Originally Posted by
Sullalto
Personally, I wouldn't worry about it not being a workhorse, if you're comfortable locking the bike up. How much stuff do you carry, and how much do you push it, bike handling wise, on your commute? Likely plenty of room for error there.
I commute on a road bike. It's not ideal(I wish I had longer chain stays, is pretty much the only problem. If I didn't have size 15 feet I'd likely be fine), but it works.
My commute is typically 20 minutes each way with big hills. I usually hop onto a lot of sidewalks and over mediansto avoid traffic, so I push the bike pretty hard. Without having a real point to attach the rack to the domane frame, it's probably not going to be as strong as a rack on a bike with eyelets.
Tracking on the nashbar fork says it will arrive next monday. I'll be using a spare v brake with it while testing how it changes my bike's handling, and if its ok, then I will try to spring for a shimano hydraulic set. Luckily its just the front shift lever that I would be changing, so I won't have to purchase a new 11 speed cassette and all that.