Tailfin aero pack?

daniel_b

pangolin said:

Daniel did specifically ask for lightweight though and they are about 1kg just for the bag (but so is an ortileb rolltop so... shrug).

Indeed, and yes I take your point on the Ortlieb, but I should have stated the ability to quickly and easily remove and replace it is key (Probably primary) for me also, with the added bonus of being able to swap between bikes easily (Should I buy another compatible axel) is another positive.

pblakeney

Liking the idea of looking for lightweight luggage racks and bags, then stuffing the bag with laptops etc. By liking I mean finding funny.

Ben6899

daniel_b said:

MattFalle said:

its just a seat post clamp with a longer bolt stuck through it, yah?

I've used something like this 3 times with good success, twice on my bikes, and once on a mates:


I can see the solution above is good, but quick release it is not, unless I am missing something?

The bag is quick release from the rack. The rack is attached to the bike with three allen bolts. The bag sits on the rack and there are two spring-loaded lugs which clip into a housing built into the bag.

Ben6899

pangolin said:

Ben6899 said:

pangolin said:

oxoman said:

Don't carradice do anything similar at a cheaper price. Certainly can't fault the stuff I've had off them.

Not traditionally known for being lightweight though

Don't really need lightweight for touring - steady as she goes.

All you need is a Carradice Nelson, a quick release bagman and the additional support stays which can attach to the bottom of the seatpost if you don't have touring eyelets on your frame.

That'll come in at ~£130 (£99 for the Nelson). Photos below.

PS. And because this place is predictable. The garden is a work in progress / the pallet? I’m building some benches.

Yeah they are decent, I had one (I think a pendle?) for a while. Not sure I would want to put a laptop in it though, it always felt a bit bouncy. I think I had the bagman support without the extra 2 struts to the seatpost though.

Daniel did specifically ask for lightweight though and they are about 1kg just for the bag (but so is an ortileb rolltop so... shrug).

The struts make a huge difference.

Ben6899

pblakeney said:

Liking the idea of looking for lightweight luggage racks and bags, then stuffing the bag with laptops etc. By liking I mean finding funny.

This was my thinking. I'm not gonna tell anyone how to do it, but if you're packing for a weekend away or putting a laptop in there, a slightly heavier bag and rack makes very little difference.

Especially when your mate buys you a butternut squash from the corner shop.

joeyhalloran

I think the ability to swap it between bikes so quickly is quite nice, I might be more inclined to ride different bikes to work if I could so easily add luggage to each one. All my bikes (commuter, gravel, road) have rack eyelets but the majority of the time I would rather not have a rack.

I think next time I do some longer trips away I might try a rack with a dry bag approach, as said the weight different between that and a Tailfin is negligible

Ben6899 said:

Does the bag come with the support?

Otherwise, from looking here it looks like the support is £60, the extra strus are £21 and the quick release clamp is £33. So all in with the bag (£100) and you're getting in to tailfin territory.

Ben6899

I don’t recall the support and QR bit being separates. I’ve had it all a while now so can’t be certain.

daniel_b

For me, the main selling point of it, and seemingly it's usp, is the fact I can remove/re-attach it in a matter of seconds, and aside from the replacement thru axle, there will be no sign it was ever fitted.

The carbon is 150g lighter than the alloy version, the alloy version is £70 less I think - I like a bit of carbon bling, and it's going on a carbon bike, or bikes, so for me I'm prepared to spend the extra for that weight saving, which I feel is merited for the times when it will be mated up to my lightweight climbing bike.

I am surprised as this has been on the market for a number of years, that no one has come out with a similar, but cheaper alternative.

MattFalle

daniel_b said:

For me, the main selling point of it, and seemingly it's usp, is the fact I can remove/re-attach it in a matter of seconds, and aside from the replacement thru axle, there will be no sign it was ever fitted.

The carbon is 150g lighter than the alloy version, the alloy version is £70 less I think - I like a bit of carbon bling, and it's going on a carbon bike, or bikes, so for me I'm prepared to spend the extra for that weight saving, which I feel is merited for the times when it will be mated up to my lightweight climbing bike.

I am surprised as this has been on the market for a number of years, that no one has come out with a similar, but cheaper alternative.

i think that may say something about market demand....

daniel_b

Entirely possible.

I do tend to like a niche product

It's clearly worked out pretty well for them though, as to the best of my knowledge the carbon and alloy racks are all they make, besides the luggage, but I would assume (dangerous I know) that the luggage is bespoke, and presumably would only work on their racks.

They seem to be pretty fast on replies, customer service seems pretty on the button, although I have no idea how many employees they have, it seems like they are doing something right.

Don't know what the aftercare is like, hopefully I won't need to find out

joeyhalloran

It's funny no one has created a clamp or similar that goes around a regular ~£30 rack that makes it quick release. Surely something similar to what tailfin do could be retrofitted to a regular rack without much engineering. Couldn't tubus or Tortec stick a engineering summer intern on it?

pblakeney

joeyhalloran said:

It's funny no one has created a clamp or similar that goes around a regular ~£30 rack that makes it quick release. Surely something similar to what tailfin do could be retrofitted to a regular rack without much engineering. Couldn't tubus or Tortec stick a engineering summer intern on it?

Cable ties and a sharp blade. Cheap, compact and lightweight. 😉

MattFalle

.

joeyhalloran said:

It's funny no one has created a clamp or similar that goes around a regular ~£30 rack that makes it quick release. Surely something similar to what tailfin do could be retrofitted to a regular rack without much engineering. Couldn't tubus or Tortec stick a engineering summer intern on it?

so you just want a quick release clamp to be able to bolt a rack to it?

MattFalle

so this then?

joeyhalloran

Yes, that and the bolts attaching the legs of the tack to the frame.

daniel_b

No, because you still can't remove the rack quickly - you'd need to at least, take the seatpost and slide the above off the end, but yes I guess that goes some way towards it.

They do make quick release 'racks' of sorts, that just clamp onto the seat post, but the ones I have seen I would not trust with any serious pannier weight (or a laptop), they are just for light rack bags imho.




As I understand it, once the thru axle is fitted, all you need to do is slot the legs of the rack onto the thru axle, I would assume some kind of quick release, or dial to lock them in, and then wrap the strap around the seatpost.

As I have said, if there is something else out there that offers a similarly quick and easy way of removing, and refitting a rack (And also ease of transferring between bikes) I would be very open to it, but frustratingly I don't think there is anything else on the market, though perhaps there will be in time, though I suspect Tailfin are probably hoping not

joeyhalloran

Tailfin have been going long enough that other companies could have picked up the idea and got something to market by now. Maybe others don't think the market is big enough? Which is odd as i imagine there are quite a few people that use a single bike for commuting and weekend rides and would pay for that functionality who can't/won't afford tailfins very high price.

I wonder if tailfin accept cyclescheme vouchers.

MattFalle

daniel_b said:

No, because you still can't remove the rack quickly - you'd need to at least, take the seatpost and slide the above off the end, but yes I guess that goes some way towards it.

They do make quick release 'racks' of sorts, that just clamp onto the seat post, but the ones I have seen I would not trust with any serious pannier weight (or a laptop), they are just for light rack bags imho.




As I understand it, once the thru axle is fitted, all you need to do is slot the legs of the rack onto the thru axle, I would assume some kind of quick release, or dial to lock them in, and then wrap the strap around the seatpost.

As I have said, if there is something else out there that offers a similarly quick and easy way of removing, and refitting a rack (And also ease of transferring between bikes) I would be very open to it, but frustratingly I don't think there is anything else on the market, though perhaps there will be in time, though I suspect Tailfin are probably hoping not

why do you have to take the seatpost out?

just use a w/r bolt through the rack/clamp attachment.

joeyhalloran

https://www.ortlieb.com/en_us/quick-rack+F78104

Boom! Found it.


Looks like for the pannier rack version it's about 100g heavier than the Tailfin but is also £70 compared to £200. You can use your existing panniers or add a cheap box/top trunk bag to replace the tailfin AP20 (which adds £150).

daniel_b

The link above errors for me sadly, sounds interesting though.

Also, having watched a random youtube review video from a northern woman on the tailfin, I now may be more swayed towards the alloy version, purely because it has additional mounts on either side, either for bottle cages or bags - although if you used panniers, I think they would be inaccessible:


But if you happened to go on a long ride with no panniers, but a rack bag, you would then have 4 bottle capacity, and yes I know everyone says you can stop at a shop yadda, yadda, yadda, but I quite like going out and not HAVING to stop unless I want to.

With the 3rd party pannier mounts I think that weighs in at about £215.

joeyhalloran

https://www.ortlieb.com/en_us/quick-rack

pangolin

joeyhalloran said:

https://www.ortlieb.com/en_us/quick-rack

Seems out of stock, preorder for July here though https://www.cyclestore.co.uk/ortlieb_quick_rack_2022-ID_84482

joeyhalloran

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/ORTLIEB/Quick-Rack-Rear-Pannier-Carrier/XFRH

Not quite as long a wait here if their stock estimation is correct. I guess it's a brand new product so stock will start coming in.

daniel_b

joeyhalloran said:

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/ORTLIEB/Quick-Rack-Rear-Pannier-Carrier/XFRH

Not quite as long a wait here if their stock estimation is correct. I guess it's a brand new product so stock will start coming in.

That does look neat, and very good value - can't quite fathom what the legs are meant to attach to?


Are they meant to strap around QRs or thru axles?


EDIT: Looks like you HAVE to have rack mounts, to which pegs attach, which are a permament fitment:

"The Ortlieb Quick Rack is made of aluminum tubing and was built for commuting and touring. It features a universal design that’s adjustable to different bikes via a variable strut length. It does require lower rack mounts, but uses a quick-release mechanism that attaches to included rack pegs. Each threads onto standard mounts on the dropout. According to Ortlieb, the Quick Rack features a stable platform and a flexible hinged design that can even be used on full-suspension bikes. The Ortlieb Quick Rack has a claimed weight of 580 grams with a maximum payload of 15 kilograms and retails for €69.99."

daniel_b

That's a shame, I was quite taken with that Orlieb rack, as I know it will be good quality, and it's stunning value for money - ideally it needs a frame with rack mounts, which mine will not have, you can use stay mounted parts, but I wouldn't be that confident in those.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=T8pSRrYE3b4

If you have rack mounts though, that is clearly a phenomenally suitable and well priced product - I can't see how this would not take sales away from Tailfin for those who have rack mounts, or are happy having the fixing points on their rear stays.

joeyhalloran

All my bikes have rack mounts so that's me sorted I feel.

Could try p clips? Although I agree, less neat. It certainly pushes Tailfin in to a more niche category of either people who don't have mounts and require a quick release pannier or people who just want a bit of premium bling.

thegreatdivide

daniel_b said:

Also, having watched a random youtube review video from a northern woman

The ‘northern woman’ is the very popular YouTube blogger Katie Kookaburra.

Are you a Southern Tw4t?

daniel_b

thegreatdivide said:

daniel_b said:

Also, having watched a random youtube review video from a northern woman

The ‘northern woman’ is the very popular YouTube blogger Katie Kookaburra.

Are you a Southern Tw4t?

lol, I know who Katie Kookaburra is

I've just looked back, and it's a woman called Eloise Park, who has a grand total of 696 subscribers.

Are you a conclusion jumper?

daniel_b

joeyhalloran said:

All my bikes have rack mounts so that's me sorted I feel.

Could try p clips? Although I agree, less neat. It certainly pushes Tailfin in to a more niche category of either people who don't have mounts and require a quick release pannier or people who just want a bit of premium bling.

Agreed, if you have rack mounts, it makes so much sense - you could then just buy multiple little pegs, and fit them to any bike you might want to use it on, ultimate flexibility.

No I wouldn't fancy p clips on a carbon frame, but I would use them on the right bike if need be.

Ben6899

thegreatdivide said:

daniel_b said:

Also, having watched a random youtube review video from a northern woman

The ‘northern woman’ is the very popular YouTube blogger Katie Kookaburra.

Are you a Southern Tw4t?

Completely unnecessarily rude. Come on!