MiniVelo Touring- Rack Help Needed
 

MiniVelo Touring- Rack Help Needed

This is a cross post from the Touring forum.

Hi all,

I am helping a friend get into touring for the first time. She is wanting to tackle the Pacific Coast after she irons out some gear issues on our upcoming weekend tours. However, until now she has been using a back pack and I have been carrying the rest. She wants to get some racks and panniers for her bike.

We are both located in South Korea where mini-velos are pretty popular. However, touring is not so I am having a hard time finding suitable front and rear racks for her bike. Also, a lot of the information I have been able to find is not in English

Do any of the folder or minivelo people around here know of a product that can help us?

Also, what else would you consider doing to upgrade this bike if you were going to take it on tour? I am hopeful that we can find a set of Korean made fenders that will fit but I am just starting to research. Do you think those wheels are up to the challenge?

I am thinking she is going to need to drop her gear ratios a bit but I am not certain how best to do this because the smaller size wheels throw off everything I know about bicycle gearing.

Thanks ahead of time for all of your help!

Here is a link to the bike. There are tons of pictures so just scroll down.

http://withvelo.tistory.com/95

i got several racks ... namely Dahon but also the Pletscher rack for 20 inch bikes ....
also have sks fenders and other stuff

shipping of big bulky racks and or fenders is a pain .. but combine a couple items and it will not be all that bad

thor

The Pletscher looks like it might work but I doubt the Dahons would fit unless I am not as creative as you? The bike that she is using which I provided links to has no real rack mounts on the rear chain stay. It does have the seat tube clamp that I can probably make use of but the Dahon racks slope down and would not make it to the seat tube. Could I use the Dahon racks with hose clamps instead?

Also of note is that the bike has side pull brakes which don't look like they give much clearance for fenders. The clip on fenders that you have look like they would work though.

She will be in the US next month and can potentially order stuff from there.

Any other ideas?

Oh, would that Dahon front rack work with sidepull brakes? That would be fantastic!

for the Dahon racks you really need designated mounting points. The pletscher rack is very adjustable and can be centermounted or up and down and than some crazy ways .( u need to bend the two mounting stems, and rotate them around to your liking ) or get an extra flat centermount ...)

thor

p.s. no problem with shipping in the US to a hotel or anyhting like that ..... but keep in mind it takes one day to get the order on its way and 5 days to the west coast and 4 days to the east coast ..thats working days not counting Sat and Sun.... I get a lot of requests from folks being in LA or New York and want their bike in 2 days ... not going to happen. Its a pretty big country after all ..lol

I don't see many good ways to mount a rear rack on that frame ,
I Suggest a Bike trailer,

that solves the what bags should I buy question, also .

www.biketrailershop.com/ has a selection,

I would stay away from single wheel type .

as they torque the rear triangle of the bike.

I got one of these http://carryfreedom.com/city.html

It folds flat for transport and the bag is snap buckle removable,
and can be worn like a backpack..
probably go in the OHC .
+ you can load a small duffel bag on top of it , for additional space..

Perhaps the checked Luggage Bag.. brought with.

I'd consider ordering and having it shipped to reserved Hotel or a parcel service store in the Arrival city.

Or they have a Korean Dealer http://www.carryfreedom.co.kr/
to have already and practice riding packing and loading the combination at home.

as far as Gearing goes low ratios are small tooth count gears on the Cranks turning Big sized cogs on the back, Mountain bike cassette, they go from 12 to 34 tooth these days .

Triple crank would offer a low gear up front , But then You have the Left Brifter indexing to deal with, and not all triple front shifters work with road combination brake/shift levers and Klick in the right places.
but a compact double [50/34] offers a 34 tooth low gear cog ,
so that gives you a 1:1 gear .. multiplied by the wheel size ,
functionally like a unicycle gear ..