Front Rack for Twenty
 

I want to add a small amount of touring gear capacity to a Raleigh Twenty. I want to take it credit card touring using Amtrak. Rear pans are right out, especially with my size 13 shoes. I’ve heard of people putting a pannier rack on the front of a Twenty - that with small pans and a racktop would give me about the storage I’d need for some clothes and toiletries.

The only front racks for a 20” wheel that I’ve found were a Topeak that velcros to fork blades, and the Racktime TopIt. On the Topeak, I don’t like the idea of depending on velcro to bear the weight. The TopIt is not specifically designed for 20” wheels, it is meant to fit to mid-fork braze-ons on a large wheel. It‘s a sturdy rack and it should work, though I would have to fabricate brackets for the bottom to fit the front axil. (The Twenty has no eyelets.)

Other front racks that Ive found were either cargo racks, not made to hang panniers on, or attach to brake bosses, which the bike does not have.

Does anybody have suggestions for a front pannier rack for a 20” (406) wheel bike?

The only add-able eyelets that I've seen are only for mounting fenders, not a rack.

Assuming that the bicycle does have rear eyelets, can you use a rear rack, with a large backpack secured to the top of the rack as well as to the rear of the seat? I believe the user here by the name of BobbyG has posted photos of his setup on a Dahon 20" Boardwalk. Other people have secured their cargo in this manner as well.

Years ago I had a 20 and this worked for me.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f60f53d923.jpg
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So this worked for me.

Interesting idea of adding a rack to the front.

I also seem to remember that R20 and all the other variations had a OEM rack for the front. I think the shopper model came with one.

I’ll answer all here. Thanks for your advice.

Some sort of cargo fitting on the rack, like a backpack, is an idea. I wonder if the high location of the weight would be a problem?

The OEM front racks I’ve seen for Twenty, Shopper etc are wide, intended to support a shopping bag or packages, not for fitting panniers.

I suppose P-clamps would work, though I’ve only used them at rack tops, where they aren’t weight bearing. I think my idea of axle mounting will be sturdier. I pulled the trigger on the TopIt rack. I’ll post a pic once I work up the mounting.

There also is the option of a large saddle bag, like a Carradice Nelson Longflap or Carradice Camper. Those bags are designed to hang from saddles that have saddle loops, which are much less common now than decades ago. Some Brooks saddles have such loops.

That’s right, forgot about that option. I almost bought a Carradice for use on another bike, those are really classy. My Brooks B72 doesn’t have the loops, but Carradice sell bolt-on loops.

Pls do post a pic of your rack on the R20 when you mount it.

Ive made good use of my Carradice bags when I roll out of town.
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I am not sure what a B72 is. I have Brooks Conquest saddles on most of my bikes, that lacks the loops but it has springs. I run the straps through the springs for my Carradice bags.

I do not like the bag hitting my legs when my pedals are at the lowest point, so I use a stem (with appropriate shim) and a short piece of 1 inch dowel, sprayed black to hold my Carradice Pendle further back.

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Decades ago I got some of those small loops that you cited to add to a saddle frame, I was not very happy with them, they have tiny little screws and they would slide on the steel rod on the frame. No longer use them. But maybe you will have better luck than I had.

I have owned a Nelson Longflap for years. A few months ago when the US Dollar was really strong, I tried to figure out what I might want to order from Europe to have later, bought the Carradice Camper at that time but have not used it yet.

If you use a Carradice bag, I added a sheet of cardboard inside it to give it better structure, that worked so well that later I cut a piece of Corroplast to use instead, that is the white inside the bag in the photo below. It is just bent in a U shape inside the bag, not physically attached. It gives the bag much better shape and when mostly empty it does not hang down like an empty pillow sack.

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The B72 was a four wire saddle with little pigtails in the four wires. It gave the saddle a little springing action, but not much. These were factory installed in Sports up to around 1970, and on Superbes a little longer than that. At some point Raleigh fitted full spring B66 or B66S on Superbes. The B72 is my personal favorite. Photo below. It was discontinued sometime after 2000.

I like that stem idea to keep the saddle bag away from the legs. It never bothered me, I guess my saddle bags only touched a little. But it could be used to mount accessories on a seatpost, maybe a handlebar bag? I'll keep it in mind.

I used a Topeak handlebar bag on a major tour last year. The plastic reinforcing failed early into the trip, the bag took to sagging badly, and it was on a recumbent so the bag drooped onto my legs. I went to a hardware store and found a couple of mending plates to create reinforcing bars. Other than the droop, I really liked the bag, so after I got home, I ordered some 6061 plate and made an aluminum clone of the plastic reinforecement.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ec9769e50.jpeg

Carradice also makes some saddle bag supports, but I have not tried any of them. They do not look robust enough to me.

Someone on the touring forum has used a stem and a short piece of handlebar stub to mount a handlebar bag on a seatpost, so it is not a new invention.

My road bike has a Brooks Pro, and I previously mentioned I did not like the little loops that can be added to a saddle. So, I got creative, photo below. The aluminum rod is 5/16 inch diameter, that is strong enough for the light weight in a Pendle bag, but would not be strong enough for the larger bags if you had them full for a credit card tour. In this case I used a 17 degree stem so the stem is horizontal.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d370fd6546.jpg

I have several Louis Garneau handlebar bags that I bought years ago, the plastic in them to give them shape is very flexable. Initially I tried using 1/8 X 3/4 inch Aluminum bar as a reinforcing, but that was not strong enough, it would bend and eventually crack. Later found that 1.5 inch wide and 1/8 inch thick bar was adequate for my handlebar bags for reinforcing but it took a few years to get that figured out. I put a bit of inner tube rubber over the aluminum in the front where the bag sits on it to reduce chaffing.

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Those sheet steel book ends that you can buy to keep your books upright on a shelf, I have seen photos of people using those to support a handlebar bag too.

On the Twenty, you could also get a Racktime (or even the original Pletscher) and stick two saddlebags like a Carradice Nelson on the rack longitudinally. The load would be higher but not in as much of the area for heel strikes on panniers. I might do this myself come to think of it…

Don’t write off using a rear rack just yet with panniers. Have a look at the Blackburn Grid racks - while they’re designed for a full sized wheel they also shift the centre of the rack backwards and the mounting hardware is adjustable enough to work with the lower bolts on a folding bike’s seat stays. While my feet aren’t as large as yours I can manage a pair of large 26l Carradice Super C rear panniers on that setup, so potentially smaller panniers could work for you?

Otherwise, it’s another vote for a saddle bag from me. Depending on the size of your bag and the handlebars you use, you might also be able use it as a bar bag instead if hanging it off your saddle doesn’t work for you.

I fit the Racktime TopIt, pic attached. I made the adapter plates from 1/16” 6061. It seems sturdy enough, but I’m concerned that the load vector is perpendicular to the adapter plate. I might add a bumper of some sort, to put more load on the fork.


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Twenty
 

You have a complicated load path. My concern would be small rotations/movements that scratch the paint.