VA RIDER

Thanks for the advice with the rear rack. Has anyone used this rack with the LHT? Any recommendations. I am leaning away from the surly nice racks because of price. Thanks!

johnce

Hello va rider,
Yup, i've got one on my LHT. I really like the flat top, it comes in really handy at times. It's a good strong rack. It's alittle heavy but not as heavy as the surly. I think its a good buy, and I think you'll like it. good luck.

DukeArcher 

Yes, the Jandd has survived for me touring on some of the world's roughest roads, so I recommend it. However, I used a dremel saw to cut of the middle plate on the top of the rack, to save a considerable amount of weight. I can still put things on the top of the rack.

KDC1956

Ok so you got you a Surly LHT now go get the Surly Nice Racks both front and rear I did with mine.Your bike is heavy anyway so a little more is not going to kill you is it.

Torrilin

Strong disagree. The Surly front rack takes up to 70lbs, and the rear takes up to 80. That's 150 lbs of gear. It is going to be exceedingly rare for someone to need that damn much weight and not be riding an Xtracycle. Most things that you can stuff in panniers will come out around 1lb per liter... and no one makes 70L and 80L sets of panniers.

A more typical touring load is 40-50lbs, and getting under 20lbs for everything is doable.

Bikearound

Racks often get used to carry heavy loads for a short period of time like hauling firewood for example. Just because a rack is designed to carry X load doesn't mean that you have to carry that weight. Granted Surly racks are heavy but if durability is your priority then why not? Thats why the market offers many types of racks to suit many types of loads and durability requirements. So you don't like them....doesn't make them a poor choice.

VA RIDER

Thanks for the advice. Also, I liked seeing your bike rig pics

parecon89

I just got my LHT and have been agonising over the front rack purchase. I can see both points of view, to me the Nice rack seems more in keeping with the style of the LHT - heavy, rugged, Surly brand name, etc. But on the other hand, I'm less than 140lbs so I don't want to be pushing mega weight unneccessarily. The Jandd weighs less but not much, and IMO looks better than the Nice.

I really like the idea of the OMM cold springs, it doesn't allow for lowrider-mounting but it weighs a whole kilogram less than the "Nice" and still has a platform to strap things to. Unfortunately it's even more expensive than the already expensive front Nice. If it weren't for wanting a platform I'd just get the Tubus Duo and be done with it.

LeeG

I think there must be different Jandd front racks, I got one for a paramedics mtn bike with solid front fork and tried to put it on my LHT, the back end of the rack stuck back enough that when the bars were rotated the rack hit exactly on the down tube gear cable ferrule. Pretty sure in some kind of fall that ferrule and housing would get broken/cracked. Mine is a 56cm, that might not occur with 26" wheeled bikes or other sizes. With mine it wasn't something I decided to keep and stuck with the Tara low rider.

BigBlueToe

I have the Jandd Extreme on the front of my LHT. I had a Tubus Tara, which I liked, but wanted a platform. Jandd had a sale so I bought one. I like it very much. My Ortliebs fit low, and I put my Big Agnes Air Core air mattress on the platform. It's a good setup for me.

Torrilin

Call a LHT 33lbs, built up stock. The racks make it a solid 40lbs. Then you try to even get close to the cargo max... that's 150-190 lbs. Most people simply will not be able to manage that. Very few riders ever fully load up an Xtracycle either, since fully loaded an X will hit about 250-280lbs. IME, it gets very difficult to manhandle a bike once it is over about 50% of your bodyweight. Weight training helps, but how many of us are going to realistically do the weight training for manhandling a 200-300lb bike?

It's not a like or dislike thing. I can definitely see the point of a massive cargo hauler . In fact, my daily ride is the heaviest cargo hauler I can handle. But it's important to think through what your physical limits are. The bike can always handle more than the human can. Metal doesn't get tired the same way muscle does.

J.C. Koto

VA RIDER,

If you get the Jandd front rack you might need to adjust the rack a little bit outside of its usual operational parameters so the platform itself will not intermittently bang into the LHT's downtube. Not doing so will not usually impede safe operation of the bike, but you might chip the bike's paint or create little cosmetic dents where the platform hits the bike. Just something to be aware of. It's a great rack though, and IMO it's probably the best front platform rack. It's extremely versatile!!

BigBlueToe

A couple of addenda: Like J. C. Koto said, when you turn the front wheel very far the Extreme will hit - mine hits the adjusting barrels on the eyelets for the cables on the downtubes. So far it hasn't caused a problem but I try and avoid it. It never happens when riding - only when I'm wheeling the bike around in parking lots, getting ready to put it on my car rack, etc.

The other thing: I had a Tubus Tara on my front originally. It had these nice spacers to allow for different widths of the mounting eyelets. When I went to put on the Jandd, the spacing wasn't right. The spacers from the Tubus worked perfectly, so I used those. If you buy a Jandd and don't have spacers you may have to do something. You could probably make some out of some kind of tubing, and someone probably sells them (Tubus?) It's not a huge deal, but something to be aware of.

Rich B.

I've had good luck with the Jandd extreme on my LHT. The shelf is great for sleeping bags, and my Deuter panniers mount easily. I experience the same problem with the rack hitting the down tube adjusting barrels, but it never happens when riding, and the only real consequence is chipped paint on the rack where they hit. I found some perfect spacers at my local hardware store for mounting on the fork. They give the rack nice stability and when mounted on a fabric washer, cause no abrasion on the fork paint.

alaskadude

OK, I can see how you did that. Im having a problem mounting the JANDD front rack to the LHT. It has S&S. ANyway, Ill try what you did with the spacers

circlespinner

I ran into a problem installing the Jandd Extreme Front Rack on my Surly LHT. The top of the rack is sitting on the front tire. I have Schwalbe Marathon 35mm 700C tires on the bike, nothing unusual. I can't see anyway of adjusting for this. I've included a picture. Any ideas? The best I can tell there must have been a larger size I should have bought instead. For the folks that have had success did you use the Extreme Front Rack Tall Boy - 29er?



Thanks

Vintage_Cyclist

I have a 58cm 2014 LHT with the stock 700x37 Continental tires and the same rack. I'm also using SKS fenders between the rack and the tire. When I first installed it, the rack was right down on the tire, with the fender squashed between.

What I had to do (Jandd suggests this) was to bend the bottom fork eyelet mount down a bit, which will raise the rack a 1/2 inch or so. It's a tight fit, but gave me enough clearance. If the taller rack had been available at the time, I would have opted for it.

DropBarFan

Had a Jandd Extreme on a Novara Randonée with 622-35 tires & was very tight clearance with fender. Maybe Surly has slightly different geometry so clearance is even less? Extreme doesn't fit on my current bike & not too sad to see it go: the platform can be a convenience but the rack is super-heavy esp considering it's alu. Was surprisingly susceptible to abrasion & I had to make a hook to attach pannier strap at the bottom.

bwgride

Yes, the version of the Jandd front I have will not mount level on the LHT. The top plate on the version I have interferes with brakes, the version with a shorter top plate better accommodates brakes.

You can see the difference in top plate placement and length in these two pictures.

https://www.bikeshophub.com/producti...ont-rack-1.jpg

https://img08.shop-pro.jp/PA01034/855...20111214160155

BobbyMo

No idea if it will fit the LHT; but perhaps:

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/ac...za-rack/106204

linus

Try Jandd Extreme Tall Boy if you like wider tires.

Extreme Front Rack Tall Boy - 29er

circlespinner

I tried the Tall Boy and it's worse. The cantilever brakes arms are obstructed the rack rail that sits below the breaks on the standard. Vintage Cyclist, how did you go about bending the the bottom fork eyelet mount?

seeker333

I have the JandD Extreme rack. When I first got it years ago, I discovered it did not sit level on a 26" LHT, so I adjusted it by bending the lower mount downwards perhaps 10mm at the end of the rod. It's Al rod so it bends without much force. Use any tool that will allow you to apply controllable leverage since you don't want to bend it too far. I think I used a 12" slip joint pliers and some padding to protect the Al. I was concerned at the time that this action might cause failure at the lower mount, but it didn't. The paint will likely flake off in the area of the bend, but it won't rust. The JandD rack (and Al racks in general) are not good at keeping their paint.

Another way to do it would be to drill a hole lower in the mount to raise the rack and clear the fender, then cut/file/sand/paint the unused end portion if it interferes with the fork leg. Make the hole as small as possible since the rod is not as wide as the flared/stamped end.

hueyhoolihan

reminds me of a joke.

man has custom suit made. and visits the store to pick it up. so tries it on for the first time...

man: "the left leg is longer than the right".

tailor: "take your right hand and grab the waist and hold it up a bit.".

man: "and the right lapel is higher than the left."

tailor: "take your left hand, pull down on the right hem a bit and lean to the right."

man: "and the buttons don't line up."

tailor: "no problem. take your chin and press it against left lapel and straighten your neck. look in the mirror. see? looks better already."

man: "well... i'm not sure, but if that's the best you can do...".

following the instructions of the tailor, the man leaves store and passes two old ladies on the sidewalk.

old lady 1 to old lady 2: "look at that poor crippled old man."

old lady 2 to old lady 1: "yes, a pity isn't it?... but, my oh my, doesn't that suit fit him well!?"

circlespinner

Thanks for the details on how you made the adjustment. I was concerned about keeping the two sides inline after the bend and also stress on weld, which led me to exchange the Jandd rack for the Blackburn
Outpost Front World Touring Rack, which appears to be more adjustible. I'll know for sure when it arrives​ in a week.