Pannier heel-strike and large feet

acr
acr Posts: 53
edited October 2007 in Commuting chat
Hi All,

I'm after suggestions for pannier racks to avoid heel-strike. I have size 12 feet, and a chainstay length of 45cm. Pannier rack came with the bike and is fine other than the top platform rises up slightly at the rear which prevents the pannier bags clamping on (rixen and kaul fittings), thought I can fit it fine further forwards but then I get not a lot of space between bags and feet. So, I'm after something that will allow me to fit the bags as far back as possible. I know Tubus Logo gets a mention, but it costs and arm and a leg. £40 max would be good.

Ade

Comments

  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    Yeah Tubus Logo has a lower rail allowing more rearward fitting, also they have an adapter

    P919E1-New-OneS.jpg

    for about £11 that will give even more clearance. You can also get panniers (such as Ortlieb) that allow the mounting to be tilted, allowing more heel clearance.

    Tortec make cheap racks that have a similar lower rail to the Tubus

    tortec-expedition-rack-main.jpg

    You may be able to fit the Tubus adapter to the Tortec to increase clearance - not sure, the Tubus has 2 bolt holes, the Tortec only one, but it could work fine.

    I have the Tubus Cosmo (more expensive, stainless steel version of the Logo) and the QR adapter and that gives good clearance on my converted MTB which would otherwise have too short chainstays for conventional racks. Tubus are worth the money as they are very well made and have a 10 year warranty (forst three years they will courrier out replacements to anywhere in the world, so great for expedition tourists), but the Tortec seems to be the closest equivalent on a budget.
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    Thinking about it, I don't think the Tubus adapter will fit well on the Tortec, but the Tortec design may give enough clearance on its own. You could try the adapter and send it back if its no good.
  • acr
    acr Posts: 53
    Cheers for the response, though I'd have thought that lowering the pannier makes the problem worse ie. height and rearward placement are the aim ?
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    the lower rail does provide a further rearward position as you can see in the pictures, maybe 2 to 3 cm, not much but maybe enough. More height wouldn't really do it because most panniers would be too deep to remove the base from heel contact. The Tortec may do it, but for a guaranteed fix the Tubus plus adapter will work, but at a price, as you point out.
  • acr
    acr Posts: 53
    I found the answer to this, got a Blackburn EX2 Expedition Rack - not that I'll be doing any expeditions! All is well, feet nowhere near panniers, I like it.

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