Touring - Very light touring - rack suggestions for road bike

I will be doing a light tour later this year. By light, I mean that I would ride two days, with the night spent in a hotel, and I would buy my food close to the hotel.

I own two road bikes - a new, steel frame road bike with ultegra compact, and a single speed steel bike that is my foul weather option.

I will not need to take a lot with me, so my current thinking is that a rear rack (seatpost, or other?) should be sufficient. The ride will be in the summer and I'm flexible with my dates so the plan is to ride when there is little chance for rain. Therefore, my list of items to bring is rather light.

The new bike doesn't have eyelets so I think my only option is a seatpost rack, though I wanted to know if there are other options? Also, I don't have a lot of exposed seatpost to attach a rack (though I will measure it before I start shopping).

Thanks.

http://www.axiomgear.com/products/gear/racks/rear-racks/streamliner-road-dlx/

This rack can be mounted on your regular quick release and brake. Much better option than seatpost racks

Here's another option like that axiom one... only way more expensive! (grrr)

Tubus Fly with Quickrelease adaptor. Attaches to brake bolt and quickrelease. OK for any road frame. Holds 40 pounds. I have one, took it on a credit card tour, it performed great.

http://www.thetouringstore.com/TUBUS/Fly/FLY%20PAGE.htm
http://www.thetouringstore.com/TUBUS/Fit%20Solutions/FIT%20SOLUTIONS%20PAGE.htm

Thanks for the suggestions. I wasn't aware that type of rack existed so I will look into it.

My other option for this 2-day ride (certainly puts it out of the touring category) is to drive to my destination and ride 2 days exploring the area. This would be similar to a 2-day charity I do where the destination has sleeping and food taken care of. This ride is less about the touring aspect (though it does interest me) and more about getting out and riding, and also having some quiet time after the ride to chill (sans family).

^^ that sounds fun too!

Me too! Same question.

Originally was looking at the Topeak Beam.Probably too expensive.
http://www.topeak.com/products/Racks/RXBeamRackCarbon

The Tubus Fly is pretty light and would fit on my road bike.

If I could expand on the question without hijacking the thread too much:
What size bag would I need for a change of clothes and a few toiletries?
The Topeak bags that work with the beam have three sizes, 2.8L, 6.2 and 7.3L.

how about a large saddle bag? and a handlebar bag

for capacity I think about 800-1000 cubic inches

I am going on a credit card tour in a couple of weeks and I have three days of riding clothes and three days of regular clothes, rain jacket, arm and leg warmers and a pair of sandals.

I fit all of this in a pair of Ortlieb front roller classic bags. I think you would need about half of that space and that's 800 cubic inches.

You might also want to look at Carradice saddlebags (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/carradice.asp) perhaps with the Bagman (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/saddlebag_support.asp) support. I used a Nelson Longflap and Bagman QR support on my credit card tour from the SF Bay Area to Los Angeles. The Nelson Longflap will probably hold more gear than you'll want to carry on a road bike...

http://www.axiomgear.com/products/gear/racks/rear-racks/streamliner-road-dlx/

+1 on the rack - I have this model on two of my bikes and am very happy.

http://www.axiomgear.com/products/gear/racks/rear-racks/streamliner-road-dlx/

This rack can be mounted on your regular quick release and brake. Much better option than seatpost racks

this attachment method may look questionable, but i can assure you i have used a similar rack that attached at the brake bridge and it has never failed, cross country touring (13,000mi), grocery shopping, commuting, the whole nine yards. never a problem.

sort of surprised me...

how about a large saddle bag? and a handlebar bag

for capacity I think about 800-1000 cubic inches

I am going on a credit card tour in a couple of weeks and I have three days of riding clothes and three days of regular clothes, rain jacket, arm and leg warmers and a pair of sandals.

I fit all of this in a pair of Ortlieb front roller classic bags. I think you would need about half of that space and that's 800 cubic inches.
I like a traditional style saddlebag. The Carradice can be hard to find. Zimbale (http://www.zimbalenorthamerica.com/) bags are readily available. The 11 liter bag equals about 670 cubic inches and the 18 liter equals about 1100 cubic inches.

There is a hoop bag support, with a Klick Fix mount, around the seatpost, .http://www.klickfix.de/index.php?mod=1&lang=en


Plus you can get a Tubus rack in Titanium, too, to shave the weight of the part itself..

The Carradice can be hard to find.

Interesting... The blog that you link to, Bike Touring News, seems to list the exact same street address and phone number as Zimbale North America, LLC. Posting a bit of disinformation to try to increase sales of your Korean-made copies of Carradice bags, perhaps?

Bike Touring News contact info (http://store.biketouringnews.com/pages/Contact-Information.html)
Zimbale North America LLC address (http://www.zimbalenorthamerica.com/aboutus.asp)

In my experience Peter White (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/carradice.asp), Wall Bike (http://www.wallbike.com/brand/carradice), VeloFred (http://www.velofred.com/index.php?cPath=21_23), etc. seem to have quite a few Carradice models in stock. If they don't have what you need, there are a number of UK vendors (ex: Wiggle (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/carradice/), SJS Cycle (http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/carradice-shopcarradice_pg1/?currency=usd)) that will ship to the U.S., sometimes for less than the U.S. vendors charge.

My light touring setup is an Arkel handlebar bag, an Arkel tailrider trunkbag on a randonneur rack using my Trek 7.5 fx. The setup works well for me for credit card touring, well enough to do the katy trail only using these bags. The randonneur rack is a seatpost rack, but it locks solidly onto the seatpost and the seat rails of your saddle, a good setup.

http://www.arkel-od.com/us/all-categories/handlebar-bag/big-bar-bike-bag.html

http://www.arkel-od.com/us/all-categories/seat-bags-trunk-bags/tailrider.html

http://www.arkel-od.com/us/all-categories/bicycle-bike-pannier-rack/arkel-randonneur-rack.html

You might also want to look at Carradice saddlebags (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/carradice.asp) perhaps with the Bagman (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/saddlebag_support.asp) support. I used a Nelson Longflap and Bagman QR support on my credit card tour from the SF Bay Area to Los Angeles. The Nelson Longflap will probably hold more gear than you'll want to carry on a road bike...


^^THIS^^

http://www.wallbike.com/carradice/saddlebags/nelson-longflap

Interesting... The blog that you link to, Bike Touring News, seems to list the exact same street address and phone number as Zimbale North America, LLC. Posting a bit of disinformation to try to increase sales of your Korean-made copies of Carradice bags, perhaps?

Bike Touring News contact info (http://store.biketouringnews.com/pages/Contact-Information.html)
Zimbale North America LLC address (http://www.zimbalenorthamerica.com/aboutus.asp)

In my experience Peter White (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/carradice.asp), Wall Bike (http://www.wallbike.com/brand/carradice), VeloFred (http://www.velofred.com/index.php?cPath=21_23), etc. seem to have quite a few Carradice models in stock. If they don't have what you need, there are a number of UK vendors (ex: Wiggle (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/carradice/), SJS Cycle (http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/carradice-shopcarradice_pg1/?currency=usd)) that will ship to the U.S., sometimes for less than the U.S. vendors charge.

Yes, you outed me. I have used and sold Carradice products and they are fine. However, the inconsistencies in availability are notorious. That's the reason we started selling Zimbale. They make a very nice product which is readily available. I try to be transparent. If my post came across as "disinformation", I apologize. Of course I would like to increase sales, but I try not to make blatant sales pitches....just contribute to the topic on hand and hopefully provide some value. We also sell touring products at the Bike Touring News Store (http://store.biketouringnews.com/)Posting here is hopefully not construed as "disinformation". We always try to add value to the conversation. Again, I am attempting to be transparent. If I am violating some forum rules or creating animosity by posting here I will stop.
Jim Powers
Bike Touring News and Zimbale North America

I try to be transparent.

I think what you meant so say is: I try to be transparent... once I've been caught trying to shill the products that I sell. Right?

Because if you were really trying to be transparent, you'd probably have admitted that you were the importer of Zimbale bags in the same post where you recommended them. The fact that you link to your blog in your signature, and not Zimbale, sure makes it look like you're trying to "pull a fast one"... at least to me.

I think what you meant so say is: I try to be transparent... once I've been caught trying to shill the products that I sell. Right?

Because if you were really trying to be transparent, you'd probably have admitted that you were the importer of Zimbale bags in the same post where you recommended them. The fact that you link to your blog in your signature, and not Zimbale, sure makes it look like you're trying to "pull a fast one"... at least to me.
Point taken. Thanks

How about something like this:

https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.catalog&CategoryID=4&ProductID=1

http://www.axiomgear.com/products/gear/racks/rear-racks/streamliner-road-dlx/

This rack can be mounted on your regular quick release and brake. Much better option than seatpost racks

I got the Streamliner Road DLX for my wife's Cannondale R600. On the plus side, it does sit far enough back to avoid heel strike issues. The problem with that the R600 frame is that there are two screws on the dropout that interfere with the brackets that attach to the QR axle. I filed a couple of notches to correct that issue, but the rack still tends to slide down under load (and rubs the top of the tire). I wouldn't recommend this rack for much more than light commuting. I would be willing to bet the tubus rack is worth the extra $$$.

I ended up calling Wayne at thetouringstore. Wow, great guy! I sent photos of my bike and he gave me some suggestions over a long conversation on the phone.

I think I'm going with the Tubus Vega rack, the Q/R axel adapator and seatstap clamps. I didn't like having to take off my rear brake and possibly get a longer bolt, and the seatstay clamps will work well with my bike. I now have to think about size/make of panniers (again, Wayne had many tips/tricks for me).

Planning this out is fun (though a little time consuming!). And I can't say enough about Wayne at thetouringstore, lots of great advice (and not just related to products he sells).

Cheers.

Yay Wayne!!!

I have the Lone Peak P99 front panniers, and use those as rear bags for CC touring. They are light weight, compact, but not waterproof.

Well I finally got around to taking a pic of my lite set up.

Just a Caradice seat bag and seat mounted rack.

Hold a lot more stuff than I would have thought!

I will be doing a light tour later this year. By light, I mean that I would ride two days, with the night spent in a hotel, and I would buy my food close to the hotel.

I own two road bikes - a new, steel frame road bike with ultegra compact, and a single speed steel bike that is my foul weather option.

I will not need to take a lot with me, so my current thinking is that a rear rack (seatpost, or other?) should be sufficient. The ride will be in the summer and I'm flexible with my dates so the plan is to ride when there is little chance for rain. Therefore, my list of items to bring is rather light.

The new bike doesn't have eyelets so I think my only option is a seatpost rack, though I wanted to know if there are other options? Also, I don't have a lot of exposed seatpost to attach a rack (though I will measure it before I start shopping).

Thanks.

A Carradice type saddlebag and a Bagman rack would be an excellent solution to your problem. I'd also use a small handlebar bag to carry your valuables that you would take with you when you left your bike. I'll post my set up again.....I'm setup for long distance touring as I have tent, sleeping bag etc, but you can adapt the general idea for really light touring too.

http://wheelsofchance.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/20110614-031042.jpg

I tour on my road bike and have used a seat post rack several times. I have never had any trouble with it at all and it comes on and off the bike very easily. I use the rack below and the pack listed in the second link...i have used two different sized packs. The longest trip I took with the set up below was three weeks - and that held everything I needed and I brought a lot of clothing.

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442623951&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302693083

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442635478&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302693397

I really like the design of that Arkel. No worries about sliding around.
The bag is a little on the small side though, but probably OK for a 2 day trip.

With the Tubus Fly or titanium, I'd have to leave them on my road bike all the time. Not sure if I want that.

Like several others mentioned, I would recommend a Carradice bag and perhaps a front bag. They come in a range of sizes, but make sure you get the Bagman rack or some other way to support the bag. You can find a much wider selection of Carradice bags at lower prices on the various British websites such as Wiggle, Chain Reaction, SJS or directly from Carradice. Also check out Acorn bags, which are more expensive and produced in limited quantities, but are very high quality.

The first 4 photos show a Carradice Barley (their smallest bag) and the last 2 shots show an Acorn Med-Large seatbag.

With the Tubus Fly or titanium, I'd have to leave them on my road bike all the time. Not sure if I want that.
Have an issue with 3 bolts, talk about a slacker :rolleyes:

now now, dont be a grumpy old git!
;-)

I'm too old to be a slacker, but you can call me lazy. :)

But it is a little silly to worry about the 197 grams of the Airy.

http://www.bikebagshop.com/tubus-airy-titanium-rear-rack-p-1495.html

A Carradice type saddlebag and a Bagman rack would be an excellent solution to your problem. I'd also use a small handlebar bag to carry your valuables that you would take with you when you left your bike. I'll post my set up again.....I'm setup for long distance touring as I have tent, sleeping bag etc, but you can adapt the general idea for really light touring too.

http://wheelsofchance.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/20110614-031042.jpg

How have you got that sleeping bag/tent wedged in there between the carradice and the seat post? I've also got a carradice (Nelson LF) with Bagman QR support and am trying to figure out ways to carry a tent/sleeping bag along with considerable other gear (have not got a rear rack).

this attachment method may look questionable, but i can assure you i have used a similar rack that attached at the brake bridge and it has never failed, cross country touring (13,000mi), grocery shopping, commuting, the whole nine yards. never a problem.

sort of surprised me...

For those that don't desire or can't go that way, consider this seat post clamp with braze ons for rack attachment. Used it for a while and worked quite well

http://www.axiomgear.com/archive/gear/racks/accessories/trekk-seat-collar/

http://littlecirclesvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG_9412.JPG

no rack, just bags

http://littlecirclesvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/IMG_9412.JPG

no rack, just bags

Cool. ... Why don't you provide the name of the product so that others can check it out?

Cool. ... Why don't you provide the name of the product so that others can check it out?

epic (revelate) design bag and harness

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2151/5730933533_f9e453bdd6_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31827372@N00/5730933533/)
IMG_9474 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31827372@N00/5730933533/) by mbeganyi (http://www.flickr.com/people/31827372@N00/), on Flickr

seatbag only for a long day in the snow

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/5395752015_054a5fbbbf_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31827372@N00/5395752015/)
IMAG1482 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31827372@N00/5395752015/) by mbeganyi (http://www.flickr.com/people/31827372@N00/), on Flickr

Another option which I don't think anyone has mentioned yet is that you can attach a standard rack using P-clamps on the seat stays. They should be available at any hardware store.

I'm not a huge fan of attaching huge bags to the saddle. It's a little high on the bike for my handling tastes. YMMV of course.

I happen to be a minor fan of Topeak MX/RX racks, since they clip the trunk bag in very securely. I'm doing a quick overnight tour this weekend with a small trunk bag and an Ortlieb handlebar bag (which probably won't get filled up), I'll post some pics early next week for anyone who's curious.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5150/5731479260_327d70792d_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31827372@N00/5731479260/)
IMG_1376 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31827372@N00/5731479260/) by mbeganyi (http://www.flickr.com/people/31827372@N00/), on Flickr

haven't had any handling issues. the well designed bags and harnesses tuck up tight and do not flop around...
i've descended at speed and climbed steep dirt only noticing the extra weight, not the tail wagging the dog feeling.

bmike, I thought of your post last year when you showed this stuff, again it really does look well designed, and good to hear that they attach nice and solidly.

on another note, I enjoyed looking through your photos, lots of pretty roads and views. That was quite a good RD snapping off you did there! (hanger I guess really)
Those Pugs always make me smile, they must have a really neat ride quality. The guy from out west who posts here has mentioned that on his, he runs tire pressures of something like 15 psi.

cheers

bmike, I thought of your post last year when you showed this stuff, again it really does look well designed, and good to hear that they attach nice and solidly.

on another note, I enjoyed looking through your photos, lots of pretty roads and views. That was quite a good RD snapping off you did there! (hanger I guess really)
Those Pugs always make me smile, they must have a really neat ride quality. The guy from out west who posts here has mentioned that on his, he runs tire pressures of something like 15 psi.

cheers


thanks... i run my pugs in the snow down around 6-8 psi
in the woods i think i'm up to 12... very cool ride.

the hanger did break. bent on a rock / fall, then snapped when i tried to ease it back. was a mile walk home, so no big problem, aside from the mosquito bites.

the revelate stuff is really well thought out.
going to use them on the fargo with some salsa anything cages for a weekend dirt tour this fall.

I'm glad I stumbled upon this thread. I googled a review for a product and I landed here.

I'm not sure which way I want to go. Huge saddle bag, or rack that attaches at the brakes and quick release. But at least now I have options other than a backpack.

Thanks everyone that posted all this useful information.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8189/8086813988_8fa8c85b52_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31827372@N00/8086813988/)
revelate / salsa bags (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31827372@N00/8086813988/) by mbeganyi (http://www.flickr.com/people/31827372@N00/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8459/7990461530_a6678eb315_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31827372@N00/7990461530/)
IMG_8242 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31827372@N00/7990461530/) by mbeganyi (http://www.flickr.com/people/31827372@N00/), on Flickr

just an update. gear continues to perform. i added a full frame bag to my kit. hopefully trying it out this weekend.

If you're cheap (like me) and have use of both hands, maybe my home-made decaleur, combined with a small backpack you probably already own, will be enough for you. Here's a linkback to a previous DIY thread:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/802408-Show-us-your-DIY-Gear?p=14312322&viewfull=1#post14312322

I'm glad I stumbled upon this thread. I googled a review for a product and I landed here.

I'm not sure which way I want to go. Huge saddle bag, or rack that attaches at the brakes and quick release. But at least now I have options other than a backpack.

Thanks everyone that posted all this useful information.

Here is a longer thread on a similar subject. If you have a couple of hours to kill have a look through it. It's mostly good stuff with some interesting ideas and set ups.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/842963-Ultralight-Evangelism

I got the Streamliner Road DLX for my wife's Cannondale R600. On the plus side, it does sit far enough back to avoid heel strike issues. The problem with that the R600 frame is that there are two screws on the dropout that interfere with the brackets that attach to the QR axle. I filed a couple of notches to correct that issue, but the rack still tends to slide down under load (and rubs the top of the tire). I wouldn't recommend this rack for much more than light commuting. I would be willing to bet the tubus rack is worth the extra $$$.
You probably would have been better off with the Streamliner DLX that doesn't use any plates since the R600 has two threaded holes in the drop out (at least mine did). I used that rack with two p-clamps on the top attachments on my Cannondale R600. It is very solid that way. I like this rack very well. Some may not like that it is narrow, but I find that to be a plus.

Peter, I've noticed a few of those Streamliner models the last few years. As you say, having the bags in closer is kinda neat, and I guess if you dont need to pile lots of stuff on the top then having the bags a bit more inward could be good (although I wonder how much a diff it makes, depending how fat the bags are)

The lightweight MEC model I use is about the same weight (500g) and is perfectly stable with the amount I ever ride with (maybe 25 lbs?) on the back, but the Axiom is nicely designed with the extra width of the rear part, helping to keep a back from swaying into the wheel. I could definitely see this rack being a good idea for riding on rough terrain and keeping the panniers farther away from stuff on narrow trails.

the cost about $30-35 is reasonable too.
I've always used reasonably priced racks, and for the weight I have travelled with, and never having crossed Mongolia, they have always worked perfectly well, so I dont really see the need to spend $100 more to have the absolutely best rack in the world.

My wife's Cannondale Synapse uses a Streamliner rack, and it works well for her. For my CAAD9, I have a Carradice Super C Barley saddlebag that I attached to the B-17 saddle with the usual loops and a home-made contraption that works like a Bagman. I did a 2 day ride of a little under 200 miles, with one night in a motel, and the Carradice was big enough for the purpose -- it held minimal tools/tire repair stuff, a little food, a rain jacket, very light shorts and a shirt, maps, wallet, phone.

I simply contacted Carradice directly via internet to order the bag and they were nice to deal with.