General Cycling Discussion - Need recommendation for Cannondale Rack

I finally bought my first new bike in 30 years last year, a Cannondale T800. I plan on doing some short tours this summer. My family bought me some great rear pannniers (Arkel model T42) for Christmas. There are a zillion types of racks on the market, does anyone have any experience with the optimal rack for the type of bike and panniers that I have? Thanks very much for any assistance you may be able to offer.-----Steve

Hi,
Planet Bike makes a nice rack for $25. It's light, my wife has one on her strada.
Blackburn makes good, rugged, heavy racks. Most seem to get Blackburn. There are a number of superb (usuallly pretty heavy) racks. Jannd comes to mind. Does Nitto still make a rack? There are several small comapnies making superb racks. Saw a link to one here yesterday. I liked it because it works well with short chainstays. I have a very light, expensive German rack whose name escapes me at the moment. It weighs about half what some racks weigh. Funny, I bought a ton of expensive, liightweight gear, and wound up with a bike that weighed a ton....

Tubus are the German lightweight steel racks.
Blackburn Expedition is the std pattern for a Al rack.
There are a lot of racks these days with extra "design" features. Most add weight and reduce strength.

Oh yeah,
that's the ticket. Here's a pic...
http://www.altrec.com/shop/detail/4122/15

Pretty cool, weighs 12 OZ. I am not sure about durability, but it survived the first year. Worst thing I can say about it is I can't seem to mount a rack pack on top of it.

Cannondale makes its own racks specfically for its bikes.

Hi,
here is a pic of the Nitto rack. http://rivendellbicycles.com/webalog/baggage_racks/20022.html
I have used a bunch of racks over the years. When they stopped making the Blackburn expedition rack for a while, I got one on sale quite cheaply for my Sis. I have bought 3 Blackburns over the years. They were great (if heavy). When I got back into riding on the roads, I started fooling around with lighter racks. Personally, I never had any trouble, but a nasty crash would obviously kill one. I am afraid I have to disagree with Micheal just a little.
Most of the racks I see are overkill. Most of us don't need anything as bombproof as the Expedition rack, and it's quite heavy.
If you do, the other racks are more than adequate; and some offer advantages. For 3rd world touring, the ability to repair the rack would be a real plus. On my frame, a rack that allows me to slide the pannier further back would be wonderful. Pick a rack that has what you want, don't worry about it. A number of companies that make touring bikes also make nice racks if you need longer or shorter, or custom.

I like the Topeak Quick Release racks. They are well made, and connect and disconnect quite easily.

Topeak QR Beam racks (http://www.topeak.com/global/qrbeamrackmtx.php)

I have the QR Beam Rack RX, which is the lightest of the group, smaller too, and is perfect for a quick trip with packages to the post office, or going to the market. Although this model does not have the quick release it is still easy to mount and remove. For overnighters and extended travel the others would be better.