Originally Posted by
Brian25
looks like a fun project. Unfortunately Racks will not make the bike any stiffer. I doubt that a bike like that would turn into a flex noodle once you add panniers and load.
That's good to hear. Curious as to what makes you think the bike will not be flexy? Is it something you see or something I mentioned, or something you know about Kuwahara frames?
Originally Posted by
Brian25
I would highly recommend some type of "hands on" type of shifter upgrade. Going from downtube shifters to stem shifters would not be much of an upgrade. ( you still will have to ride one handed when shifting, so shifting when you are off of the saddle will still not be possible).
Off the saddle with a crap monkey dancing on the burley ride behind makes things even worse, trust me, I have experience with that. Ha!
With our set up and pulling young kids around the ability to shift with both hands firmly on the bars was one of my top concerns. Fortunately the way the butterfly bars sit when my hands are on the rear part of the bars I will be easily able to reach the shifters with my thumbs or pointer finger (This was actually the first thing I rough tested with the butterfly bars in position sitting loosely on top of the drop bars/stem.)