Front rack reccomendations
 

I am seeking reccomendations, opinions and user experiences about front racks. I have a 2010 Trek 520 that I a outfitting for a solo cross country tour. Anything you can add to the subject would be genuinely appreciated.

I've used the Tubus Tara for several tours. Is is a sturdy straight forward rack. It is easy to mount and folds flat, if it has to come off when boxing the bike for shipping. It is easy to squeeze it into the box with the bike

I have hundreds of pictures of the rack loaded, but you can't see the rack. This is one of the few I have of the bare bike. I was taking advantage of a campground's hose and water to clean the bikes while on a tour.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...2232138742.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...IMG_1934-1.jpg

How heavy or light are you packing? I have gone fairly heavy, to ultra light, and everything in between.

Going fairly heavy on my first tour (TA) two of us used Nashbar front lowriders and one used a similar rack from Performance. They were inexpensive and trouble free for the TA and a lot of subsequent touring miles. They are inexpensive to start with, go on sale often, and when they do are often at a greatly reduced price. Right now I think they are $19.99, a fraction of what some racks cost. They seem to me to be sturdy enough to last for many TAs and a lot of years.

At the lighter end of the packing range I have sometimes used only a handlebar bag or a bar roll on the front.

I have used a Surley front rack on my Trek 520: Cargo | Parts and Accessories | Surly Bikes It is a solid bombproof rack with a fair amount of carrying capacity. On 2007 trip across Russia after ~1000 miles of gravel road with a moderate load, I had some of the mounting brackets crack and fail. However, Surley sent me new brackets (and was slightly changed design that may make failure less likely). I've been riding with these racks since and continued to work well. http://bikerussia.com/wp-content/upl...7/img_0916.jpg

I am still in the planning stages, but I figure that I would be carrying no more than 15 lbs in front panniers. I am planning on a total gear load of 40 lbs. I have seen some racks with a platform on the top with the ability to carry the panniers either high or low. The additional flexibility of the platform is appealing to me.

I am am more concerned with mounting. Is there anything out there that mounts with the existing lugs on a Trek 520? I have seen some that mount on the brake bolts, but I worry about vibration and other stress on my brakes.

I have a Tubus Tara front rack, as well, and highly recommend it. The Tara is designed to attach to the mid-fork mount on your front fork and the dropout eyelets. It is simple to install and remove.

I also have a Nitto M-12 front rack, which attaches to the cantilever brake posts and the fork crown. I would not recommend it for touring unless you plan to carry almost all of your gear in the rear panniers and only need space for a few items in the front. One thing I don't like about the Nitto is that if you attach a bag to it, it obscures your view of the front tire. It also places the weight higher than front panniers, which affects handling more.

A rack like the Surly seems to me like overkill for the load you expect to carry. It weighs over 2 lb 12 oz, which seems like a lot to support a 15 pound load. It is also about $140-150.

A few things to consider on the topic of front platform racks...
With smaller frame sizes, if you use a handlebar bag there isn't much room to put anything on the platform. That said, I have used a little platform rack to hold my handlebar bag. It actually weighed less that the bag weighed in its intended configuration, because the bracket and stiffeners that I removed weighed more than the 12 oz rack I used instead.

The little rack is sold under the Nashbar and Sunlite brands and price is about $13 or sometimes even lower. I own several of these racks on different bikes and they have held up well. I typically do not put more than a few pounds on them though. I definitely wouldn't try to hang panniers on them. If you need panniers and a platform, the little rack can be used with a low rider rack.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=430042

I have both a Tubus Duo and a Tubus Tara. Both are great and I recommend them. The Duo is a minimalist two-piece design, and only works on forks that have braze-ons that go through the fork. The Tara will work with either type. I use the Duo on my S&S bikes, and it makes packing WAY easier since it doesn't have a hoop that goes over the wheel and easily packs flat.

Previously I used both the standard Blackburn Lowrider racks, as well as a Delta brand from Performance. I found both lacking, and they tended to slip out of alignment no matter how I adjusted them. I finally gave up and paid the Tubus price, and am happy I did.

If want a very strong, nice looking front platform rack (all I have ever used) that it not over built like the Surly Nice rack and have the coin, check out the Nitto Big front rack from Rivendell. It mounts via the fork eyelets and p clamps, which come with the rack.

I am a tall guy and have what seems to me to be a bulky sleeping bag (Cat's Meow 20+ long). I have lashed it to the front platform with compression straps:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2...57633368316419

The low mounting position places the panniers somewhat higher than they would sit using a low rider rack. The extra clearance is nice for rough roads. Absent extreme conditions, I cannot imagine needing to mount the panniers on the upper bars.

Lately I have been cutting down clothes and jamming the bag into one of the rear panniers, but the front platform is still handy to have for occasions when I need to carry a lot of food. I can free up capacity by putting the bag on the front rack. It also comes in handy for transporting firewood from, say, a far away campground office to my site. Once stopped at a farm stand on the way home during an overnight trip and was able to transport a homemade pie for the GF and myself.

[QUOTE=indyfabz;17493212]
I am a tall guy and have what seems to me to be a bulky sleeping bag (Cat's Meow 20+ long). I have lashed it to the front platform with compression straps:
QUOTE]

The picture is most informative. I am toying with the idea of putting all my camping gear (tent, ground sheet, sleeping bag, sleeping pad and stove) in a five gallong plastic bucket and lashing it to the front rack. That way I could set up camp without getting into the panniers, and the bucket would be a useful item at primative campsites (something to sit on, gather water in, table, gathering firewood etc.) I would look like an idiot, but I would enjoy that!

My Koga Has a 2nd Kickstand on its Tubus Ergo left side , by special OEM batch order

But now you can add one to any of their low rider racks tubus - Ständer mit Adapterplatte für Lowrider

to go with the regular KS on the Bike itself.. holds up the front pannier load and Front wheel wont roll ..


Previously I invested in a Bruce Gordon rear & Low rider rack , 30 years later its still fine. [and on a different Bike than I Had when I Bought them.]

[QUOTE=KFC;17493656]That would be a lot of stuff up front and probably unruly. If everything is not snug it will bounce around. And if the bucket ever came loose, you could be in big trouble. Wind resistance would be another issue. A cover for rain to prevent the bucket from filling with water?

Getting stuff out of panniers in camp is not a big deal. You are presumably going to have to get clothes out anyway. My tent and plastic tarp sit on the back rack. Cooking gear is in the right front pannier. Put things you might need to break out while on the road (e.g. rain gear) in the left panniers since you will most likely lean the right side of your bike against something (.e.g, guardrail).

Here is what things looked like during my MT tour last summer:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2...57645062932708

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2...57645062932708

That right rear pannier is bloated with my sleeping bag. Color coordination is optional.

Here is the pie:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2...57631829948559

I used Blackburn lowriders and a handlebar bag for years. Last year I finally bit the bullet and bought a full sized Surly front rack. I still feel like it might be overkill but I am sure glad I did it. The extra platform and stability adds a lot and I can carry more when I need to. I have since added a Wald basket to the top platform which makes it easy to stock up on groceries for the night, before getting to my daily destination.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=430073

Marc

VO Porteur Rack - Racks - Racks & Decaleurs - Accessories My roommate swears by his.

I'd be inclined to go with a Tubus Tara and leave it at that. It's light, solid, secure and puts front panniers in the best possible position. If at some point you want to reduce your load to one set of front panniers and top of rear rack load it'll be there.

If you're considering a front rack for muliple load configurations this type can work well but it helps to move the panniers back so they overlap the brakes an inch or so so that handling doesn't get weird. The linear pull brakes makes that easy whereas cantilevers will wear a spot in the back of the panniers. I have one of these on my CrossCheck with Ortlieb Classic front rollers providing enough adjustability to fit on the short rack but it takes a few wraps of Gorilla Tape to reduce rattling on the skinny rack. Not all panniers can fit on this kind of rack. I didn't bother to use the under fork crown mount but used rubber covered p clamps off the cantilever bosses. I wanted every millimeter of room for the front fender and this allowed me to get the rack as far back to the head tube as practical. With the cantilever bosses providing side to side support the fork crown tang can be cutoff. Another configuration for this rack if you're down to one set of panniers and going for lighter weight is to move front panniers to the back, get two 13liter dry bags and clip them together then drape over the rack and along the supports. It'll take some figuring out so the bags are absolutely secure with zero chance of dislodging into the front wheel.

VO Constructeur Front Rack - Racks & Decaleurs - Accessories

for a 15lb load it doesn't seem worth getting one of those big multi level combo front racks

[QUOTE=indyfabz;17493850]
Great pics - I may have not stated it correctly. If I go with the bucket, it would be in lieu of front panniers. I am prety sure I can keep the total weight, including the bucket under 15 lbs. I would use one of those 'Home Depot' buckets that comes with a air/watertight lid. I assume that the wind resistance of front panniers and a round bucket would be approximately equal and I would need to make sure that I attach it securly. Also I am not sure if I would have enough room between the rack platform and the bottom of the handlebars. Like I said, it is just a thought, but it sure would be nice to have a bucket in camp.

This other thread on racks, I have a photo of the Tubus Ergo and the Nashbar small platform front rack at this posting, the bike shown is my Thorn Sherpa:

http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/99...l#post17490123

and I have the same Tubus Ergo on my 2004 LHT with a Sunlite small platform rack at this posting:

http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/99...l#post17494565

I like the combination of the small platform rack to strap down small lightweight items and the lowrider rack for the front panniers.

I used to use a Surly front rack but it is huge and weighs a ton. I plan to donate the Surly to a charity in the near future, I am very happy with the Tubus Ergo that I bought to replace the Surly rack.

Does the Tara's hoop significantly add to the rigidity and strength over the Duo? I would take the Duo's packability over the Tara if they're both equally strong.

As far as I can tell the 2010 Trek 520 doesn't have inside midfork eyelets, which means the duo would not be compatible.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=430130

[QUOTE=KFC;17494509]I'm no expert, but I don't think your camping gear in a bucket on top of your front wheel is a good weight distribution plan. The bike handling will be affected negatively, IMHO. They make low rider front racks because the bike handles better with weight riding low. Collapsible buckets are available for bike camping, at reasonable prices.

I've been eyeing the Surly rack as well. Seems very tough (and heavy). I like the integrated rack for baskets or rando bags.

It is a 3 pound accessory, but I think it's worth it when you are carrying a load.

Marc

I can verify that is the case for the 520's that I have seen.

I opted for an OMM Sherpa front rack with the axle mount removed. For those with 26" wheels who don't want a low rider position it is a very solid and stiff set up for about a lb in weight. It sits on the top dropout eyelet then clamped at mid fork through p clamp by thick Al strap then further up to cantilever bosses with p clamps.

Pretty happy with my Tubus Nova and Velo Orange Pass Hunter small platform rack.
I went for stainless unpainted due to liking no rust and no scratched paint to have to repair.

http://i1198.photobucket.com/albums/...ps85c7207f.jpg

Be aware that my Velo Orange rack needed a minor modification to be fitted to my suspension corrected forks.
Out of the box, the fork crown stay is in the wrong position for suspension corrected forks.