Hello List!

can I mount a rear-rack as a front rack?
more specifically: mount a RackTime Add-it rack on the fork of a Surly Ogre?

rider's weight is more on the rear wheel (at least in the Ogre) so I guess it is more natural to place the panniers on the front wheel.
but this is going to be my first trip with a front rack so I would like to be able to switch everything back to to rear wheel in case something goes wrong.

TIA for your comments!

Ogre uses a standard 100mm fork, right?

If so, there will be some fiddling involved. Your rack will likely be spaced for the 135 rear dropouts.

I can't keep track of the all the changes Surly makes each year, are the Ogre forks designed for rear rack mounting. If I was going to try to mount a rear rack on the front, I would look at Old Man Mountain racks that attach at the cantilever posts instead of rack mounts on the seat stays.

Realistically, I do not know if you can get a rear rack on the front and have the part of the rack that is supposed to be horizontal actually be horizontal.

Rob_E makes a very good point about width of bottom of rack. If most rear racks are designed for 130/135mm spacing, to put that on a fork for a 100mm spacing means that you are squeezing the rack down by over an inch. You might be stressing the rack more if you have it bent out of the shape it is supposed to be in.

I'd get the monster Surly front rack that fits the Ogre. You'll have no problem mounting a rear pannier or as much as you'd ever want.

I tried combining two images. It isn't completely accurate but it gives you a general sense of how it might go. Rear racks on the front tend to work pretty well if you have an extra set of eyelets in front of the dropout. Maybe you could bend or otherwise modify it to work, but maybe not. There's a crosspiece almost exactly where you need to bend it, unfortunately. It would make a cool front rack though. I don't know if it would clear a 2.1" 29er, I guessed the scale, but if you resized it a bit in ether direction the same issues remain. Note that the legs are attached to the platform with chunky bridges instead of welds which reduces clearance.

Couple things to consider. First, a rear rack may put the weight of your load too far forward, making the steering unstable. Second, bikes are designed to have more weight on the rear than the front, so adding all the additional weight up front actually unbalances the load distribution. Ideally, you want to maintain the roughly 60/40 weight distribution.

Also, a short test ride is advisable before you commit to the setup.

+1. Or go for the Racktime Topit.

Why not use a rack designed for the front?

Your ability ? Unknown , you can try, without my permission,

.. but as the others said, Why not just Buy and use the rack designed to go on the fork?

One thing to consider is that if you're not going to use the top of the rack, some lowrider racks would likely put the panniers a little lower, which might improve the ride, and they will likely weigh less. And if you get a decent rack, and you hate it, it will probably be easy to resell. I enjoy my platform rack, but I've often thought that for as little as I actually use the platform, maybe lowriders would make more sense.

Also keep in mind that whatever hack you do to make the rack work, it might decrease its ability to handle a full load. If all your gear is going to be supported by that rack, maybe you don't want a hacked together solution.

I tend to put the bulk of my gear on the front rack (Old Man Mountain Cold Springs), but if I only had a rear rack at my disposal, I would carry my gear in the back. Another thing you might do in the interest of balancing the load is look for something to strap on the the handlebars. Lots of solutions for carrying a dry bag/compression sack on the handlebars out there, but the cheapest way is a couple of straps. Maybe add some padding so you don't wear through your bag. Then you move some weight from the rear to the front, while leaving the rack where it's most stable.

You should definitely take a few day loaded day trips before heading out on tour anyway, so you should have time to figure out if you like the front pannier set-up or not. I'm a fan of the front pannier set-up myself, but I use low-rider racks. I would advise that. Weight high and out front might not do so well with your steering.