Anybody have a good recommendation for a front rack compatible with a Surly Pacer? Due to the geometry of the frame, I'd rather get a front rack/basket combo than be kicking rear panniers with my heel. My OEM steel fork doesn't have mid-fork eyelets, which the LHT, CC, and Straggler come with. Any suggestions or recommendations would be very helpful!

Soma Lucas front rack is ideal for baskets:



(There's an older version of this rack that doesn't have that mid-fork strut. You need a hole in the fork crown and bosses on the drop outs to mount it.)

Beautiful, thanks! That looks like the ideal setup I was looking for. What basket is that?

Also, this is the setup at the hole in the fork crown. Apologies for my amateur question, but would I need to remove the brake calipers to get the support bracket in there? lol!

Wald 137. I have had the bigger Wald 139 on there, but I found I didn't need that much capacity, so went back to the 137.

Maybe. Somehow you need to attach that strut/tang to the fork crown. Over or under the brake, maybe to the rear of the fork.

Another pic:

Ah ok, looks like maybe it could reach around and attach to the back of the fork. That would be ideal. Thanks again!!

Old blackburn rack.
it fits exactly the same as the soma. You may have to bend the strap a bit to get around the brake. I'd go over the top of the caliper. This will entail removing and replacing the brake but its not that difficult.

Thanks, also looks like a good option! Would either of these racks have the capacity to hold the weight of an average grocery bag? Also, how do you mount the baskets, are they permanently zip-tied or can they be removed? Ideally I'd be able to take the basket off occasionally to do some cruising.

I went with the Soma/Wald 137 setup that Tyrion has, and like the look and simplicity of this rack and basket. Tyrion, how did you fasten your basket to the rack? I'm hoping to figure out some quick-release method rather than permanently zip-tying them together...

I'll bet bungee cords would do the trick; you can find short ones.

I got a Paul's comp flat bed rack.. years back, they work nicely ..

necro post- am facing the exact same dilemma with my surly pacer. how's the rack/basket holding up? looks really nice! do you feel like you have enough support just securing it to the fender mounts?

I'm going to ignore your question and tell you that I'm super happy with my rear-set Axiom Streamliner Road DLX rear rack on my Surly Pacer. Of note: I don't run fenders. If you already own panniers it might be a cheaper option.

EDITed to add: I see that you already got the front rack, I hope that you like it. I too am curious about a quick release mechanism for the basket as my crosscheck sports a front rack.

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