Bike Forums - Walds baskets: love, hate or otherwise

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Walds baskets: love, hate or otherwise

Do you have a "paper route"?

I like the look but even the smallest one will probably cause problems in the bike racks here.

I have a smaller one on my RB-T commuter, attached to a Nitto rack (I removed the struts). It really is an ideal size as I can slip an entire grocery bag into that front basket.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...837d25115.jpeg

I'm considering a 137 or 1372 to put on my wife's mixte. The quite large selection of bags made especially for them makes it look pretty attractive. The only issue is that most basket bags are so much bigger than she needs or would want.

We have a 133 quick release here that is handy for shopping. Lift the handle and it comes right off. It looks like they have hooks for the handlebars now, but our has a clamp-on bracket.
https://waldsports.com/wp-content/up...B9D5D88827.jpg

BlueLug Japan has a nice selection 137 and 139 half-baskets (chopped in half to be less tall) in a variety of colours.

Had a #157 back when I delivered papers and always liked the practicality of the folding rear baskets but never used them. Made a few commission bucks selling them back when I was a rep so I'd fall into the "love" camp.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5d51891b21.jpg

My Giant Friend Andy is a card carrying member of the Riv and Dale cult, so of course he has a Wald basket on his 1998 LongLow. We're done several tours together over the past few years. He likes his canvas and leather bag up front. Sometimes he uses panniers in the rear. Me, I'm a fancy handlebar rack and bag, probably 2-3 lbs lighter. But it works for him, obviously, and he uses his bike for grocery shopping when he's not traipsing about the countryside on trips with me.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4292095099.png

If you want your bike to look like a complicated and inefficient shopping trolley, these are just what you need. :)

(Well, you asked)

Yes, I 💜 baskets. Wald 137 up front, Carradice bag in back.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ab7eabc1e1.jpg

I Like them but: I like front suspension. Most front baskets are used on bikes without front suspension. Front baskets also mess with headlights. The basket blocks the light shining on the part of the road quite close to the bike.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alo (Post 21374471)

I mounted the light under the basket. You can see it peaking out in the pic above, on the ND side.

They make excellent quality products, and have survived for a long time as a company. They make good products and keep the prices quite affordable. If I lived somewhere with a comfortable and safe ride to shopping, I'd have no reservations about having them on a bike or two that I actually used regularly. I have some fold-away twin rear baskets still on the Superbe (undeterminable manufacturer), and my wife's old Dunelt 3-speed step-through has a front Wald basket.

Can't say I love them them enough to fit them out like they were Brooks (or rhm) saddles, but they get a big :thumb: here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyrion (Post 21374476)

I mounted the light under the basket. You can see it peaking out in the pic above, on the ND side.

Same here, but on the drive side:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6fc53eeec.jpeg

I've been trying to visualize a 1" aluminum tube underneath the basket that extends out far enough on the ends to clamp a couple handle bar mount lights. Getting it cleanly and rigidly mounted so it wont shake or rotate is the puzzle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bark_eater (Post 21374592)

For which basket?
The one in the first post with those long struts give a good location for such a mount. If a smaller basket, when used with a front rack, look for one with eyelets. I drilled and tapped a piece of aluminum bar stock and bolted it to my front rack.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a7569977a6.jpg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ad12348c28.jpg

I use a bag, but could also opt for a basket supported by that rack.

BTW, those are genuine Wald fenders.

Firmly in the 'they're OK' camp. My wifes Hercules/Eatons rebrand and my old McBride.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7ffd75e887.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b7e2e526e1.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by BFisher (Post 21374606)

For which basket?
The one in the first post with those long struts give a good location for such a mount. If a smaller basket, when used with a front rack, look for one with eyelets. I drilled and tapped a piece of aluminum bar stock and bolted it to my front rack.
I use a bag, but could also opt for a basket supported by that rack.

BTW, those are genuine Wald fenders.

This is the basket and its mounted on a Blackburn rack.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d8248b8ea2.jpg

Put me in the minority of folks here in this thread - I can't stand Wald racks and baskets. This is not because of weight or snobbery towards utilitarianism. Personally, I think they're not heavy or strong enough.

Wald uses the absolute minimum gauge of wire possible - note how bark_eater's rack and other Wald racks run only two thicker wires to reinforce the weak construction - and their zinc plating barely survives a year before turning into a uniform layer of rust. Then they have those terrible handlebar J clamps (with Erector set hardware) which scratch handlebars by default. Given that most owners don't think to cut some rubber hose to go over the bars (which usually proves too thick for the J-clamp to bend around), the end result is a lot of gouged bars from owners fruitlessly attempting to tighten them so they don't slip (and since the J-clamps are just pressed onto the rack and not spot welded...they slip).

Need I mention that their rack support stays are too thin a gauge of steel for rigidity? Their absolutely infuriating multi-position axle holes make the problem even worse. I've lost count of how many of these stays I've seen mutilated (and sometimes MIG welded) on some beat local commuter bikes. You can literally destroy a Wald rack by simply bending both stays with your fingers then loading the basket. The stays begin to buckle, then the J-clamps shift, and the basket winds up shifting between these two points based on wherever the weight decides to takes it.

This isn't just based on my experiences. This is my observation of Wald racks I've seen servicing people of all walks of life. Sure, often the less fortunate happen to survive using their bicycles and these racks - using whatever means possible to keep the basket together - but a basket doing a necessary job for someone while falling apart is not a valid metric of quality. It is a sign that there's nothing better on the market in an affordable price range (and/or made + sold in enough numbers that it filters down to them).

As for affordability, I see quite a few of the bikes in this thread have Wald baskets mounted on top of $30-40 aluminum front racks that actually do hold up. All of a sudden, the combination isn't so cheap!

Fact is, you can find a very similar - yet superior quality - basket on a Chinese-built LimeBike, which does everything a Wald does, without the quality compromises. Case in point, the Lime-B's have the same steel construction as a Wald, but with a powdercoated finish that tends to take more abuse before it looks completely shot. The upper half of the rack is secured to a thick steel bracket that doubles as a headset washer (no inverted J hooks), while the stays are a solid steel rod bent in an inverted U shape with flattened ends.

I've seen these Limes smashed and crashed a gazillion ways and as bad as they've been abused, the baskets still seem to survive enough to be used for their intended purpose. Sometimes they have to be bashed back into a general bucket shape, but they work.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7fd73c62df.png

The new E's have an aluminum version with the same support setup:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...97ed2dd9d4.jpg

I'd respect Wald a lot more if they'd finally put out a decent product along these lines, rather than the same low-quality stuff they've been selling us for years.

-Kurt

I think I'd pay twice as much for a stainless steel Wald basket. I remember looking for a stainless alternative, but not finding anything usefull.

bark_eater Like a bonehead I missed that you had already posted images of your setup. Sorry about that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bark_eater (Post 21374700)

I think I'd pay twice as much for a stainless steel Wald basket. I remember looking for a stainless alternative, but not finding anything usefull.

A properly chromed (Wald's handlebar chrome is proof they can't do that right either) basket might do the same job and keep the cost down, but a stainless basket would definitely be interesting.

Honestly, I think one of the boutique brands could probably pull it off better though - and given the cost, more likely to be profitable through such a venue. Would be interesting to see Velo-Orange try their hand at something like this. Seeing as a lot of their products are manufactured via the same Chinese heavy industry companies as the dockless bike parts, it's probably not that difficult for them to spec out a conventional basket with the same hardware as the dockless bikes (and preferably stays with eyelet, not axle mounting).

-Kurt

Quote:

Originally Posted by cudak888 (Post 21374697)

Put me in the minority of folks here in this thread - I can't stand Wald racks and baskets.

-Kurt

Bu-bu-bu-but...

Grant Petersen!