Road Bike with Panniers/Mudguards

dancook

edited, because I have just realised what my real question is.

For commuting + weekend fun I think I should look at a drop bar road bike with panniers/fenders.

Do panniers need a rear mount rack?
Do panniers / fenders fit to any road bike?

Are there any nice fender / bike combo's people have seen? I'm not keen on the obviously shiny metal fenders on bikes I've seen. I'd rather not have fenders due to the styles I've seen, but I think I'd be better off with them.

budget 1000-1500 btw.

UndercoverElephant

Ribble winter trainer? You can add or subtract bits and bobs to your heart's desire.

Edit: Or, since your budget is rather larger, you could try looking at Audax bikes, possibly the Condor one?

will3

You could look at bikes branded as"audax" bikes or touring bikes if that's your thing.

dancook

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Ribble winter trainer? You can add or subtract bits and bobs to your heart's desire.

Edit: Or, since your budget is rather larger, you could try looking at Audax bikes, possibly the Condor one?

Although the Ribble Winter Trainer doesn't grab me, is it just a road bike with fenders on?

I assume if you took the fenders off during the summer, it's just like any other road bike.

iPete

It can be done yes.. here is a post I made in the Tour forum:

Fitting a rack to an Allez is tricky as the brakes get in the way, as fitted below:
Topeak Super Tourist DX Rear Rack, has a lower mounting point for a lower center of gravity and heel clearance.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Topea ... 360022940/

M:Part Single Bolt Seat Post Clamp With Rack Mount, this solves the fitting issue.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/MPart ... 300005198/

Ortlieb Back Roller Plus Panniers, possibly the best on the market, lighter than the classic version. Don't rush to buy though, I got mine for £92 delivered from Wiggle with an offer.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Ortli ... 360007501/

I think the fenders are sks race guards. They fit on any bike with straps, the Allez doesn't have eyelets specifically for guards.

Do panniers need a rear mount rack?
Do panniers / fenders fit to any road bike?

Firstly, see above, the rack is mounted via the seat post, whilst I have low down eyelets for attaching you can buy Quick Release adapters that allow you to stick a rack on here.
Secondly yes, see above, although as said, these go on any bike and are easy to quickly remove.



Here she is now, ready to roll:

dancook

Looks good, I googled sks race guards too - and they don't look offensive. cheers

hugh1982

Look at the Condor Fratello. I bought one last year and i think it's ace, having used it for daily commuting, long weekend rides, and light touring in France.

Mike400

Specialized Tricross (£699) will take gaurds and a rack AFAIK. nice looking bike too:
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... ctID=21640

Specialized Tricross Sport (£849) as above but better spec:
http://www.bikebike.co.uk/products.php? ... 2061&rs=gb

Then theres the Ridgeback Horizon (£699) which comes with gaurds already
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _Bike_2010

IMO the ribble is better value than the ridgeback and a very similar package as far as I can see

dancook

hugh1982 wrote:

Look at the Condor Fratello. I bought one last year and i think it's ace, having used it for daily commuting, long weekend rides, and light touring in France.

It has a steel frame, does that affect weight and in turn cycling efficiency/speed much compared to carbon?

dancook

Mike400 wrote:

Specialized Tricross (£699) will take gaurds and a rack AFAIK. nice looking bike too:
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... ctID=21640

Specialized Tricross Sport (£849) as above but better spec:
http://www.bikebike.co.uk/products.php? ... 2061&rs=gb

Then theres the Ridgeback Horizon (£699) which comes with gaurds already
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _Bike_2010

IMO the ribble is better value than the ridgeback and a very similar package as far as I can see

Thanks, though I was looking at a £1000-£1500 spend and a carbon frame - not that I'll claim to know much bout bikes. (sorry I deleted this from the first post, when I edited it)

I will take a look at your selection, thanks

lost_in_thought

I've got a Tifosi CK7 - link in signature - and the Bowery has a rack and guards in the link.

Look at the Mr Crud racer guards - very subtle and can be fitted to almost any roadie.

Panniers - can be fitted withough pannier mountings using p-clips, but not to a carbon frame.

dancook

lost_in_thought wrote:

Panniers - can be fitted withough pannier mountings using p-clips, but not to a carbon frame.

Thanks, is this a general thing - panniers cannot be fitted to carbon frames?

Or are you saying you need a mounting with a carbon frame.

lost_in_thought

dancook wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Panniers - can be fitted withough pannier mountings using p-clips, but not to a carbon frame.

Thanks, is this a general thing - panniers cannot be fitted to carbon frames?

Or are you saying you need a mounting with a carbon frame.

Sorry, that wasn't very clear in my post, was it?

Panniers can't be fitted to a carbon frame with p-clips, because of the way carbon is stressed force applied in the wrong direction would be likely to cause it to break.

You would need proper integrated pannier rack mounts if you went for a carbon frame.

However, I've never seen a carbon frame with proper integrated pannier rack mounts. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist though!

Aidy

I'm not really sure why you'd want a carbon framed bike that was pannier friendly

dancook

lost_in_thought wrote:

dancook wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Panniers - can be fitted withough pannier mountings using p-clips, but not to a carbon frame.

Thanks, is this a general thing - panniers cannot be fitted to carbon frames?

Or are you saying you need a mounting with a carbon frame.

Sorry, that wasn't very clear in my post, was it?

Panniers can't be fitted to a carbon frame with p-clips, because of the way carbon is stressed force applied in the wrong direction would be likely to cause it to break.

You would need proper integrated pannier rack mounts if you went for a carbon frame.

However, I've never seen a carbon frame with proper integrated pannier rack mounts. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist though!

Thanks, I think I've got that - if I want a carbon frame with a pannier mount I'll need to find one with it already on.

Thanks for the info.

dancook

Aidy wrote:

I'm not really sure why you'd want a carbon framed bike that was pannier friendly

You probably know much more about bikes than me, I was looking to keep the bike light for cycle efficiency.

I wouldn't be using pannier and guards at the weekend, only for the commute.

Aidy

Titanium is the way forward then

dancook

Aidy wrote:

Titanium is the way forward then

I assume it's just the frame I can afford?

TommyEss

If you want a bike to fulfil a number of roles, then yuo are going to have to make compromises.

One of those is going to be frame weight in place of the strength and geometry to handle loaded panniers.

Flatly - I lightweight carbon fibre road bike with a shorter wheelbase and faster handling is not going to ride very nicely if you do manage to fit it up to the gills with racks and panniers.

If you got a steel framed touring bike, you'd be able to take racks, panniers and mudguards with no stress whatsoever, and if you took them off, you'd still have a bike you can take out and enjoy - probably not race on it - but weekend rides in the hills will be no trouble.

dancook

TommyEss wrote:

If you want a bike to fulfil a number of roles, then yuo are going to have to make compromises.

One of those is going to be frame weight in place of the strength and geometry to handle loaded panniers.

Flatly - I lightweight carbon fibre road bike with a shorter wheelbase and faster handling is not going to ride very nicely if you do manage to fit it up to the gills with racks and panniers.

If you got a steel framed touring bike, you'd be able to take racks, panniers and mudguards with no stress whatsoever, and if you took them off, you'd still have a bike you can take out and enjoy - probably not race on it - but weekend rides in the hills will be no trouble.

Thanks good advice, I'll give it some good thought.

hugh1982

dancook wrote:

hugh1982 wrote:

Look at the Condor Fratello. I bought one last year and i think it's ace, having used it for daily commuting, long weekend rides, and light touring in France.

It has a steel frame, does that affect weight and in turn cycling efficiency/speed much compared to carbon?

Yes, it will affect the weight and speed of the bike but not disastrously so. I cycle much more quickly than many people on my route who ride carbon frames. In turn, I sometimes get overtaken by weirdos on mountain bikes! i.e. the bike won't be the chief determinant of your speed

Clearly it's not a great option for racing but if you want a robust bike that'll stand up to the rigours of commuting and take a pannier rack then it's a decent choice.

elcani

You could look something like the Planet X Ti Sportive (maybe not that actual bike if you're in the States). I've got one and intend to use it for some lightish touring. It has mudguard eyelets on the dropouts which can be used for a pannier rack, as long as you use something like this on the seat stays:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.asp? ... rc=froogle

My intention is to use the Crud Roadracer mudguards (fenders) as these do not need any fixed mounting points on the frame or fork. You can see pictures of my bike (without mudguards or rack) using the link below .

Good luck.

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12702487

dancook

Thanks for the replies,

I'm considering ditching the pannier idea, which was (as I'm doubling my commute distance) to try and save on sweating to much before work!

Since a carbon road bike would be easier to cycle than my mountain bike, maybe it'll even out and I can continue to use my rucksack without sweating 'too' much.

At the end of the day, we have showers at work - so it's not the end of the world.

Even though a stronger frame, like steel sounds appealing for the commute - I want to maximise my potential for speed, as that is behind my enthusiasm for buying a road bike.

I have definitely learnt something! thanks all.

Aidy

Panniers are definitely ace.

I'd sooner have panniers than a carbon framed bike.

(For the most part, the titanium framed bike stays at home, because I'd rather be pannier equiped for the commute)

[Edit] The obvious solution is, of course, have both [/Edit]

dancook

Aidy wrote:

Panniers are definitely ace.

I'd sooner have panniers than a carbon framed bike.

(For the most part, the titanium framed bike stays at home, because I'd rather be pannier equiped for the commute)

[Edit[ The obvious solution is, of course, have both [/Edit]

I have too many interests and not enough money to do that

Although I just remembered a challenge for myself to cycle to my parents 110 miles away. Panniers would really be a must then... I wish I could have it all.

edit. My missus gets annoyed about how much I change my mind... ah well.

elcani

Titanium is the obvious answer here....

TommyEss

For commuting, panniers really are the way forward.

I reckon a great compromise here is the titanium option, I really do... Strong enough to take the load, can get all the mounting points you want, then strip everything off and ready to ride off into the hills... Titanium bikes don't exactly weigh a tonne now, do they?

dancook

ElCani wrote:

Titanium is the obvious answer here....

Ok ok, I will start looking into titanium bikes!

Are you saying they are as light as carbon, but strong enough to support panniers?

dancook

TommyEss wrote:

For commuting, panniers really are the way forward.

I reckon a great compromise here is the titanium option, I really do... Strong enough to take the load, can get all the mounting points you want, then strip everything off and ready to ride off into the hills... Titanium bikes don't exactly weigh a tonne now, do they?

Yes and when my missus gets upset that I've spent more than I planned, you can explain the benefits.

Maybe I will save up a few more pennies.

TommyEss

One decent titanium bike is less than a good tourer and a good carbon fibre bike combined!!

dancook

TommyEss wrote:

One decent titanium bike is less than a good tourer and a good carbon fibre bike combined!!

Maybe I just got unlucky with my google search hmm... I will try again.