Large Rear Rack for LHT
 

I would like to get a rear pannier rack for a Surly LHT that will allow me to mount two sets of pannier bags. I want to put Ortlieb Front Rollers towards the front (for heel clearance reasons) and Back Rollers towards the rear. By my measurements, if I cram them together, the minimum mounting rail length I'll need is 48cm. The problem is, of all the racks I've found thus far the longest is 44cm. Furthermore, I'd like to get a steel rack for repairability purposes, or perhaps in order to do a some custom welding to modify if necessary.

I've been told a trailer might better suit my purposes, but I really don't want to deal with the issues that raises and would like to be able to put my bike on a bus and carry or stow my stuff in pannier bags. Does anyone know of a rack that would suit my use, or a custom rack maker that I could go to?

My LBS has offered to rig up an extension for a smaller rack, but I'm not all that confident that would work out if I'm carrying close to 80 LBS of gear on the rack.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Two Surly Nice Racks back to back. Attach them together using the screwhole that's meant for mounting lights. Order some extra stays and hardware and use that to attach them together.

I'm assuming you're already using front panniers?

Can I ask why you would want to do that? Besides the availability issue have you thought about handling issues with 80lbs on the rear and nothing loaded up front? That would be some shady handling IMO. Yesterday I rode home with about 50lbs of groceries in back and nothing up front and it was very slow and very nerve wrecking cause the front end wanted to go all over the place.

X-tracycle!

http://www.biketrailershop.com/catal...9alj0ff3ug9gb0

xtracycle, still won't fit in some places. . . bike friday with xtracycle? lol, I want to see that :P

awww, you beat me to it : (

Use a set of these for rear panniers!

http://www.arkel-od.com/panniers/tt8...asp?fl=1&site=

Heh yeah, problem solved. :)

I don't understand. Are you not using front panniers? If not, why not?

Think it's hard to get a bike with a front rack to fit on the front of a bus. The clamp arm just doesn't work.

Maybe the Nitto Campee rack. It has LOW low-riders and seemingly enough room above those to stack another pannier on top. Just a suggestion.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2136/...917cba16_o.jpg
http://www.velo-orange.com/niccarera.html
-Gene-

Or call Banjo Cycles in Wisconsin.

http://www.banjobicycles.com/

What you have in mind is not recommended. Basically, having weight behind the rear wheel is a bit like having the tail wag the dog.

As others have said, first and foremost go for four panniers. For maximum capacity : in front, you could well use Arkel's T-42, Dolphins-48 or GT54 panniers (without the long pocket), or Ortlieb's rear panniers; all of these will work on asphalt or good trails (i.e. not offroad) providing you don't have loose straps hanging around. In the rear, the largest panniers you can have is Arkel's TT-84.

If you need more capacity, I would suggest you pile up more stuff on the rear rack. In spite of what all pannier manufacturers suggeset, I prefer to keep the tent on top of the rack rather than in panniers. You could also attach the sleeping bag and one or two bulky items on top of that rear rack. And rather than bungee cords, use nylon straps; they make for a much steadier load.

Finally, many world tourers have no problems packing all their stuff in 4 panniers plus the tent and 1 or 2 items. If you need more, does it mean you might be carrying too much or that you are carrying stuff for the entire family? In any case, a trailer will carry that load more easily and won't be more of a problem to bring in a bus or a train.

I was starting to think my Lone Peak P-500 were big, then I saw the Arkel's --thanks. :notamused:

I've seen some pretty nice custom racks, but I can't think of any of the shops off the top of my head. They don't come cheap though.

I would second looking into getting an xtracycle. I have to admit that while I know there are several people around town with them, and that my LBS installs them, I've never seen one. But it does not seem like it would be that difficult to add/remove one unless you were planning on doing it often.

Also, I have a Tubus Cargo and Tara on my LHT, and have no troubles getting my bike on the front mounted racks on the busses around here. The bar that swings up over the front wheel fits just fine, and if anything gives me a sense of security since it would have to hop up over my rack to become disengaged. With Ortlieb Rollers front and back plus a medium Rack Pac, I can carry a lot of stuff..

I ordered the whole set (racks and bags) from wiggle.co.uk for a smidgen over 400 dollars with free shipping that had them to my door step in roughly three days. USD-GBP exchange rate was very favorable. I saved hundreds of dollars over even Wayne at the touring store. But if you have already purchased your gear, this may be of little use to you.

Yep, I've been there as well on a 42cm chainstay bike. My current bike can handle 50lbs on the rear, with 45cm chainstays. I doubt 47cm chainstays would get me much over 60lbs, and realistically at that point I shouldn't be using the bike anyway. That's a 90-95lb bike, and I can't manhandle it over curbs.

A lowrider front rack really seems like it should work with a bus. I'm not sure that the Jannd platform front rack would. I know my detachable front basket and fenders aren't a problem, tho if the basket is loaded, I take it off.

This is a horrible idea. The bike will handle very poorly.

If you are stuck on the idea of a large load entirely on the back, you will need to extend the wheelbase for handling quality to be maintained.

Or, you could use the tried and true method of front and back panniers. you could even use rear panniers on the front. Use the tubus duo racks and you should be able to mount the bike on a bus.

Why? It sounds like a bad idea to me. Do you have some special reason to carry that much in the rear? You really don't want that much behind the axle. If you really must, then consider the Extracycle.

Those Arkel TT-84s sound like way too much capacity for any trip I would want to do. Are you crossing Siberia in winter or something similarly extreme? Otherwise 4 small panniers (two front and two back) are enough for long distance touring in most conditions and locations.

I think you want a different kind of front rack, one that won't clash w/ bus mounting. Tubus duo (and, I assume, tara) works fine w/ the bus racks in my multi-county area. Hanging the load off the wayback of the bike as a recipe for disaster.

I think this is OP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cf56QTfBfk

The commentary on the web suggests that the Xtracycle might be too big to fit on a bus rack. I've decided to go with a trailer instead. Right now I'm trying to decide between the BOB Ibex or the Extrawheel.

Seems like you need one of these bikes:

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/articl...ong-haul-18873

Actually that Project Rwanda coffee bike is a pretty good deal :)

However, I kind of like the fact that I could use the LHT for mountain biking as well.

Have you checked out Jandd's largest panniers? They are huge -- nearly ten thousand cubic inches:

http://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FMEP