panniers on a cx bike
 

my bike (56cm cannondale) has a chainstay length of 17", which is 1" shorter than the touring version's chainstay length. i want to get a rack and panniers and am trying to decide between the blackburn ex-1 and the jandd racks. the jandd allows for more heel clearance, but is more expensive (the blackburn is readily avail used). if it is necessary with my frame geometry i will get the jandd, but id rather spend less on the blackburn and have money left over for better panniers. will the blackburn work for me? also which is a better rack in general?

panniers suggestions? i like vaude i think...

I would go with the Jandd rack if your going to carry over 40 lbs in your bags. Jandd has a rack that is wider and longer then Blackburn. With the longer rack you can place the bags farther back on the rack. The Blackburn will work, but I have broken three before I put the Jandd on my bike.

wow, three?? i thought the specs were the same for both..

The broken racks are from my tandem, and to be completly honest they are overloaded when on tour. So I don't try to return them for warrenty. Jandd and Blackburn both have a 40 pound rating. When loaded our bags are almost twice that :) When the Jannd rack dies I'm thinking of getting a Tubus rack. The Tubus racks are made of 4130 steel. And should last longer.

the specs are the same! (i checked). same 6061 t-6 aluminum. and the blackburn design uses 4 supports on either side while the jandd has only three. and they both max at 40lbs.

my question was more along the lines of, will panniers on the blackburn not give enough heel clearance on my cross bike with a 17" chainstay?

There are too many variables for anyone other than you to be able to answer. How big are your shoes? How long are your cranks? How far behind the axle is the rack eyelet on your dropouts? How big are the panniers and are they made with a "bevel" on the front bottom corner to create more heel clearance?

You, on the other hand, with the aid of a tape measure, the bike, your shoes, and the manufacturers' data for the rack and panniers, should be able to figure it out.

RichC

Maybe you should start from the pannier and figure out where you need the rack to be.
Try and get a pannier with movable hooks. The rack-hooks on carradice panniers are bolted to a aluminium rail riveted to the bag, so can be placed anywhere.
You should definately look fo a model with a heel cutout.

i bought a jandd rack which sets the paniers further back than blackburns. i am still searching for some affordable panniers (hopefully used).