Check out this guy's homemade front rack, it's amazing. Came across this set on flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/3056269...7613520185781/

very cool - puts my surly nice rack to shame:

it's like a pass & stow rack with a bunch of crap you don't need.

I actually.... agree.


but don't tell anyone.

true, but pass & stows are $250+

Im sure that one would cost as much or more.

Its just a bad design, overbuilt in all the wrong places.

a.

b.

c.

This thread was a fail, till the last post.

I'm detecting a thread drift

You know, I'm kind of confused by the responses here.

You're bashing this rack because it is overbuilt? Designed to do absolutely anything the owner/maker could need?

Sure, it's going to be heavy, and probably not best suited for touring...but the person using it probably isn't using it for a tour anyways, seems more like a utility rack than anything.

Personally, looking through the set, I am impressed by the detail that the maker puts into his racks:

I think it looks rather versatile, actually. Totally see myself putting one on my utility bike. I'd like to see haters do better.

I think he`s got some neat ideas in some of them. Personally, I`d want most of them a bit smaller, but they do look like good stuff.

So you hang your panniers on the inside or outside of that rack?

I want one just to have.

the rack is well built, I just think its trying to do too much with the design. Not trying to be a hater, just critiquing i guess. For example, I'd rather have a set of tubus duo lowriders for when I want panniers (which are lighter and removable), and a simple porteur rack for when I want to carry a stack of newspapers or whatever. But that wouldnt have the same handbuilt cache or whatever. And water bottles under the platform? Really? Aside from the fact that they will probably fall out on bumpy roads, why would you want this? What the hell are the huge porteur bags and front pans for if not to carry something like a water bladder? Gimmicky.

Also, cramming it onto a crosscheck is really silly, since the bike will handle like crap with a huge load up top and up front, unless the person also decreased the trail of the fork.

Part of what makes the classic french porteur bikes (the inspiration for cool racks coming back into vogue...) so appealing is that they are maximally functional, while removing all unnecessary features and weight. They are designs which have been distilled to the extreme. Its not just the cool racks, lights, and fenders that make a herse or singer touring bike so special, its the fact that they are able to carry a touring load securely, while weighing in at 18-20 pounds. I bet that rack alone weighs 5-6 lbs.

and to anyone who says "a touring bike is already heavy so it doesnt matter" is missing the point. Yes, they are, but why add grams, ounces and pounds that are not DOING anything?

anyway, its just my opinion. I'm not trying to be mean or anything- The guy building the stuff clearly has good brazing skills...