A friend of mine has one of these, they tend to be unstable, even with proper installation, I wouldn't recomend it for heavy loads.

The royal mail bikes here do that.
https://static.flickr.com/8/8109852_40332b24db_m.jpg
https://genetics.mgh.harvard.edu/hanczyc/jpg/market2.jpg
They are very easy to steer at low speed even when fully loaded. It might be a bit easier in really tight spots if the rack rotated with the forks. When doing tight turns with a fixed position rack the wheel is turned sideways but the rack is still jutting out forwards, effectively adds a couple of feet to the wheel base.
If you spend most of the time without a load fixing the rack to the fork makes sense.

I saw a postal bike in Paris that's a lot like that - here it is:

Hi folks, I'm the sole-owner and operator of CETMA. I make these. And this is NOT spam.









Thought I'd chime in to clear up a few things and offer an opinion or two.


First of all, 8 pounds is the weight of the Woodslat CETMArack, not the weight capacity. I hope it's clear on the website.

I really like Joel's amazing custom rack and the beautiful ANT racks, but buying either of them wouldn't do me any good because they don't fit MY bike! (Joel told me his friends at Sycip custom-made his rack for his fork).

The frame-mounted Dutch butcher bikes are an excellent idea too, but I don't want to change bikes--I like mine. The Paul Components Flatbed...$150 and it only holds 25 pounds? Nah. There's a messenger downtown (SF) that "uses" one, and he told me it sucks. It's broken, the wood slats are loose, and the headset contraption isn't practical.

I honestly think the CETMAracks are the best value for the average person. They're strong, practical, rigorously tested (fifteen SF messengers have been using them daily for a year now), universal (no shocks or really tall bikes), and CHEAP.


Additionally, there's a magazine in the UK called Velovision. It's run by a guy named Peter Eland, and showcases some REALLY cool stuff. For those looking for freight-bikes and unique carriers, check it out.

^

i'm kicking around ordering one of these in the next couple of days, it'll be perfect for what i want to use it for. has anyone used it yet?

I have a CETMA rack and love it, BTW.

Ha! Glad to hear it arrived okay and you're getting good use out of it!

My friend made a pie to bring to a new years party we were going to, so I quickly threw a front rack on my bike, and attached a piece of plywood to it. We gently placed the pie on some padding in a card board box (cut to fit the pie) and strapped the box down. Pie arrived to the party in one piece . Delicious too!

what kind of pie was it?

how much does it add to the front end? see i will be carrying i think its a 20lb tank like one of these pictured, and just want to know if its going to make for a strange road feel, and i should ditch the idea and go for something out back instead.

Peach Pecan

It's not bad at all with light loads, say >15. I carried a 20 lb box of laundry once and it was ROUGH. It was pretty wide though.. all of my turns were very.... heavy.

I have a CETMA rack on my mountain bike and I have been very happy with it. I went with the wide rack, it can do two file boxes, no problem. I don't know what Lane recomends for load capacity, but handling is fine with 30 pounds. The most weight I ever carried was 6 gallon jugs of water (about 50 pounds.) Handling wasn't great with 50 pounds on the front, but I managed just fine getting across town and going up and down some decent hills. You can strap things on much faster than with a back rack, and put a hand on anything that starts to move. Even after a few drunken crashes it is holding up great.
-James

thanks for the info, i just emailed cetma, if they're stocked and down with local pick up i'll be grabbing one of the 8 rail racks over the next couple days. if not down with local pick up, i'll be at the mercy of ups/usps and i have lost faith since i've been waiting on several things over the holiday period.

No sweat, friend. You can pick one up anytime! How's Saturday sound?

saturday sounds great. pm me when and where, and thanks in advance...


k<

thanks again lane, it was nice meeting you and your wife last night, feel free to stop by any monday night from a beer or two.

for all those that didn't know, lane met up with me and brought my rack out to me, hows that for customer service

still have a bit of tweaking to dial it in, but i like it... i like it a lot!

Hey karmical, looking good! For some reason, I love how bikes look with big front racks. Maybe it's because I know how useful they are, and useful bikes make me happy.

Where did you get those grips? There's a bike I see in downtown SF every day with the same grips, and I want a pair.

You're very welcome, sir. My pleasure!

its funny, just got a wild hair last week about needing a utility bike something i could use to get outside and to 'go for' stuff for the job, plus errands of my own, pretty good match thus far, can't wait to throw the fenders on, since its been kind of wet lately...


got the grips from these guys over in oakland-
https://www.bayareabikes.com/

Kronan makes a sweet looking front rack, that doesn't turn with the bike, weighs 1.5 pounds and looks heavy duty. I think this is what european delivery bikes use.



Kronan Cycle USA

For those interested...


Within a few days, the retail price of all CETMAracks will be increasing by twenty dollars. Additionally, they'll be better coated with enamel paint.

Shipping will still be free.