Nashbar low rider racks are fine. The similar Transit one from Performance is a bit nicer. For the rear the Blackburn EX-1 is nice. These are good enough for extended touring. Three of us used them on the TA and I would not have bought anything different if I were to do it over.

The Nashbar waterproof panniers and the Performance Transit Pro panniers also worked and held up fine.

I am sure there are other inexpensive choices that are OK too, but these are the ones I have toured with and been happy with.

BTW: Don't take too much offense with Takara's post. While it sounded harsh, I agree with Takara's view on this on principle.