Touring - Overwhelmed by rack choices

I'm new to this forum and bicycle touring. I've been researching rear racks and have developed analysis-paralysis. My initial tours will likely be hotel tours but I don't want to buy something that won't support a heavier camping load-out.

Tubus looks like the top tier, but I don't want to spend that much cash. There are a bunch of second tier racks but I don't know which ones are quality.

I have a 62cm Surly Cross Check (so shorter chainstay) and size 14 feet.

My key concerns are:
- cost
- heel clearance
- quality

Thanks, Nik.

I only have 1, Jannd "Expedition". Wide/Long/ not as expensive as Tubus

Nik, first off I suggest you configure your load carrying according to the size of the load. I've got a 56 cm Cross-Check and have tried various loads and racks. The bike doesn't carry heavy rear biased loads well. It's not a touring bike. That said it can carry a range of loads well if you take advantage of front low riders.

If you're considering a touring payload for two large rear panniers get front low riders and small/med panniers instead with a top of the rear rack bag to take the rest.

If you go with front panniers and rack bag the heel clearance issue is moot, and you'll eliminate the awful handling that comes with a heavy rear load especially with your size 14 ft.

With a front low rider for panniers you can get any cheap rear rack, Topeak would be a very good choice. I tried the rear Topeak and a Tubus Cargo with loaded panniers and the handling was iffy with my size 11. Reducing the load and going with a very narrow Axiom Streamliner made riding with rear panniers acceptable but I'd go for lowriders for touring.

Topeak Explorer Tubular is fine. Holds up to 55 pounds, $25-ish.

Nik, first off I suggest you configure your load carrying according to the size of the load. I've got a 56 cm Cross-Check and have tried various loads and racks. The bike doesn't carry heavy rear biased loads well. It's not a touring bike. That said it can carry a range of loads well if you take advantage of front low riders.

If you're considering a touring payload for two large rear panniers get front low riders and small/med panniers instead with a top of the rear rack bag to take the rest.

If you go with front panniers and rack bag the heel clearance issue is moot, and you'll eliminate the awful handling that comes with a heavy rear load especially with your size 14 ft.

With a front low rider for panniers you can get any cheap rear rack, Topeak would be a very good choice. I tried the rear Topeak and a Tubus Cargo with loaded panniers and the handling was iffy with my size 11. Reducing the load and going with a very narrow Axiom Streamliner made riding with rear panniers acceptable but I'd go for lowriders for touring.

+1 - Try a lowrider front rack w/ panniers first. For hotel (credit card) touring, that's all you should need. If you still need more storage room, try a handlebar bag or get one of the inexpensive rear racks mentioned here for a racktop bag.

Be very overwhelmed:

http://bicycleluggageracks.com/

If you don't want to spend even Tubus dollars, and that is fair enough, then I would go in the opposite direction, and buy a Blackburn knock-off. There are some of these racks out there that have been beefed up with heavier wire, and given that they were reliable initially, are well up to it today. Racks can be a real weak point in bikes where the miles add up. But most cyclists do not even do a trans-am equivalent, and these racks will hold up to many thousands of miles of not over-loaded use. The other trick is to buy them from a reputable supplier, like MEC whose name is on the product. Places like REI, and Nashbar have done similar.

http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Cycling/PanniersBagsRacks/Racks/PRD~1805-092/mec-seatstay-rear-cycling-rack.jsp

I don't know that the racks pictured have oversize wire, but some I have handled in the store in the past did. Normally these days the wire is sized to the standard 3/8" fittings, which means a huge increase in strength and stiffness over the wire size in the original racks.

Reading through some of the comments one hears negatives like that the rack is too short, and that it can require some customization to get it on. These problems are typical of racks in general, and of the Blackburn itself. Even the premium racks north of 100 dollars are normally too short. Racks are rarely perfect. Many of the really nice ones are too heavy. But you can get upgrades on the performance that set the standard, without having to spend a lot for it.

Top tier for heavy loads is Thorn, whose rear rack weighs 850g and is rated to carry 60kg when attached with 6mm bolts or 40kg with 5mm bolts. You'll probably have to buy a Thorn frame to get support for 6mm bolts, however. The sturdiest Tubus rear rack weighs weighs 610g and is rated to carry 40kg max. Surly rear rack weighs 1110g and is rated to carry 36kg max. Not that it matters to the OP, since he isn't interested in paying top dollar. Of course, the weight ratings are by the manufacturers, so you can't really rely on them for comparisons. However, there is no doubt in my mind that the Thorn rear rack with 6mm bolts is the sturdiest of the 3 rear racks listed. It's also the widest at the top, and has no front lip to get in the way, and thus is best for duffle bags (for foam pads and synthetic sleeping bags and other lightweight but bulky items) attached lengthwise to the top of the rack.

Obviously, 60kg is an enormous load for the rear rack alone. BUT, capacities should be reduced by 50% if traveling on rugged dirt roads with washboarding, which causes thousands of bounces per day, which will destroy racks very quickly if they are too heavily loaded. So now the max capacity of the Thorn racks is only 30kg, which isn't that much for us desert travelers hauling 20L of water, 7kg of food, camping gear for sub-freezing temperatures, a full repair kit including spare tire, etc, even if we split the load between front and rear racks. The Tubus and Surly capacities should also be reduced by 50% for rugged roads, down to 20kg or so, and that isn't much at all.

A category, sub divide .. Aluminum, solid or tube,?, or steel usually tube is used.

have a material preference?


Trek/Bontrager, and Tubus Logo, are functionally similar, but
the material is different..

I use Front Panniers all the time, around town, so that is a good
1st buy..

+1 - Try a lowrider front rack w/ panniers first. For hotel (credit card) touring, that's all you should need. If you still need more storage room, try a handlebar bag or get one of the inexpensive rear racks mentioned here for a racktop bag.

And for someone riding a 62cm frame it'll get weight off the rear wheel. It seems that the frame is just flexible enough(with my 220lbs) that a wide rear rack and far aft pannier position can set up high speed wobblies riding with one hand and for out of the saddle riding it's way wobbly compared to stiffer touring bikes. Fixed the handling problem with a narrow Axiom rack and front mini rack. It's my commuter bike, for any medium weight touring load I'd go straight to low riders and strap dry bags to the Streamliner rear rack.

Hotel tours (I call that credit card touring) can be done quite well with some of the larger rack top bags that have zip-out small pannier like bags that hang on the sides of the rack. For that you want a rack that has a fairly wide platform. For the light weight for such touring, a cheap rack will probably do quite well.

For loaded touring, I am sold on the racks that mount the panniers slightly lower. I used a Tubus Logo EVO for a two week trip this past July and I am sold on that rack, but that rack has a very narrow platform that would not work well with a racktop bag.

Bottom line - I think you should buy what you need for credit card touring and later buy what you need when you start carrying camping gear. There are some racks that can carry a lot of weight like the Surly Nice rear rack that also has a wide platform, so if you really want to make sure that your one rack will serve all needs, then look for a rack like that.

Since a one night motel stay will cost almost as much as a really good rack, maybe plan on one less night in a motel and use the savings to buy some better gear? For around town, I use a different rack than I use for loaded touring.

Strong. Cheap. Light. Pick two.

If you have the time to be patient, you might be able to pick up a used good rack on eBay, CrazyGuy, or here. Usually go for about 1/2 of retail and the racks are usually in great condition.

My advice is to ensure the racks and packs mate well. Some racks mate to certain bags better than others.

Top tier for heavy loads is Thorn, whose rear rack weighs 850g and is rated to carry 60kg when attached with 6mm bolts or 40kg with 5mm bolts. You'll probably have to buy a Thorn frame to get support for 6mm bolts, however. The sturdiest Tubus rear rack weighs weighs 610g and is rated to carry 40kg max. Surly rear rack weighs 1110g and is rated to carry 36kg max. Not that it matters to the OP, since he isn't interested in paying top dollar. Of course, the weight ratings are by the manufacturers, so you can't really rely on them for comparisons. However, there is no doubt in my mind that the Thorn rear rack with 6mm bolts is the sturdiest of the 3 rear racks listed. It's also the widest at the top, and has no front lip to get in the way, and thus is best for duffle bags (for foam pads and synthetic sleeping bags and other lightweight but bulky items) attached lengthwise to the top of the rack.

Obviously, 60kg is an enormous load for the rear rack alone. BUT, capacities should be reduced by 50% if traveling on rugged dirt roads with washboarding, which causes thousands of bounces per day, which will destroy racks very quickly if they are too heavily loaded. So now the max capacity of the Thorn racks is only 30kg, which isn't that much for us desert travelers hauling 20L of water, 7kg of food, camping gear for sub-freezing temperatures, a full repair kit including spare tire, etc, even if we split the load between front and rear racks. The Tubus and Surly capacities should also be reduced by 50% for rugged roads, down to 20kg or so, and that isn't much at all.

just FYS (for your statistics), but the TUBUS airy weights 233g and supports 30kg (or more than 100x its weight). titanium.

Wow! I've been off-line thanks to Hurricane Sandy; but I'm catching up. My take away so far is:
- consider low ride front racks b/c a 210 lbs. man on a 62cm bike already loads the rear wheel heavily. However the bike does feel balance for and aft when I ride it unloaded.
- longer rear racks will allow me to shift panniers rear-ward to help clear my heels but amplify the rear loading problem.

@robo, thanks for the link that is a nice collection of rack stats.

Besides the terrific durability and stability, the thing I like most about my SS Tubus is the SS. It looks perfect all the time. Two positives about rear rack only: lighter weight and less wind resistance. Both are very noticeable. As far as handling goes, try carrying less weight. Not too hard to get the whole load down to 20, including rack and panniers.

We've toured with a number of different racks....Tubus Cargo, Surly Nice Racks, Velo-Orange racks, Jannd Expedition and in the end they all worked fine...

I would say the best value per buck are Axiom racks (sub $40). We are using their racks at the moment and have been really happy with them. Inexpensive and they have tubular stays so they aren't all floppy as well as high weight ratings....and if they do break, you're not out $200 for a Tubus.

Russ
www.pathlesspedaled.com



I'm new to this forum and bicycle touring. I've been researching rear racks and have developed analysis-paralysis. My initial tours will likely be hotel tours but I don't want to buy something that won't support a heavier camping load-out.

Tubus looks like the top tier, but I don't want to spend that much cash. There are a bunch of second tier racks but I don't know which ones are quality.

I have a 62cm Surly Cross Check (so shorter chainstay) and size 14 feet.

My key concerns are:
- cost
- heel clearance
- quality

Thanks, Nik.

Besides the terrific durability and stability, the thing I like most about my SS Tubus is the SS. It looks perfect all the time. Two positives about rear rack only: lighter weight and less wind resistance. Both are very noticeable. As far as handling goes, try carrying less weight. Not too hard to get the whole load down to 20, including rack and panniers.

Rear rack only also adds somewhat to visibility. Nothing like a large hind end to get someone's attention. (I think there's a rap song about that, but I would likely get banned if I linked to the video.)

However, in the case of the OP, the downsides of rear-only likely outweigh the upsides. He will have to mount his panniers very far aft to clear his heels, especially if he wears anything with a heel cushion to ride in (I wear size 15, so I have a bit of experience with heel clearance issues). That behind-the-axle loading will seriously destabilize the bike, especially going up or down hills.

Maybe the best solution is one of the rack top bags recommended by Tourist in MSN with the idea that capacity can be added with low-riders in the future.

Wow! I've been off-line thanks to Hurricane Sandy; but I'm catching up. My take away so far is:
- consider low ride front racks b/c a 210 lbs. man on a 62cm bike already loads the rear wheel heavily. However the bike does feel balance for and aft when I ride it unloaded.
- longer rear racks will allow me to shift panniers rear-ward to help clear my heels but amplify the rear loading problem.

@robo, thanks for the link that is a nice collection of rack stats.

The bike IS balanced fore aft unloaded, it's a cyclocross bike that handles well being tossed around and shifting body weight back when descending rough terrain. Once you toss 25lbs behind the rear axle or far outboard things get funky. The type of panniers you get can address heel strike instead of relying on a long rear rack.
I can't find the Axiom Streeamliner DLX on their website but it still looks available elsewhere.
I tried a Topeak Super Tourist, Tubus Cargo, Tubus Logo and Axiom StreamLinerDLX on the Cross-Check and like the StreamlinerDLX the best. It's the old Streamliner not the Road or disc version with the forward cantilevered piece at the bottom.

http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222352162/448/Axiom-Streamliner-DLX-Rear.html?gclid=CKSG2pKqq7MCFUid4AoduDsA9w

It mounts straight down without the cantilever business of the existing Streamliner series. I had to use conventional flat ss. straps for the seat stay mounts in order to clear the fenders since the stock fittings hang so low. This rack feeis stiffer than a Tubus Cargo that costs 5 times as much. The distance between the rack and seat stays is very close so it's solid. Get some Ortlieb Front Panniers and you can mount them fairly far back for light loads and if you want to carry a heavier load carry them on low riders with tent or whatever on the rear rack.

Or... You may find that one of these frame bags can carry all you need for hotel touring.


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

https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.catalog&CategoryID=1&ProductID=5

I bet the large Tangle frame bag is all you'd need for hotel touring

I'm also using this rack in the front for heavy loads like an 24 pack of beer, it can also take panniers like the Ortliebs where the hooks can be adjusted. The Cross-Check can handle heavy loads on the front wheel with less deleterious handling than the rear, I don't think it's just because it forces you to keep both hands on the bars as much as the weight is closer to your control than off the rear wheel.

http://store.velo-orange.com/index.php/accessories/racks-decaleurs/racks/vo-constructeur-front-rack.html

just FYS (for your statistics), but the TUBUS airy weights 233g and supports 30kg (or more than 100x its weight). titanium.

That would be 15kg on rugged roads and even that is dubious. What is needed in a rack is stiffness, not static strength. A rack which flexes is much more likely to break than one which is stiff. Or the attachment bolts will break from all the flexing. A thin titanium tube can be half the weight but the same strength as a thicker steel tube, but the titanium tube will not have the same stiffness as the thicker steel tube. Also, titanium will lose much of its strength if impurities are introduced, either during smelting or welding. For aviation purposes, titanium is also accompanied by a bill of provenance, stating who the smelter was and then there are all sorts of quality control checks during welding. Doubtful whether this sort of quality-control is done with bicycle racks (or titanium bicycles, for that matter). Anything cheap made of titanium (Tubus racks are cheap by aviation standards) can be assumed to be made with titanium that was rejected by the aviation industry. Junk titanium, in other words. Fine for solid objects like tent stakes, sporks and whatnot and also for objects with non-critical welds, such as the spot weld for attaching a handle to a camping pot, but dubious for something like racks and bicycles.

The Tubus Airy is also too small to use Ortlieb back-roller plus pannier, and too small for my rack bag. Obviously, you can save weight by making something very small. All things being equal, a bike for a child is much lighter weight than a bike for an adult. And?

Finally, people worry to much about corrosion on bike racks and not enough about abrasion. Those Ortlieb panniers will eventually abrade the metal due to constant rubbing, whether the metal is steel, titanium or aluminum. In other words, I would expect to replace a rack every 50,000 miles or so of hard use (that would be 10 years at my rate of dirt road touring). The need to replace racks eventually due to abrasion is a very good reason NOT to get a Silk road bike, which has the rack as an integral part of the frame.

Don't be too overwhelmed. I have a Blackburn EX-1, had it for 4 years, groceries, loaded tours, as much firewood as can handle in a cargo net, 2 medium pumpkins, gravel roads, singletrack. Its fine. Remember this: whatever rack you choose will still only be held on by two stainless steel M5 bolts. Working in a shop for 9 years, I have seen only 2 racks break in a heavy commuting area, and these were rugged commuters carrying books and everything else on only the cheapest racks, probably doubling the weight listed.

I bit the bullet and bought a Tubus Cargo for my touring bike and don't regret it. You can buy Tubus racks much cheaper on-line from British shops such as Wiggle or Probikekit, often with free shipping. I also have some cheaper racks, but here are the Tubus advantages:

-- Very strong and well made with high weight loads.
-- Relatively light weight, particularly considering the strength.
-- Designed with adaptability to fit just about any frame.
-- Fit Ortlieb panniers perfectly, which are also topnotch.

That said, I recently bought a Planet Bike Koko rack for commuting, and it is an excellent value for the money (about $30). It won't hold as much weight as the Tubus and is heavier, but a very solid rack for the money. For loaded touring, however, I would spend the extra money on a Tubus.

Tubus is also available at good prices from cyclocamping.com. An excellent rack, but not at the level of the more expensive (especially with shipping) Thorn rack for truly heavy loads.

That would be 15kg on rugged roads and even that is dubious. What is needed in a rack is stiffness, not static strength. A rack which flexes is much more likely to break than one which is stiff. Or the attachment bolts will break from all the flexing. A thin titanium tube can be half the weight but the same strength as a thicker steel tube, but the titanium tube will not have the same stiffness as the thicker steel tube.

I'm not sure where you get this notion that the stated weight limit of the rack is only for loads on an even surface, let alone that you have to halve it for dirt. I've used a bunch of racks and found their ratings to be very conservative. I've ridden on racks (all 180 pounds of me) that were rated for 40 pounds.

I've only broken one rack, and that was rated for fifteen pounds. I had it loaded up with maybe 40 pounds of groceries, and was taking a single-track shortcut back from the store. It wasn't the first time I had done that either.

I think you're being overly conservative with your estimations; I would have no trouble trusting an Airy with 30 kg on rough roads. I would feel pretty confident in it's strength even if it were overloaded.

As far as rack stiffness and strength, stiffness is usually in proportion to a tubes outer diameter, rather than wall thickness. That was why Blackburn made the move to tubular aluminium racks (and why so many people followed them.

...I would have no trouble trusting an Airy with 30 kg on rough roads. I would feel pretty confident in it's strength even if it were overloaded. ...

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Though who knows, maybe the Airy is strong simply because it is so small. Too small for Ortlieb rear back roller plus panniers (according to cyclocamping.com) and also too small for my rack bag. Small size is sufficient reason for me to rule it out.

Thanks All, for the comments. I'm leaning toward the Jandd Expedition. Looks like a quality mid-priced rack with the added value of move the bags rearward. I'm really worried about my size 14 feet on the Surly CC. I also found, and like the look of the, Racktime Tour-It but can't find a re-seller.

Thanks All, for the comments. I'm leaning toward the Jandd Expedition. Looks like a quality mid-priced rack with the added value of move the bags rearward. I'm really worried about my size 14 feet on the Surly CC. I also found, and like the look of the, Racktime Tour-It but can't find a re-seller.


For some reason you sound committed to a heavy rear load carrying capability using panniers when there are many reasons to not do so starting with your intended use, heel strike and the bikes design.

@LeeG, I'm not committed to a heavy load but with the Jandd I have the option. Of course I would put on a front rack before overloading the rear.

I started out with an inexpensive Blackburn rack on my 2005 Sirrus commuter. When I decided to try a tour on the same bike and started investigating panniers, I was pretty surprised by the total weight of most popular rack+panniers combinations. I know a few ounces here and there isn't a big deal for touring, but go look at the weight of one of those Jandd racks and Ortlieb panniers--not exactly negligible. So I went the opposite direction: Tubus Fly and Lone Peak "King's Peak" panniers. This saved me something like a kilogram, I have no heel-strike issues with US shoe size 12 1/2 (on a Sirrus no less!), and the rack is rated to 18 kg. If I need to carry more than that, I'll want the extra weight on the front wheel anyway.

This combo worked just fine for a four-day trip on the Olympic Discovery Trail, including a couple nights of camping. Clearly, if you're looking at a trans-america ride, or bike trekking in Mongolia or something, your requirements may differ. But I've been very pleased so far that I started out simple.

You can get a Racktime at REI.Com. I got the Add It for around $60.00. I really like it for it's strength, size and side rails.

Adding a few points not already mentioned or considered -

if heal strike is an issue, your target group of rear racks may be limited. The tubus logo (ss: cosmo) gets things far away offering a high and low position. Not aware of another rack that can help with a short chainstay (context is a cyclocross bike?) issue for someone surely with 45+ shoes if a 62cm frame.

Warranty: Tubus has anyone else near ? 25 years, first 3 years with the special support.

Going front racks, while possible, does have some differences. You've got more inertia for moving the handlebar quickly. You lose traction potential when climbing off road. It's harder to pick up the front wheel to clear a curb. But it can steady the bike, maybe there's a drag disadvantage, etc. You will go over the bars easier if that's a risk, and destroy the typical racks with the side/side brace in process.

I decided to go:

Axiom Streamliner DLX on the rear, without the funny lower bracket of the "Road DLX":
http://tinyurl.com/d9bkud7

Blackburn nock-off on the front
http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_167572_-1___

With Axiom Seymour DLX 30 Pannier Set bags:
http://www.amazon.com/Axiom-Seymour-Pannier-Grey-Black/dp/B009P3KQNO

Since, the front rack hasn't arrived yet I mounted the rear on my Surly Cross Check. Stuffed the panniers and mounted those. Went for a ride.

Wam! Heel strike.

My long term plan is to run bags in the front, but I would like the option to put a small (15L) bag on the rear without making contact.

I'm thinking I need to return this rack because I won't be able to make a decent lower bracket to push it back because the rack only has one bolt hole at the bottom and wouldn't be stable.

Any ideas?

-Nick

Ortlieb Panniers can be adjusted so they tilt back at the bottom and away from your foot. I don't know if that is enough to overcome your heelstrike issue. You probably need a bike with longer chainstays.

Another approach.
MTB type panniers are narrower and higher, intended for bikes with shorter chainstays and will eliminate heelstrike issues.
Using those front and back will probably let you carry more than you can comfortably pedal - let alone use. So suggest you quantify exactly what you feel you need or want to pack, use that to decide what bags would be suitable, and then look for a rack / bag combination that'll work well together.

Any ideas?

JandD Expedition rack + small bags, preferably ones with the lower front corner rounded off. Ortlieb rollers are made this way. However, be forewarned that placing lots of weight far rearwards tends to result in poor handling, perhaps shimmy.

A BoB or Burley trailer is another solution.

The best solution is to use a touring frame with longer chainstays; a LHT would yield an extra 35mm over the XC. Your large size almost dictates you need to start saving for a new frameset.

Ortlieb Panniers can be adjusted so they tilt back at the bottom and away from your foot...

Only a few Ortlieb bags can tilt for more heel clearance - most cannot. The bags you'd choose for touring do not tilt.

It is possible to disassemble the mount assembly, cut new holes, patch the old holes, and reattach the mount assembly at a new location that would yield more heel clearance, but few would choose to undertake this modification.

I wrote up a short review about the Racktime Addit, which is what I use on my Cross Check. Don't look for any other info on the site though, because this blog is brand new (started just two days ago) and that is the only post so far.

http://roamblog.blogspot.com/

I don't have any heel strike issues with the Addit and a pair of Jandd Mini Mountain panniers, but I have size 11 feet, not size 14. I also had to make some modifications to get the panniers to fit the rack, as described in the blog post.

Beyond that, I'd say some good advice has been given here already. I agree that the CC is a bit squirrely with a rear-oriented load. So, front panniers coupled with a dry bag strapped to the top of a rear rack is a good way to go. It would also solve your heel strike issues. Unfortunately for me, Surly did not include mid-fork eyelets back in 2007 when I got my Check, so I'd have to scrape the money together for an Old Man Mountain if I wanted front loading capacity.

Solid aluminum rod racks are easier to make, so cheaper, china makes copies of the 70's blackburn racks , now..

Do you have A Bike Shop to see things ? and hold them in your hands? talk to the people that work there..

Tubus and Bruce Gordon Use Chromoly Steel tubing, the use life is as long as yours will be..

my BG racks are 30 years old, other than worn powdercoat, like new.



I'm thinking I need to return this rack because I won't be able to make a decent lower bracket to push it back because the rack only has one bolt hole at the bottom and wouldn't be stable.

Any ideas?

though there ia only one eyelet on the frame, I expect
i could figure out how to arrange the further setback. if it were in front of me..

but I cannot describe how, otherwise.. sight unseen..


In Annapolis MD is the Velo Orange Company,
you could take yourself & the bike there..

most just place web orders from them..

Have you thought about ditching the rack and going with a seat bag like the Caradice Long Flap Nelson or Camping bag. They are right up your alley for credit card touring. They are nice looking, tough, hold a significant amount, are used by a few for longer trips, and there is no heel strike. You can also mount a small support rack to your seat post if you plan on filling the bag heavy. I use Caradice Super C panniers and love them. As suggested above check Wiggle or Probikekit for better pricing and shipping deals. I bought mine from Wiggle for much less than I could ever get them here, and got free shipping.

.

Any ideas?

-Nick

Yeah, size 14 feet and rear panniers on a CrossCheck doesn't make sense, that's what I said 5months ago. Put the panniers on the front and put anything on the rear on top of a platform rack. That said the Streamliner is still a worthwhile rack for small (not tall) panniers but those are hard to find. Getting a rear rack and pannier combo that sets a lot of weight far behind the rear wheel is not a good idea, the CrossCheck isn't designed for it even if you can configure it.
The steering on the Cross Check will handle very slowly with panniers on the front forks but it'll be better than piling panniers behind the rear axle.
If you don't want the Streamliner rear rack get the cheapest rear rack and only put stuff on top, no panniers.
the local bike shop had some Trek Bontrager panniers that were a lot shorter than the average panniers but I can't find them on their website and they were expensive.

if you are doing credit card touring get the large Revelate Tangle frame bag and you won't need any racks. Seriously what you have with a 62cm frame is a lot of acreage in the frame triangle other folks don't get. Why put weight outside the center of the bike when you can put it there?


https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.catalog&CategoryID=1&ProductID=5

Lifetime guaranties are not allowed according to
the German law. Nevertheless, 30 year warrantys are
promised.
A Tubus carrier will not break down easily, it‘s tubes
are made out of high-tensile Cromolly that can handle
even the most extreme conditions.
And what if it doesn’t? You send us a notification with
your claim of a broken carriertube and we send you a
replacement carrier by express shipment for free the
same day.
This guaranty goes for anywhere worldwide for the
first 3 years of owning your product.
We call this our mobile guarantee. It is granted for
every registered customer.
(detailed guarantee information can be found on our
webpage or on the mounting instructions)

Not much of anything for any purpose has a warranty close to what Tubus offers.:thumb:

@LeeG, I do plan to follow your advice and won't load the rear while touring; BUT I would like the option to drop a small pannier on the rear for around town when I don't have front rack mounted.

@surfjimc, I hadn't seen that before. Not sure its for me, but an interesting idea.