Any have experience with this cheap front rack
 

hello friends,

I'm considering buying this front rack from Ebay. It's made in China, likely from a factory that makes racks for another company.

I clearly wouldn't haul anything big on it. Really I'm getting ready to SELL a vintage touring frame that's too big for me, and I thought to add the rack to make the bike more appealing.

At under $15, I thought it worth a shot, but I wanted to check here to see if anyone as tried them.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

I love mine. I have done a good bit of touring with them. I even adapted one to go on the back and carried 1/3 of my gear on it. Granted I was packing very light so it was only a few pounds.

I have heard of folks saying the had them break, but I have not had a moments trouble with mine and they have been used hard for a few longish tours. I wouldn't hesitate to use them fairly lightly loaded.

I had an aluminum alloy rack that broke from fatigue, will not get another one. But having said that, it was after about 4,000 miles. I can afford better so I will get better, but it looks like you are out little and it will work for a while.

Looks like the Nashbar rack I had. While the description mentions panniers, I don't see how you could do that. I used a hole on the front of the platform to mount a headlight, and eventually the weld gave way between the platform and the frame of the rack. There is probably a way to salvage it, but I was already looking for a front rack that could take panniers, so I didn't bother. While it worked, it did occasionally come in handy, but it didn't hold much.

I had the same rack. It was mounted on my now stolen GT Talera commuter. I didn't use the supplied hardware, though. I found longer versions of canti/linear pull mounting bolts and modified a Cateye front reflector bracket to anchor it to the fork crown drilling. The rack was sturdy and reliable! I have obtained another rack like this, as well as the same Cateye reflector bracket. Although not yet installed on my replacement bike, I definitely plan to install it soon.
I wholeheartedly endorse this rack when the hardware is upgraded.

holy frijoles, thass 'spensive!
they go for about 4 bucks on taobao! (the chinese ebay)

got one on my mountainbike that i use for touring. panniers on the rear, with front
rack to take a few pounds off the back wheel. use it to carry the u-lock or heavy
cable lock. when touring, up to 4 liters of water.

no problems yet. had it almost 3 years, maybe 25k km's of touring, some on
fairly rough roads.

don't see how you could mount panniers. rails are too short, and the
hook thingie is too far to the rear. could always mount a basket, or
get a velcro-attachy beer cooler bag.

That rack is more commonly sold as the Sunlite Gold Tec. I've had mine for two years now with various loads and it's been surprisingly reliable. I wouldn't really exceed the manufacturers weight limit, which was pretty generous as I recall, but its given me no problems with the stock hardware. I have the Gold Tec HD rear rack and am equally pleased with it.

I have one works really well for light loads but like saddlesores said you can find the for less. http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=387829

Yep, I have this rack branded as the Sunlite Gold Tec as well and I like it a lot. I would never put anything heavy like loaded panniers on it, but for small things e.g. small basket, handlebar bag, smaller cooler, etc. it's great.

What I especially like about this platform rack is it's still easy to install a lowrider rack if I do want panniers up front. There are, of course, front platform racks that can accommodate panniers like the Surly Nice rack or the Jandd Extreme but they tend to be more expensive.

Yeah, I have done that and it worked out well. This rack is my favotite way to carry a handlebar bag. I took out all the stiffeners in a nashbar elite bag and removed all of the original mounting hardware. The bag then sat on the rack and was held in place with the shoulder strap which was figure-eight-ed around the stem. It was lighter than with the oem bracket and worked very well.

I should add that one of my favorite ways to utilize this rack is to use milk crates zip tied to the sides to carry my tent and sleeping bag. My bike doesn't have lowrider mounts so this gets the weight a little lower and gives me a lot of extra storage space. I just pack stuff in dry bags.

why would it make a bike that is too big for you appealing , to you?





yea looks like they, the Chinese company, made the little front rack that Nashbar got, in black, from them, and sold a lot of them ..

Sorry, meant to say "sell a vintage touring frame that's too big for me"

Seems like most people have had positive responses, so I'll give it a try.

saddlesore, I looked up taobao to find a cheaper version, I'm having some trouble translating the Chinese though. Any advice on how to order a less expensive model? Thanks!

Why add stuff you have yet to Buy to a Bike that you are going to sell, anyway? :bang:

Mine seems fine so far. I just carry a handlebar bag on it- I don't see how panniers would fit, and I really wouldn't try to carry the rated 25 pounds on it. It took some bending and fiddling to get it to fit.

Here it is on my 650B Raleigh touring bike conversion, with the matching cheapo back rack:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...ps029ca8c3.jpg

Call it marketing. Touring bikes with upgrades look more appealing than bare bikes. Here, adding a front rack to the bike will make my posting standout from the other posts, and make the bike look more "ready to tour". I bought the bike with the original rear rack. Also there's a convenience to the buyer not having to source racks, fenders, panniers, etc.

There's a heavy dose of subjectivity when it comes to buying bikes, but I'm willing to make a $15 gamble. Also, if I like that rack, I may order another one for the touring bike I tried to replace.

Would I go all out and spend >$100 for full coverage fenders, bags, lights, and the litany of other touring gizmos, not likely.

I wouldn't buy that on Ebay from China. It'll take forever to get it. You can get the same rack in the states. I got mine at the Niagara Cycle shop online. Don't be a cheapskate. Get it here in the states. You'll get it in less than a week. And the return policy is better. Try returning something back to China. But you won't have to with this rack. I've carried 12 packs on it. And almost every saturday I pick up a 14" pizza with it.

I have one of those racks on one of my commuter bikes. I got it from nashbar for $10.
I haven't actually put anything on it yet. I wouldn't plan on putting a lot of weight on it.
I was going to put some velcro tabs on a small camera-type bag and use it as a front rack trunk (instead of a handlebar bag) for easy access to small items.

you don't wanna buy from taobao unless you're here in our china.....unless you wanna buy
a rack for $4 and then pay $50 shipping.

you're selling a used bike? buy a used rack on ebay! hit the pawn shops and flea markets and
thrift stores. you can find some gems.....like that pair of new hubs for $10, sold cheap
'cause the former owner had his name engraved on them....some dude named "phil."

check with the local bike shops, they probably have some old take-offs in the junk/spares bin.

I bough mine on eBay for about $12 including shipping! Nashbar has regular "OnSale" price for their version around $10. You could defray shipping costs.when they have a free shipping offer. I am also planning to use it as a platform for headlights.

Another owner of the cheapo rack here. I've loaded 10+lbs on mine for several hundred miles now, and I got it already used(bike swap). So far it's holding up fine. It seems perfectly sturdy enough given what it is.