jasonbourne

I commute daily with my road bike. I use the Delta Mega Universal rear rack (https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Mega-Rac.../dp/B000ACAMEM) with Ortlieb Back Roller Classic panniers (https://www.ortliebusa.com/cartgenie/...p?pid=31&cid=2). I positioned the panniers towards the rear as much as I can for heal clearance. The problem I have is when I roll over large bumps or roll into large pot holes on the road the lower rear corners of the panniers have a tendency to get caught into the rear wheel spokes due to the force of the bump or hole on the road.

To resolve this issue I thought the Wald 582 rear folding baskets (https://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Rear-G...2497065&sr=1-1) would be a better set up. Due to its rigid structure I would not expect it to ever get caught in the rear wheel spokes. In addition, I can position it towards the rear to avoid heel strikes. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

What do you riders think of this idea?

Anyone have similar experience?

Here is a photo of my bike,
https://img220.imageshack.us/img220/4655/img0881mgv.jpg

interested

The problem is your rack. Get one that has better support on the sides so that the panniers can't swing around. Racks with double side rails allow you to place the bag even lower towards the ground and further back, and lower placing means better bike handling. IMHO your present rack could benefit from being lowered somewhat.

I don't particularly endorse these racks linked to below, they are more examples of the type of rack I recommend:

https://www.amazon.com/Axiom-Streamli...sporting-goods

https://www.amazon.com/Surly-Nice-Rac...sporting-goods

https://www.amazon.com/Axiom-Odyssee-...sporting-goods

With such racks you never risk that the pannier swings into the spokes. The Back-Rollers have a fairly flexible mounting system, so you might make it work with your present rack, but getting a new rack is an easy permanent solution.

Having used Ortlieb Back-Rollers every day for the last 4 years I would never even think about replacing them with a such an inflexible solution as a metal cage, or anything else for that matter;-)
I has been decades since I last used such solutions, and then they rattled when riding over small bumps, things in the basket jumped around, and when hitting large bumps things could even fly out. IMHO, such metal cages are for slow moving, sit-up-and-beg, fair weather grocery-getter bicycles, and even then only because you can get them cheaper than an Ortlieb Back-Roller pannier.

--
Regards

no1mad 

'Tis true, it's your rack. Get one of these. Longer than standard racks so that you can move the panniers back to get more heel clearance.

craigR

I have this rack, and it works very well. After countless grocery runs and errands here and there, I can't imagine having a smaller rack. Like No1mad stated, it lets you move your panniers back for heel clearance. As a size reference, it fits my Arkel Tail Rider or one of the fridge pack 12 packs perfectly.

I can't remember where I got mine, but I didn't pay the $85 listed on the Jandd site. I also use the Jandd grocery panniers and I'm quite happy with them as well.

jasonbourne

interested and no1mad, thanks for chiming in to help. I agree I could use a rack with extra side support than my current one. However, I don't know if you noticed on my bike, I don't have lower and upper eyelets to mount the rack. I had to use p-clamps.

I would jump on the racks suggested by interested, except I'm unsure if they're adjustable enough for me to fit on my road bike. What do you think? Which is most adjustable?

jasonbourne

I agree with all your points. Thank you for sharing your views. I'm encouraged by the longevity you had with your Back-Rollers.

To respond to your suggestion of lowering my rack, I tried. The problem is my rear brakes get in the way of lowering the clamps and the top mounting extension rods.

craigR

You can use these.

crawdaddio

The surly nice rack has an insane amount of adjustment.
Its not cheap, but I shelled out for it in the hope that it will be the only rear rack I will ever have to buy (for that particular bike). They make 'em tough.

no1mad 

OP-What all do you carry as part of your normal commute?

jasonbourne

no1mad, I carry the following,

Daily:
IBM Thinkpad T60p with extended battery
lunch (in glass pyrex container) and snack (apples, bananas, trail mix) for the day
water bottle in one of my bottle cages
work outfit
cable bike lock

2x per week, in addition to the above:
(2) tennis rackets
tennis balls
tennis shoes
tennis outfit
snack
gatorade in my second bottle cage

no1mad 

Well, another rack + p-clamps will be the cheapest and most versatile option (and would allow the continued use of the Backrollers).

Then I thought about something like this (that I just found out about today in another thread) combined with a handlebar bag. The down side is you would need to take care in loading because of your Thinkpad. And you could not use the Ortliebs anymore, since the box is more or less permanently attached to the rack. (Just strap your tennis racks on top with bungees or a cargo net.)

Or you could just succumb to the n+1 syndrome- Buy another bike that will take a proper rack (and preferably longer chain stays that will help with the heel clearance issues).

TheatreME

Definitely keep the Backrollers. I used to run the wald baskets, and they are great, but heavy. If you need the space EVERY time you get on the bike then they are ideal, but with a better rack and the Backrollers you have the option to hop on the bike with out the added weight if you ever desire.

breadgeek

I use daily the back roller plus Ortlieb panniers (found at REI). On top of the rack I put my laptop (Dell M4400) in an Ortlieb Office Bag 2, which really is pretty easy & secure (found best deal in the UK at Wiggle with free shipping to the USA). My rack is from SL Bike -- beefy, but I think I will be looking for a lower-riding rack soon, given some comments around on this thread.. The Wald baskets look interesting, but I like the panniers just fine at the moment.

Schwinnsta

I have the Wald folders and no complaints.