Panniers Problem

AltAccount

I'm commuting a bit more and want to be able to use my bike for (limited) shopping etc.

I don't have eyelets on the back, so was thinking of front mounted panniers.

Does anyone have any experience with them? The forks are Kona P2s

barrabus

http://www.oldmanmountain.com/Pages/instructions/UltimateLowRiderInst.html

el Bastardo

There are options to mount a rear carrier without using eyelets (using QR, seatpost, seatstays and/or v-brake mounts). Tubus is worth a look in.

AltAccount

OMM looks ok, but very expensive. Also I'd rather not change the skewers if possible.

AltAccount

el Bastardo wrote: »

There are options to mount a rear carrier without using eyelets (using QR, seatpost, seatstays and/or v-brake mounts). Tubus is worth a look in.

Cheers, still pretty steep.


Would these work with my forks?
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=14124
Is there mounting kit that would make them fit?

AltAccount

In case anyone is remotely interested in how this worked out, here we are:

I bought a standard rear mounted bike rack from Fitz Cycles.

I bought two packs/pairs of fuel clips from Halfords:


Total cost for the clips, €5ish

Here's what it all looks like on the bike:

AltAccount

The rack is sitting a little high due to the clips' positioning on the seat stays, but it's no biggie:




I'm not sure how strong the whole assembly is yet, but for the purposes I'm looking for (carrying commuting-related gear or a bit of shopping in a pannier bag) it seems perfect.

petethedrummer

Just don't overload it on the first few goes. A mate of mine had the same set up and the clips dug into the paint work even though there was rubber between the clip and the frame. It was wobbly as hell and got wobblier as the p-clips got weaker.

I just received a set of those tubus jobs and I'll report on how they work when I get round to attaching them.

Mycroft H

Personally I think P clips are rubbish for anything but the lightest load when holding the bottom of the pannier where most the weight is held.

These would do the job nicely, I would imagine.



http://biketouringnews.com/bike-and-gear-guide/bags-panniers/tubus-quick-release-adapter/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tubus-adapter-set-for-qr-axle-mounting/

petethedrummer

petethedrummer wrote: »

I just received a set of those tubus jobs and I'll report on how they work when I get round to attaching them.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tubus-adapter-set-for-qr-axle-mounting/

Just wanted to come back to this. After bludgeoning my rack mounts to death with my heavy hand, I have been using the Tubus Adapter for about 8-9 months. I carry one or two loaded ortlieb front roller panneir bags about 3-4 days a week to work. It does the job perfectly.

1 word of advice. You have to use it with a Tubus rack. Because you need to fix it at the bottom with 2 screws. 1 will not work. Well it will work as long as you don't hit a bump.

So I bought a Tubus rack. They are not cheap. But they are very well made. Much superior to my previous rack. So the setup is much more stable than before. This is down to the quality of the new rack, the adapter neither increases or reduces the stability.

I have seen some reviews where people have difficulty installing it. It doesn't take that long if you use the spacers correctly. It also doesn't slow up the removal of the rear wheel for punctures. Well maybe by about 1-2 seconds, but I have that kind of time to spare. I don't use the quick release skewer that came with it. I bought an allen bolt BBB one instead, just for theft purposes, there was nothing wrong with the provided skewer.

The only downside is now that I have killed the frame mountings, fitting mudguards requires a little bit of bodging. My last set went on no bother, the new ones I bought will require a bit of cutting of the support struts, because the new mounting location is further from the centre of the wheel and throws everything off.


If your bike has no mountings for a rack I think this is a great (but not cheap) solution. And rather than use p-clips at the top, I would combine it with a seatpost collar that has rack mountings. Such as this: http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/giant-quick-release-seat-collar-w-rack-mount-id55695.html

My rack mounts on the upper seats stays are fine. But one side is obscured by the brake calipers. So when I can find a non-quick release collar with rack mountings I will install it also.