Jandd racks
 

Anyone know anything about their racks? I've been comparing prices and quality and such on a lot of different brands but haven't heard much about them. I'm thinking of purchasing both their front and rear expedition racks. Any reviews or comments would be appreciated. :)
Front: http://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FREXT2NDS
Rear: http://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FREXP

I have two sets of their expedition racks. Few problems as they are a bit over-built. I will note that mounting the front rack has been a PIA on just about every bike I have installed one on. The placement of the low drop-out mounts in relation to the mid-point fork mount results in either the thing not being close to level, or fouling the brakes, or both. The only solution is to re-bend the attachment bracket (easily done with an old seat post). The only other "issue" is the lack of the lower ataachment point for panniers and back with an S-hook attachment. AAgain, this is easiuly overcome, but I wish they had thought of it instead of me.

What do you mean exactly that the racks are overbuilt? Im also quite new to bikes and racks, so if you could explain in greater detail the issues you had with installing the front rack I would appreciate it :)

It very well may be that IRD makes their racks for them and you can purchase the same basic rack at a significant cost savings. I have no experience with the front rack but the rear rack is extremely well made and has served me well.

http://store.interlocracing.com/accessories.html

I have an Extreme on the front of my LHT. It is rock solid and I like the platform. I put Ortlieb panniers on it and there's no attachment problem. I have cantilever brakes - no problems. The only problems was the spacing didn't match the spacing of the fork bosses. I had some spacers from the Tubus rack I was replacing. I used those and they fit perfectly. If I hadn't had those I would have tried washer, making my own spacers out of something at the hardware store, etc.

My wife has had a Jandd rack on the back of her Rockhopper for at least 10 years. It has also been rock solid - no problems. I installed it so long ago my memory is fuzzy, but I don't remember any installation troubles. All she has used it for is a trunk bag - no panniers yet. (One day I hope she'll have the time and inclination to try a tour with me.)

I have used the Jannd rear extreme for all my tours in the last 7 years. It works great, but it's a tank. It weighs a full pound more than the tubus cargo, if that matters to you. The platform is wide and long, and it's great for strapping things too.

I have the front Jandd Extreme rack.

It fits the LHT nearly perfectly. The platform is longer than the one on the Surly Nice by an inch. Still, it's not as much platform as you may have imagined/wanted.

The rack is made of solid Al rod, like all inexpensive racks. It's strong enough, but also heavy. Mine weighed 1030g without mounting hardware (significantly lighter than the Nice rack btw). The newer (2003? onwards) have the rack shortened to provide more space for fit/front brake. On the older ones, the platform extends all the way back. Jandd still uses picture of older model on their website. Current model looks like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Jandd-Extreme-.../dp/B000RKBAJI

The platform area is 150mm x 250 mm.

On my bike, I fix a rear trunk/racktop bag (big rectangular boxy thing) to the front Jandd rack. It fits pretty good and makes a nice alternative to a handlebar bag. The rack platform isn't really big enough for attaching large items (fork/headtube gets in the way) , so the racktop bag gives me more storage space while saving me the cost and fit complexity of a handlebar bag. On a <52cm LHT, if you carry much on the platform you can't hardly fit a handlebar bag anyway, depending on your bar height.

I like the large platform of the Jandd Extreme rear rack (longest rear rack you can buy AFAIK). It is heavy (but lighter than Nice rack). The problem with this rack is that it encourages you to load in such a way as to predispose your bike for shimmy - specifically by hanging a lot of weight high and far back behind the rear axle. The rack acts as a lever that tends to induce shimmy. Ideally you want all the load within the wheelbase for best control, however this is usually not possible. But loading high and rearwards should be avoided as much as possible.

What does it mean for a bike to shimmy? Would you not reccommend the Jandd Extreme rear rack?

If you load the rack improperly, the load can shift and become unbalanced and cause the bike to want to rock back and forth, just as, if you load clothes in a washer all on one side, the basket rocks back and forth rapidly as the clothes circle from one side to the other. Not necessarily a knock on the rack, just load the bike so that the weight is low and the load is secured tightly.

Edit: And balance the load as much as possible left to right, and with more load on the back than on the front.

What I mean by "overbuilt" is that they are heavy and will carry a good load. I think they are rated for 25/50 pounds front/rear, but I have had much more on them for short distances. I am trying to figure out the best way to explain the mounting/brake issues. There are two mounting points on each side fo the fork: one at the dropout, and one mid-way up the fork. I have found that in nearly every case, the lateral distance (front to rear of the bike) between these two mounting points is too far apart (on the rack). This results in the rack being tiped forward. It is easily fixced by bending the lower mounting post on the rack. However, the rack itself still sits far enough back such that if you are running cantilever or roller-cam brakes, the rack interferes with them. You will have to move the mid-fork mount forward with a bracket (and bend the lower mounting point even further back). The moving of the top shelf forward on the newer front racks does not help much except for side-pull and center-pull brakes because the rack shoulders are still too far back. This can all be done, but it is a PIA. The rear rack is no problem.

Here is my '85 Schwinn Siera:

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...a/IMG_0782.jpg

The mounting point that frequently needs to be bent is at the bottom by the axle nut. You then have to move the mid-point forward like this:

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...a/IMG_0784.jpg

I have both of these racks and have never had any trouble mounting the rear but the front just would not fit the straight-ish fork blades on my touring bike. They are both tanks ...in a good way. I have mostly Jandd gear too. Can't say enough good things about the company.

btw my Expedition rear and Extreme front racks are available if you are interested. The rear has been used twice and the front never. PM me.

Just wanted to let you know that you have some very good reviews and comments so far -- they correspond exactly with what I've seen and experienced with Jandd racks. It might be worth adding that the company supports and stands by their products well.

I use the Jandd Expedition rear rack. One thing which hasn't been mentioned so far is that this rack is significantly longer than other racks on the market, and will mitigate any heel strike issues in even the worst combination of circumstances.

Thanks everyone for the input. I'm thinking I'm definitely going to go with the Jandd Expedition rear rack. For the front I'm caught between the Expedition or possibly the really sweet Surly Nice rack.

Terrific rack, pretty heavy but carries anything. had mine for two or so years. Fits like a charm with no adjustment needed.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...DSCF0105-1.jpg

...and yours is even installed properly ;)

It's all in the fork rake