Originally Posted by
bwgride
Older thread on this topic:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/482881
I have since removed the rear rack on front because I found that when riding slowly up steep inclines with 15 or 20 lbs a wobble in the rack would begin with side-to-side play; this made steering difficult. However, at speeds faster speeds the rack handled well; never an issue with downhill rides. As noted earlier, I now use the Blackburn MTB front rack which seems to be very stable.
Thanks for the link to the older thread. I did try searching on this topic before I posted, but the phrase "use rear rack on front" got a lot of unrelated hits in the touring forum alone.
This older post got a lot of safety warnings about using a rear rack on the front. Like the OP, I understand this is not an optimal set up and I would not load it up.
I will likely take Bill up on the offer of trying his rear rack out and see how that goes. I really appreciate all the responses here. Specifically that MEC front rack looks like a good inexpensive option as well.