I could have my Voyageur on the road very soon, but I have been putting off choosing racks for it. I'm not really sure how much actual touring I'll do on it, but I would like to ride it from my home in Louisville to my childhood home in western Kentucky (approx. 210 miles) via US Hwy 60. Despite the fact that I may only use the racks on occasion, I want it to be ready when I am. I already have a rando type bike.

I currently only have the VO Pass Hunter rack with integrated decaleur.

The front fork also has lowrider bosses and double eyelets at the dropout.

Yesterday's blog post from VO got me thinking about racks again and I'd like some input from all of you here, especially those with experience using any of the racks I may consider.

I'd be all over that rear VO Camper rack, but it's just a prototype at this point. I had also considered the Dajia Expedition rack, but it is out of stock and I'm ready to order a rack.

I understand that carrying the weight as low as possible is best, and I'm assuming if I have panniers only at the front OR rear, the rear would be best.

The bike is looking pretty dang good and I want a quality, classic looking rack. I'm considering the following:

• Nitto Mt Campee: standard shaped rear rack that mounts to the dropout eyelets and, I guess, my choice of the canti studs or seat stay braze ons. (no fender mount - WTF, Nitto?)
• Nitto Campee 27: this looks like it holds the panniers lower than the Mt Campee and offers more support for them
• Surly Rear Rack: I think I could mount a Spanninga Plateo light (which I have) to the Surly, but not to either Nitto rack

Are there others I'm overlooking? Should I consider a front lowrider rack as well?

And I'm completely ignorant regarding panniers. What features should I be looking for in panniers?

Nitto Mt. Campee


Nitto Campee 27


Surly Rear Rack

What about a stainless steel Tubus?

I could be mistaken, but I believe the Campy 27 does not hold the panniers lower. It just has removal pieces that keep the panniers from going into the spokes. You can remove those pieces when not touring and still have a rear top platform for small things or a large saddle bag. On the front rack the pieces that attach are indeed low rider mounts, but I don't think that is the case with the rear Campy rack.

For panniers I'd never use anything other than Ortlieb or Arkels. Both are water proof and pretty bomb proof. Neither will look vintage, but in situations like touring you should be less concerned with looks than function, and nothing vintage will stack up to the new stuff when it comes to panniers.

Unfortunately you just missed a great sale on Ortlieb stuff at half price at Best Buy of all places...

oh and RE: rack's - the nitto touring racks hands down. Maybe the VO ones will be just as nice if you can wait.

I might know where there is a good deal on a nitto front campee rack at my LBS. He's had it sitting there for 3 years and said he'd give me a killer price. I dont need it so let me know..

you would be very pleased with a tubus.

also, nitto r15.

bruce gordon low-riders or rear rack pc'ed by him to match frame.

caradice, ortlieb, acorn, berthoud luggage.

Like the Cosmo? Sure, I'd consider that.



Thanks for info, Brian. A front Nitto Campee would have to replace the Pass Hunter, which I would consider had I not already drilled a hole in my powdercoated fender corresponding to the Pass Hunter's boss.

I run stainless steel Tubus racks front and rear on my commuter and I couldn't be happier with them (and my Ortlieb panniers).

Sweet commuter, sloping TT and all.

I think one of the nitto campees (32R) has at least a single hole in which you could mount a tail light. if you need two holes horizontal, there are adapters for this sort of thing.

"Unfortunately you just missed a great sale on Ortlieb stuff at half price at Best Buy of all places..."

Haha, I think they raised their prices back up because so many people from this forum were snagging up all of that cheap stuff and practically putting them out of business. I managed to order 2 Ortlieb racks (each for cheaper than an entry-level Blackburn rack) at the discounted price. I'm probably going to put them on my touring/commuting bike, we'll see how that goes.

As for Panniers, I just bought a set of Ortlieb Sport Packer Plus and Ortlieb Bike Packer Plus from thetouringstore.com at the suggestion of members of this forum, I've been pleased with them so far. I use the former for daily use, the latter for grocery store runs, and for touring (one of these years when I get back around to that). I just brought home about 40 lbs of groceries the other day (the girl working as a bagger at HEB seemed to be having a good time trying to get all of my groceries in the two panniers).

Once you do the initial adjustment and get it right, they slip on and off in seconds, and stay secure on the rack once they are on without bouncing off.

The Ortliebs are also VERY durable. Not long ago, my knucklehead didn't put the panniers on right, and one of them got jammed up in my wheel; grinding my bike to a halt. While I snapped two spokes in that wheel at the nipples in the process, the pannier had only a few scratches in the durable plastic frame. Just make sure, when you put the pannier on, that the inside of the panner is all resting completely against the side of the rack frame, and not hanging out behind the rack frame and the chainstays. Better to bump your heels against the pannier from time to time than to risk jamming one in your rear wheel and possibly eating an asphalt and blood sandwich.

As said: Ortlieb. When I did my first tour 25 some years ago they were the ones to have. That's still the case today.

Just playing devil's advocate here please don't take offense.

High quality touring setup with racks & bags can easily run $500+. Wouldn't you really want to try touring first to see if you will actually enjoy it before you buy all this pricey equipment? You can do the small tour you are planning with nashbar racks and bike buckets it just won't look as fancy, but you can figure out what works for you.

^ That's a completely valid point and I'm not offended. For this purpose, though, let's imagine that someone gave me $300-350 with the stipulation that I only use it for a rear and/or front rack and panniers.

To be completely honest with you, function is my number one priority, but that doesn't mean aesthetics have to suffer. I think anyone would balk at putting the money and effort I have into this bike and then hanging a cheap aluminum rack and plastic buckets on it. Granted, I understand they may work as well as anything else.

In terms of being both useful and good-looking, I don't think anyone beats Frost River (https://www.frostriver.com/bike_bags/hwy1_panniers.html). Waxed canvas, but a bit of a pain to mount/remove from the rack. Dunno much about these Basil panniers, but they certainly look awesome as well (and appear to be a joint collab w/Brooks?) https://www.flickr.com/photos/huggeri...es/1464712064/.

Aesthetically, Minnehaha panniers are fantastic, and I think would match the uniform, simple color scheme of your Voyageur. https://www.minnehahabags.com/canvas-utility-pannier/. Unlike a lot of other nice looking panniers, they are easy to mount/remove. Big downside: not waterproof. These are not true touring panniers, more classy around-towners.

I personally use the Axiom Seymour panniers - don't look as classy, but 2 of them were less than 1 Minnehaha pannier, and they are fairly water resistant. If price isn't an issue, +1 for performance points on the Arkel and Ortliebs. Those things are the most durable and waterproof bags you can find!

I wish I knew more about good racks. In terms of hardware, I've only bought what is "good for the money" - I have an Axiom Streamliner rack on my Voyageur - under $25.

Colonel: I am currently facing the same decision as you for a new set of racks. I've narrowed it down to two choices:

1. Surly Nice in silver (front and rear racks)
2. Tubus Nova & Tubus Cosmo stainless steel

Price differential is almost $150 less for the Surly set of racks (about $220 total). Tubus stainless steel won't corrode, but $365 for both racks makes me wonder if it's worth it. The big difference between you and I is that you've put major effort and money into a nice bike remodel. I just bought my touring bike ('84 Miyata 610) for $100. So, I'm leaning toward the Surlys.

I have owned both surly and tubus racks on a commuter and touring bikes. I sold off both of the surly racks and kept the tubus racks. The mounting of the front surly is a flaw and prone to breaking ( mounting tabs and not the actual rack). The other downside to surly racks are the weight. Switching my LHT from surly to tubus racks dropped 2.5 lbs! I agree with the others as well for panniers, Arkel or Ortlieb. I choose Ortlieb and couldn't be happier with that choice.

I would check out the bike bag shop for your tubus and ortlieb needs. I bought my rear rack and front roller from them. They had some of the best prices I found, and include free shipping for orders over $99.
https://www.bikebagshop.com/

One thought on panniers. Both the Ortlieb and the Arkel are superior quality. One difference (and I'm not sure whether it is still true) -- Arkels are more likely to scratch the rack or wear off the paint/powder coat. This would be more of a problem with the Surly or the non-stainless Tubus. Axiom makes nice low cost in-town racks, but I think that Tubus, Nitto and Surly are better for heavier use. You might look at the prices of Tubus racks at British online shops. There are occasionally deals to be had there (and they have the silver versions of the Cargo, Vega etc. if you prefer silver and don't want the cost and strength reduction of stainless).

This is very good info to take into account! Thx!

^ Agreed!

Jesse, those Frost River panniers are fantastic looking. The Minnehaha panniers are a candidate; too bad they're not waterproof. I wonder if you could treat them with a water repellant.

Very good suggestions and advice, everyone. It is much appreciated. Keep it coming!

Probably - either a spray or a waxing. I doubt either would be permanent, however. The Frost Rivers are very neat - and I'm not sure if you caught it, but the rod that ties the top down is actually an uncut tree branch. I thought that was a neat touch.

i would never tour with anything that is a pain to get on or off the bike, or that wasnt waterproof without treatment. Actually I have done both, and it sucked.

But it was a good point, if you're only going to tour one weekend a year or whatever, maybe you can go with something functionally inferior/cheaper.

Jesse, they're very cool, but I'd prefer to have a matching front bag (box) and they don't offer one. Pretty expensive, too.

Brian, as much as I'd like to, my responsibilities at work, home and with my band aren't going to allow touring for more than a week. Actually, when I do the 210 miles to western Kentucky, my wife will probably bring me back in the car after visiting with my family for a few days. I realize I could get away with doing this on my rando bike, but I'm going to see this bike build through to the end. It's what I want and that's reason enough for me. These bike builds are going to be few and far between when kids enter the picture.

tubus racks are very nice and strong. if the stainless models are prohibitively expensive, consider the cargo with a tara up front. i know they're black, and y'all elegant types require silver stuff, but they're too classic for that to matter, imo.

-rob

ps-got mine at www.thetouringstore.com ; price is right, shipping's included, and Wayne is a nice guy.

Cool site. Thanks, Rob. I'm not sure if I'm elegant, but I don't mind my bike to be. The front rack is stainless, so I'd much prefer the rear rack to be. I'm not considering black racks.

totally understandable, but undeniably "elegant".

=D

-rob