Strobe

I just bought a 520 from my LBS but unfortunately it wont be available until december/january. I am looking at the ortlieb panniers and the tubus racks from biketrailershop.com. I have decided on the bike packer plus and the sport packer plus panniers, but I don't know which racks would work best. It looks like they have several models that are $100-110 so I am just wondering which would work best.
https://www.biketrailershop.com/catal...acks-c-32.html
Thanks for any help

zeppinger

I was having this same problem not too long as well. I was about to set out on my Pacific Coast tour from Vancouver to TJ but I could not decide on an adaquate rack that was a decent price. I was leaning toward the tubus cargo but happed to bump into a Axiom Journey at an LBS. I got it for $45 and this thing rocks! Rock solid construction (I cant even wiggle this thing!) light, side supports to keep your panniers outta your spokes, longer than most racks to keep your feet from clipping your ****, and at the right price. Has anyone else had any experiences with this rack? I have been on my tour now for about a week and the thing is working great!

kingnutterrick

Stobe, I think you would be please with Axiom Journey. It is a great rack for the money.

valygrl

Did you get that beautiful rootbeer color?

I'm using the Tara & Cargo, with Arkel, Lone Peak and Cannondale Panniers, on my 17" 520. The racks are totally solid, and mounted to my bike with minimal tweaking.

I'm not sure which of the Tubus line would work best with Ortlieb, but I would suggest calling Wayne at www.thetouringstore.com - Wayne is a one-man shop, and he knows a ton about this stuff. He's the largest distributor of Tubus in the USA, and also sells Lone Peak & Ortlieb. Similar prices to biketrailershop, also free shipping, discounts if you buy a full set of racks or a full set of panniers (so probably better prices) and very knowledgeable personal customer service.

Strobe

Yeah metallic root beer....I'm not crazy about the color but color isn't very high on my list of important features. Besides, the guy at the LBS says it looks really good with the handlebar tape they used. Thanks for the help

Hofweber

The 520 looks good but it seems like they have the price a bit steep for what they hold over the LHT.
4 bolt cranks (yuck)
sloping toptube (preference I suppose)
comes with a rack that isn't really up to touring standard
comes with raceblade fenders that will prbably be replaced for full coverage.
it looks damn pretty though.

BigBlueToe

I bought a Tubus Cargo and Tara set to go on my LHT. They're very strong, stable, and were easy to install, and work great with my Ortlieb panniers (make sure you put the right inserts in the clips that go over the rack tube.) However, I wanted to try a front rack with a platform. I was thinking I could carry my water bag there for long, dry stretches of road. I liked the Jandd Extreme, but couldn't see spending more money for another front rack when I already had the Tara. But then Jandd had a big sale, so I went for it. I went for two weeks on the Northern Tier last summer with the Tubus Cargo in back and Jandd Extreme in front.

On my tour I decided to carry a Camelbak, so I never needed to carry my water bag on the front, but it was the perfect place to carry my Big Agnes air mattress. I also used it to bungee miscellaneous stuff.

If you want a really strong, solid set of racks, the Tubus Cargo and Tara are excellent and work well with Ortlieb. If you want a platform front rack, the Jandd Extreme is excellent.

I'm sure there are other excellent racks as well.

Incidently, I also have lots of experience with Blackburn racks - an Expedition in back and Lowriders in front. They worked fine for me - never failed - but I don't think they were as rigid as Tubus or Jandd. They're cheaper though, and I see them on Ebay all the time, often for very low prices.

John Nelson

I also have a 2009 Trek 520 on order (and I like the color), and have purchased the Tubus Cargo and Tara racks with Ortlieb front and back rollers to mount on it. I cannot offer any evaluations yet since I have yet to really try all this out.

I decided on the rollers rather than the packers so that I could get that notoriously ugly yellow color. In this case, ugly is good if it makes you visible.