motion5447

Im looking for a nice set of expedition racks for the front and back of my bike. I would like The front one to have a top that goes over the wheel. I would like the back one to have solid mounting for the horizontal mounts. Any ideas??

Istanbul_Tea

Tubus
Bruce Gordon
Bob Beckman
Blackburn

Something out of those should do ya fine...

GeorgeBaby

I'd also toss in JandD as a possibility -- they do a front rack with platform.

megilleland

Interesting information on Blackburn racks from Bike Pro On line ordering.

You should find something here.

https://www.bikepro.com/products/racks/rackover.html

Patch29

I have the Jandd racks on my LHT, you can find a few photos, here. I can take some others if you want to see them closer up.

Erick L

https://www.surlybikes.com/parts/nicerack_pop.html
https://www.rivendellbicycles.com/web...cks/20075.html

Not exactly inexpensive though.

Wingman115

I have Jandd on the front and back of my 520 and I love them. They fit the bike really well without a lot of trouble.

-=solewheelin

Yes i also run the Jandd racks as well,
pros -3" width of rack space is really nice for my guitar, or if you need an actual surface to use.. panniers are held very stable, almost doubles as a rear fender. the burley welds are also much stronger than any other rack considering you will probably never need to repair it.

cons - theyre significanly heavier than the blackburn. Also the Jandd is made of Alyoominum so you wouldnt repair it, but considering the welds on this baby you wouldnt need to. while everyother rack available (blackburn ex, tubus, bruce gordon, surly, etc) is made of chro-moly, sporting lighter weight and ease of a weld if the repair situation ever arises. which in part jacks the price.

On a ride down rt 101 in oregon i found a broken blackburn expetition rack on the side of the road, so i left it hanging further down the road in a more visible spot incase a cyclist could use it, he would only need to take a quick ride to the nearest auto shop to have it welded like new.

Jandd rear is 40-50$ front 40$.
blackburn around the same.
all others are much pricier.

anyone know what the Surly nice racks cost yet?

-=stevey

motion5447

I looking at puting this on my LHT, and surlys Nice racks look sweet. I guess i need to find a price quote on these. If their steep, i'll go with some jandds.

Merriwether

I have Jandd Expedition front and back on a 520 as well. They're good. They've held up to a couple of years of hard utility use, and touring.

I especially like the front rack, with the shelf. That shelf makes the whole front much more stable than it would be with just a bar. I don't normally put things on the shelf, but I would, I guess, if I needed to. I wouldn't do that unless I were *sure* whatever it was was going to stay put. I get really uneasy about loose things around the front wheel. But it's nice the shelf is there if I want to use it. It also keeps water off of you by itself, without fenders. If you're going to ride in the rain, though, real fenders are worth it to keep the water off of your downtube, and bottom bracket.

Hardcore tourists prefer the more expensive steel racks, but having used these Jandd for a couple of years I'd take a long tour with them.

rsw

Patch29,

Nice rig! I really like your kickstand.

Can you relay the specs: Maker, cost, vendor you purchased it from? Does the chain stay clear of it OK when in the up position?

I also like the Extreme front rack you have. I wonder if it would fit on my Cannondale T2000 using only the tapped through holes on the fork without having to use the clamps. Any idea?

Thanks ,much!

brokenrobot

Here's another vote for the Jannd stuff!

Patch29

Here is where I bought it and both legs fold up on the left side of the bike, so no interference with the chain. I really like having it.

ESGE/Pletscher Double-legged kickstand $49.95

I would think the front rack would be fine. Do you have a bottom braze-ons on your fork? Mine attaches there and in the middle that is all. The photos in my gallery should have larger options so you can zoom in closer. Let me know if you need a closer photo.

Rowan

Inexpensive and strong/long-lasting are almost mutually exclusive. Seek the best that you can afford. Don't go cheap, you *will* regret it... and most likely at the most inappropriate time.

Topeak's tubular alloy rear racks are good in my current experience.

One day I *will* be able to afford Tubus CroMo racks all around.

Saudade

Damn, really? I have a no-name $12 rack from MEC and its never even occurred to me that I should upgrade it.

Has anyone actually had a cheap rack fail on them? I wanna hear some horror stories before I fork out more cash . It seems to me that a rack is pretty basic and I don't see how there can be much difference with a name brand rack.

balto charlie

Yep. I had a Kryptonite rear rack. Seemed fairly strong. Eventually(less than 2 years) both welds blew out. I strapped the first weld too stretch the life of the rack and then the other failed. Piece of crap. I never used with panniers only a trunk bag, so the weight it held was not that much. I did a little light off roading on my commute but it was never much more than jumping curbs. This rack couldn't handle it. I don't think you have to buy one of the great ones but one better than this. charlie

Erick L

Were you carrying a load of bic pen?

Not me, but search around and you'll find some posts about failure of the rack that comes on the Trek 520.

I toured and commuted successfully with a
cheap rack for a few years. It never felt adequate but never broke even under big loads. I could not justify spending more as the better racks in LBS didn't seem that much better. When I ordered a Brooks saddle last summer, I decided to give a try at Tubus racks and bought a Logo. Wow! Their racks are truly in another class. My bike feels stiffer with the rack and makes my Old Man Mountain AC lowrider seem like a cheapy.

Tubus racks are not indestructable though. I read someone on Lonely Planet who had three high-end racks fail at some point, but he said the best of the three was the Tubus.