spectastic

I have a caadx that I plan to use for shorter trips. I'm hoping to put a front rack on it. I know there are spots for rear rack, but I'm planning to use a carradice saddle bag for the rear. the front has screws for fenders and caliper brake. most front racks use holes that are close to the wheel axle. wondering if there's a front rack out there for this one.

john_mct

Are you looking for a rack to mount panniers to or a smaller "randonneur" style rack for a handlebar style bag?

this is a good article to start with...
All About Front Racks For Bicycle Touring - CyclingAbout

spectastic

yea except those mount to the cantilever brake bosses, which my bike doesn't have.

what about this one? what's it called?


nevermind it looks like the rack and bike come together,

john_mct

It's a rawland randonneur rack. You could mount it using P-clamps around your fork. Another option is the Thule pack-n-pedal rack that does not rely on bolts to mount. You still haven't specified if you want a rack for panniers or a smaller platform rack??

Squeezebox

Ask someone who knows before clamping onto carbon. I've heard bad things about that issue.

john_mct

Theoretically, yes. But a small rando rack shouldn't really be carrying much weight anyway. My set-up had an 8 liter dry bag lashed to the top with my sleeping pad, bag liner, emergency bivy, and small tarp stuffed in it, maybe 4.5 lbs max. I wouldn't worry too much about clamping that kind of load to a carbon fork with a wide-ish P-clamp.

djb

Spect--its your bike, your fork and your body, but I would highly recommend getting some proper knowledgeable information on clamping something to a cf fork before considering any front fork that will need to be clamped in some manner or another to it.

Tourist in MSN

You could get another fork for touring.

A friend of mine recently bought a carbon fork with the mounts for a front rack. Not sure the brand on in. The new one might be a Winwood.

Also, he has toured for several years with an older Carbon fork with rack mounts and I am not sure the brand on that one either. I looked for a label and did not see one on the older one.

If you can't find a carbon fork you like, get a steel one. You can find them for a good price.

Try to find out the fork rake and fork axle to crown race distance on your existing fork and try to match that as close as possible to the fork you buy.

Most people for touring like to have the handlebars higher than most roadies do. That is another advantage of another fork for touring, you can have a longer steerer tube on it to raise your bars for touring.

If you get a second fork, it would be best to buy a second fork crown race for it so that you can easily swap one fork for the other without worrying about that part. I have two forks for my expedition bike, in my case it is a solid steel touring fork and a suspension fork. I find it is pretty quick to swap forks, the most time is spent moving the brake unit from one fork to the other. And the next time I swap forks, I will probably sucumb and buy another brake for it to simplify that.

The attached photo is my friends bike with his older carbon fork on it, he first toured with that fork in 2014 on Pacific Coast. Photo is from Feb 2017 when we were in Florida.

fietsbob

Bike packing is the Hot trend now, no racks needed..

You carry less because you have limited the volume to pack it into.

spectastic

as mentioned, i got a carradice saddle bag that carries most of my stuff, so it's already like bike packing. not doing panniers for short trips. the front rack is for my sleeping bivy, sandals, and anything extra that I want to carry, like pizza or extra water.

fietsbob

Get a Nice Handle Bar Bag to go with that and you will be good to go.. Bike Packing Bags for your handlebars
stuff your sleeping bivvy into thsat

Ortlieb's handlebar bags are very popular world wide amongst touring cyclists..
they are in the Bike packing game too, with a double ended Dry Bag like pack for handlebars..

any thing more ...than that? Bene Sugg is buy a steel fork with all the fittings for adding a Porteur Rack
to carry that Pizza..


I have a Front rack on my (steel) Bike Friday , small wheels so even an over the wheel rack is Low.

my front panniers have D rings on the lid so with a stretch net I can bring home Boxed pizzas...

You could probably wing it, putting that pizza box on top of your handlebars..





.....

spectastic

looks nice, but I'm not sure whether my bivy sack would fit in there. what I have is a rather heavy duty military gortex bivy with poncho, and air pad already stuffed on top of each other (about 5 lbs), such that I can unroll it, inflate it, and climb right in, and in the morning, deflate, fold, roll, pack it right up. super easy, takes a minute. would much rather strap it to a rack with bungee cord than spend $150 on a bag that I'll use on occasion.

fietsbob

the possibility of doing a bit of creativity a dry bag that can be further compressed , then strapped to your handlebars
that Is big enough to fit your stuff , remains

+ if you get a metal seat post you can put a seat post beam rack on it and getting one with side supports

add a 'spaniel ear' rack top bag .. Arkel, CDN, has a beam rack that braces to the saddle rails too.
they say it's carbon post compatible .. but you can risk it on your own ..

john_mct

This will work. Basil Portland front rack, can be had with side rails or without, mounts to the center fender eyelet and your front wheel QR. Even comes with a strap.

john_mct

or this nice little guy from Soma Fab

skimaxpower

Your fork lacks many of the customary mounting braze-ons that a traditional "touring" bike would use to mount a lowrider rack. For serious long-haul touring, a new fork is the best option.

Lots of good bikepacking gear out there now.
CONS: Harder to access your stuff, and the weight is higher up.
PROS: lighter, cheaper, works with your existing bike.

Something like this is a good solution for you: EXP Series Anything Cradle plus Dry Bag and Front Pouch | Salsa Cycles

john_mct

That dry bag is 850mm wide/long, his road drop bars are probably 460mm wide max...

Not sure why so many people are suggesting bikepacking style handlebar bags when they were clearly designed for flat bar mtn bikes, yes you can stuff them in but it will often result in losing some of the useful hand position options that drop bars afford.

u235

People work around the extra length and bulk through compromise. I have limited fork mount options just like the OP. I use a Topeak Tourguide handlebar bag that fits between the drops. Much smaller overall and not for bulk but that was my compromise. I really wanted to make a backpack work and tried several times and still try again occasionally but in the end, even a lightly loaded backpack with a few pounds in it on a drop bar just hurts my back after an hour or so.

fietsbob

Compression straps for stuff sacks shorten the length, straps added around the bag reduce the diameter.