Were the 'flat deck' Blackburn racks made when Mr. Blackburn still owned the company? I've had a couple of them over the years, and, although I'm not a long-distance tourist, for a utility, day- or credit-card-touring bike, they'd always be on my list. And I sure wouldn't kick one off of a bike that already had one one it.

Solid, well built stuff. The only ones I've seen broken were crashed or otherwise brutalized. (And not many of those.) And, if the one on the Fuji is typical of the breed, they take powder coat pretty well, too. Which does not suck.

Tailwinds, Mr. Blackburn. There's a lot of bikes out there that have been made better by something you made.

--Shannon