Lightweight rack and rackbag

sean65

Hi Guys

Just wondering if anyone can recommend any lightweight racks and a rackbag.

I have a Condor Fratello which is considered to be a lightweight touring bike.

I want to stop wearing a backpack when riding as I suffered a bit today while on a longish ride.

I'll only be carrying a multitool, spare tubes, pump etc and would like enough space to throw in my outer layer as weather permits.

Maybe even the Carradice Barley might do the trick.

Any thoughts on the pros/cons of saddle v rack welcome

Thanks

Sean

cycladelic

If you get a rear rack, you could always use panniers in the future - if going on a longer tour.

It depends on how much you want to pay. Tubus do a titanium rear rack, but it's about 120 quid. Most ali' ones will be okay - only about 20 quid or so. You can look on eBay for a quality second-hand one, such as Blackburn.

The rack-bags are much the same. Unless you want a pricey 'waterproof' one, there's not much between them in terms of cost and capacity.

toontra

I really like my Creek2peak Discovery rack bag. It holds enough for a 7-day b&b tour if I'm selective. The top expands if you need to buy supplies on the way and it's very light. Probably not completely waterproof (hence the weight) but that's never been a problem for me - if there are things you really don't want to get wet just put them in a plastic bag!

The velcro fasteners to hold it on the rack are in exactly the right place to get a very secure fixing, as are the handles and carry strap. It's also reasonably good-looking and is one of those bits of kit that kind of make me smile every time I use it!

I believe they do a smaller size (called a Pioneer) if you're not going to be carrying spare clothes/waterproofs/food), but to be honest the Discovery is so light you may as well get the larger one to cover all eventualities.

As for the rack, because of the lightness of what I carry on Audax-type events, I got the lightest, most non-descript ali rack I could find (also the cheapest). Doesn't even have a brand name so I can't help you with dealers - must have come off ebay I think.

ut_och_cykla

Tubus lightweight model (Fly? not titanium!) will carry up to 18kgs. i use it on my trek 1000 with a Vaude rack bag which carreis sarnies, tools, spare jersey, camera etc. Excellent combi. V .light solution.

andymiller

cycladelic wrote:

If you get a rear rack, you could always use panniers in the future - if going on a longer tour.

It depends on how much you want to pay. Tubus do a titanium rear rack...

They seem to be having production problems - latest word from the UK distributors is that they won't have any until at least May.

The Tubus Fly and Luna are light (435g) and will last a lifetime - a £20 aluminium rack will last a few years or regular use (IME).

sean65

Thanks all.

Hadn't heard of Vaude and Creek2peak gear. The Discovery bag does look good. Is it easy enough to take off the bike if you want to carry it into shops etc. or is it designed more for leaving on and removing just at the end of the day?

Also the Tubus Fly fits on to the brake area. I have two bolts on the seat stay's for fitting a rack. Would it be better to get a rack that utilises those fittings?

And one last silly question. Tubus say the Fly rack fits 26/28 wheels. Do 700c = 28'?

Just a curiosity but the link below shows a bag made by Knog. If you double click the photo, it loads a bigger picture which show the Knog bag open and you can clearly see that there is enough room for a rugby ball and a gun. :shock:


http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... runk%20Bag

nun

sean65 wrote:

Hi Guys

Just wondering if anyone can recommend any lightweight racks and a rackbag.

I have a Condor Fratello which is considered to be a lightweight touring bike.

I want to stop wearing a backpack when riding as I suffered a bit today while on a longish ride.

I'll only be carrying a multitool, spare tubes, pump etc and would like enough space to throw in my outer layer as weather permits.

Maybe even the Carradice Barley might do the trick.

Any thoughts on the pros/cons of saddle v rack welcome

Thanks

Sean

A Carradice Barley is the perfect solution and you won't need a rack. You do need loops on your saddle or a clamp for the saddle though. I use a Barley every time I go out on the bike. I carry pump, tubes, tools, a lock, a rain jacket
and maybe some food.

andymiller

sean65 wrote:

Also the Tubus Fly fits on to the brake area. I have two bolts on the seat stay's for fitting a rack. Would it be better to get a rack that utilises those fittings?

And one last silly question. Tubus say the Fly rack fits 26/28 wheels. Do 700c = 28'?

It comes with a bendable rod so it can attach to the seat stays. That's where mine is secured.

Works fine with my 700c wheels.

rdaviesb

I've a Blackburn Expedition Rack on the back of my tourer which is now 20 years old.

toontra

sean65 wrote:

Thanks all.

Hadn't heard of Vaude and Creek2peak gear. The Discovery bag does look good. Is it easy enough to take off the bike if you want to carry it into shops etc. or is it designed more for leaving on and removing just at the end of the day?

Also the Tubus Fly fits on to the brake area. I have two bolts on the seat stay's for fitting a rack. Would it be better to get a rack that utilises those fittings?

Yes, the Creek2peak is held on with 3 velcro fasteners and comes off in a few seconds. It has carry handles making it easy to,,, well, carry. It also comes with a shoulder strap but I never take that (weight conscious!).

I'm not sure how it will work with a tubular frame like a Tubus. The velcro strips fit well under the solid plate I have on my cheapo rack (which, by the way, is lighter than the Tubus racks and plenty strong enough for a rack bag). The solid plate also acts as an additional mudguard (or actually as a mudguard if you don't have one). A bit like this one: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360027965&N=LifeLine%20Alloy%20Rear%20Rack

And yes, if you have the mount points on your frame and drop-outs then I would use them. They will bear the load more evenly than a seatpost mount or saddle.

Yes, you could go down the saddlebag route, but as you asked about rackbags and racks, that what I've responded to.

1footedninja

I use the Pletscher ATHLETE 4-B rack - [ http://www.pletscher.ch/ ] - two of em - might be hard to get hold of as I had to order from Switzerland by emailing the company, but it was worth it (only cost me about 16 quid all in, including postage! - how good is that!), as they originally sent me a rack without the springy bit on, so sent me another, at no cost, with the springy bit on. spot on of them!

And I now use bike-bins which are spot on as well, www.bikebins.com should link you to there website, they have rixen-kaul fittings and work great with my racks.

for simplicity this is a great set up and sturdy as well.

see you out on the road/trail somewhere!

andymiller

rdaviesb wrote:

I've a Blackburn Expedition Rack on the back of my tourer which is now 20 years old.

I've had an aluminium rack fail on me, so I don't have confidence in them myself, but I'm sure that good-quality aluminium racks (eg OMM and some of the higher-end expedition racks) are durable. On the other hand, cheap racks are a false economy.

pieinthesky

Racks are easy to build yourself if you have access to a good blow torch and you have some basic engineering skills. You can make them specifically for your frame.

I built an ultra light rack to carry just a rack pack, 240 grams including light bracket and 4 point fixing. Brazed it together on the gas cooker (when Mrs pie was out shopping) using thin walled steel tube. I intended to build an improved version using a proper welding torch but the original is still going strong 4 years on so I havent got round to it.

sean65

There seem to be a lot more makes than I first realised with regards luggage.

Arkel is another brand I've just found. I guess it's like anything, narrow it down and try a few out.

http://www.bikefix.co.uk/index.php?uniq ... id=178#a40

blorg

I have racks on 2 out of my 3 bikes (tourer and commuter) but you certainly don't need one for "multitool, spare tubes, pump etc," a saddlebag (or indeed seat pack) will be more than enough. For that sort of thing (on a road bike) I attach the pump to the frame and stick the multitool, spare tubes etc. in this seat pack. There is room for a few bars, backup light, batteries, phone, camera, small spanner, small lock etc. in this too. My only outer layer (excepting dead of winter) is a raincoat that folds up very small and I stick in my jersey.

The Carradice would be perfect if you want to bring a bit more stuff with you (say a long day with expected large temperature variations.) Rack you only really need if you want to go do your shopping or a multi-day tour.

sean65

Hi guys,

Just as an update, I looked at a few bags yesterday and chose the Carradice Barley.

Great little bag. Buckles take getting used to if you're an impatient 'zip' man like myself but all said, I'm very pleased with it. Real 'old school' looks are great and should annoy some of the unfit folk on bling carbon bikes as I overtake them on the hills.

The Arkel luggage looked very good also,and they have one of the best web sites that give detailed pages covering the fitting and feature of each product with lots of photo illustrations.

Thanks for your input.

cycladelic

You might also want to get one of these - they make saddlebag removal a cinch...


http://www.carradice.co.uk/racks-and-at ... stem.shtml