cbike

I got a new 2009 model (700c). Kind of odd but so is life. It rides nice and fast, so naturally I have to add fenders, racks and wider tires would be nice too.

Racks: The co-motion website shows the Tubus Cargo EVO rear rack as an accessory. Is the EVO model really needed or are the other model fine. Anything specific I need to worry about the rear and front rack in regards to the disk breaks? Also will racks cause issues putting the rear seat all the way down?

Fenders and Tires: Fenders are a must for me, too. With fenders can I still get wider tires. Maybe the Schwalbe Marathon 32-622?

Any tips, hints and photos are greatly appreciated.

car knocker

On our Torpedo we have a Topeak Disk Explorer rear rack. It went across the US on the bike in 2010, and a month in Europe last year,and so far no problems. Carried our stuff just fine. As for fenders we have the SKS ones,and they also work well. Our bike is 26 inch wheels, flat bars, very sutiable for ouir touring needs. I put it in two suitcases to get it to Europe,and it telescoped into a standard Amtrak bike box for our cross country tour. Hope you enjoy yours. Paul

car knocker

As far as tires, I have used Schwalbe Marathon 26x1.50 for our tours,and every day riding I have the Vittoria Radonneaur ones on.

car knocker

I imagine any rack you put on the back will get in the way of dropping the seat all the way down.In the front I use a Blackburn Mountain Front Rack,attached to the forks braze ons. Again, it has held up fine.

vrooom3440

Note that the Tubus racks are high quality stuff, much like the Co-Motion bikes, which is why that is what they carry.

There is not requirement to use a Tubus rack in particular on your Periscope. Just about any rack that is disk compatible should be good depending on your requirements.

I have been looking at the Tubus and they can be quite light and interestingly are one of the few bike racks these days made of steel. I want to be able to do bike tours someday and the extra dropped side bars are appealing to lower rear panniers.

That said I run a Topeak on my commuter along with one of their trunks with the expandable panniers. It works well for the commuting or local hauling role.

Fenders will not limit your tire sizes, frames and rims will limit your tire sizes. I would look for a rear fender with a moveable mounting though since the Periscope has a much lower angle on the seat stays than most bikes.

cbike

I called Co-Motion and their info was a bit vague as well. The one sure thing I got from them is that I'd need the longer 350mm roundstays with the Tubus rear rack.

I went ahead and got the Tubus Nova and Cosmos Along with the 35mm Planet Bike Cascadia 700c Road Fenders. Same racks and fenders I already have mounted on my and my wife's bike. Installation was a slight pain because of the disc breaks. They extend quite a bit out so I needed to make sure the racks went far enough out. I did this by using the supplied spacer's of the rack and having the fender stays attached there as well to serve as more spacers. Obviously I don't have many mile on this setup and can't comment on how well my mounting worked. The Burley hitch will probably be removed soon. I went on a family camping trip and used the trailer to haul the gear. BTW, having additional stainless steel screws available is highly suggested. They are hard to come by since my local hardware stores don't carry them and even one bicycle shop didn't have them.


Tandem (large)


Front rack (large)


Font rack close up (large)


Front rack close up (large)


Rear rack (large)


Rear rack close up (large)

cbike

Forgot to mention. The rear rack has a slight slant toward the back because of the break. Adjusting the break cable will obviously require the removal of the rack, which kind of sucks.
Oh, and I had to drill a hole for the rear fender and find a spacer to mount it on the upper fork of the rear wheel (not visible in these photos). The supplied mount won't work.

ahultin

If you use the Tubus rear rack extension kit it will move the rack up and back enough to clear the brakes for adjustment and have it level.
https://www.wiggle.com/tubus-rear-rack-extension/

cbike

First fully loaded weekend tour went fine. Something on the rear end rattled but haven't been successful figuring out what it is. The narrow front edge of the front fender does wiggle side to side in strong side wind, touching the tire a little on occasion. Otherwise the setup is solid.

Photos of the ride: https://adventurelaus.blogspot.com/20...july-ride.html

I see us getting a second tandem soon to replace the trail-a-bike.