robow

Just curious if anyone has any experience with this particular Minoura front rack? I'm looking for a rack that will mount on a fork without braze ons and the Old Man Mountain Racks don't seem to be available at this time. This one also mounts using the quick release skewer but is far less expensive.

https://www.minoura.jp/english/rack/front/fpr-3000.html

Tourist in MSN

I know I looked at a Minoura front rack that would fit on my suspension front fork. It might have been that rack, but not sure. I did not buy it.

I quite frankly am not sure why I did not like it, it was a few years ago when I looked at it. But it is highly possible that the only reason I did not buy it is that the plan was to put it on a suspension front fork and in the end I decided not to use a suspension front fork on the tour where I was considering using it. Thus no need for that rack. I already had a rack that would work on a solid fork with mid fork mounts.

If you have canti brake posts on your fork, you could also look for the Tubus Smarti rack. I think it is out of production now but some dealers still have it, do a google search. Instead of a skewer mount, it attaches to the fender mount at the dropout.

fietsbob

And Tubus makes a Clamp on mid fork Piece to function in place of a braze on..

seeker333

I'm guessing OP's fork lacks eyelets and mid-fork fittings, which is why he was looking at OMM racks.

Here's a "universal-fit" front rack similar to Minoura in OP: https://www.amazon.com/Axiom-Journey.../dp/B0081FQW4E

Get yourself an Amazon Prime "trial" account - it's utterly free IF you cancel Prime before 30 day trial period ending. Look in the upper left corner where it says "try prime". Amazon Prime will get rack shipped to you for free, and more importantly you can later return ship the rack via UPS for free as well, if the rack proves to be unsatisfactory. You need a printer to print the UPS return label, or maybe the UPS store can print one for you - if you need to return item.

robow

Just saw the specs and weight of this rack, 2.65 lbs, that is one heavy beast, considering my Tubus Tara comes in at just under 1 pound.

Seeker, I looked at that Axiom rack and the only thing I don't like about it, is there is no stabilizing bar between the two sides, hence I would not think it would be as solid, and I would prefer not to use U bolts to attach it to the fork if I don't have to. Years ago I had an Old Man Mountain front rack for my mountain bike converted for touring and it worked great, not sure what is going on with that company at the moment but they're not accepting new orders.

Tourist in MSN

If you want one of their racks, do a google search. I found a couple dealers with them in stock.
https://www.bikeshophub.com/product-...mountain-racks
https://www.modernbike.com/old-man-m...nt-mount-racks

seeker333

Yes, it is funny how those "lightweight" aluminum racks are often heavier than those "heavy" steel racks. Of course the reason is aluminum racks are all made from aluminum rod (solid metal), while Tubus uses steel tubing (thinwall hollow tubes, air is lighter than aluminum). AFAIK, there are no aluminum racks made from tubing, only rod, despite some aluminum racks described in ad copy as tubular (nonsense).

I get it, hoopless is hopeless, danger of rack moving into rotating wheel, etc. The Axiom was simply the only "universal mount" front rack I could suggest as an alternative to the Minoura you found. I've owned a few Minoura items, one is a decent inexpensive wheel truing stand I've used for >15 years, other was an accessory bar mount which broke under the weight of 2 taillights with 4 AA cells.

I think you know any universal front rack is going to pale in comparison to a Tubus in design, appearance and value. Also, it may be unreasonable to expect a $37/$61 Axiom/Minoura rack to be as good as a $130-150 OMM. I had an Axiom rear rack and it was junk, eventually went into the Al recycle bin - which is partly why I recommended Amazon Prime, as it gives you the chance to inspect something which might be a dud, then undo the mistake for minimal cost.

Tourist in MSN

Racktime AddIt rack uses Aluminum tubing. I can't speak for all of the Racktime racks but if one rack in their lineup uses tubing I would expect others do too.

Other brands, some of my Aluminum racks are solid. Thus, I expect it is a mix.

With Aluminum racks, I have seen some with very sloppy welding but some with very high quality welding. The welding is what I look at when I try to decide if I want to trust an Aluminum rack. I have carried rear panners on one tour with my Addit rack and am considering using it on my next tour.

A friend of mine has crossed the USA three times using Aluminum racks, I think his racks are Jandd. Not sure if they are rod or tubing.

robow

For what it's worth, They claim the Minoura rack is made from steel tubing, not aluminum

seeker333

Racktime Addit is indeed Al tubing construction. I wrote Racktime and a few days later a person identifying himself as a Tubus employee informed me that Racktime racks are Al tubing. He added that Tubus racks are stronger with higher load rating, but Racktime are less expensive.

I have a JandD Extreme front rack. It weighs 1032g without hardware - mine arrived with no fasteners. It's made of Al rod.

I've discovered a new Tubus front rack offering, similar to the JandD Extreme - the Grand Expedition, @ 780g (not bad considering the size of it):

Tourist in MSN

I was unaware that Tubus started to make a front rack that has both platform and low-rider rails. I have been using a Tubus Ergo low rider-rack on one bike with one of those tiny little Nashbar front platform racks for when I wanted to strap something on the front platform.

Regarding capacity of Tubus vs Racktime, I had noticed that my Tubus Logo was rated for 40kg, the RackTime AddIt at 30kg. I usually use the Logo for touring but I am considering using the AddIt on my next tour. I think it highly unlikely that I would have over 30kg on the rear, that is over 60 pounds. Several years ago on one trip I was curious and since I had my luggage scale with my I weighed everything, I had 35 pounds on the rear rack.

joshtee

For people with front rack w/ platform plus high and low mount options, how does the Grand Expedition design look to you? I'm considering the Jannd, but concerned about the 'hitting the down tube' problem people seem to have with it.

seeker333

The "hitting the down tube problem" is not much of a problem. When the rack is installed properly, it will limit the steering wheel turn radius to ~ +/-75 degrees, like in this picture:



This image came from an Amazon review, which is where I'm where I'm guessing you got the information.

My JandD rack shipped with no hardware, which is how I believe all of them used to ship, so I had to improvise, and I ended up with a fit like the one in the photo above. To me this is not a problem, since I never turn the wheel that sharp when loaded and riding. Actually, my bike/steering was more limited by toe overlap plus simply balancing the bike in such a sharp, low speed. Anything more than 30 degrees is unlikely to occur except when you're trying to make a U turn in a narrow 2 lane road.

Racks (and fenders) are rarely a simple "bolt on with original hardware in 3 minutes" kind of job. They almost always require a little resourcefulness, a trip to the hardware store, filing/cutting/sanding, etc. With racks, the problem mostly lies in the fact that there is no universal standard for the location of mounting points on the dropouts and fork. Plus no standard for fork rake, axle-to-crown-distance, etc. Some bikes+racks (or fenders) are better combinations than others. Surly Truckers and Tubus go to together almost perfectly in the rear, but less so in front.

You may have fewer issues WRT downtube interference with the Tubus Grand Expedition (TGE) since it lacks the upper rearwards rod section of the JandD Extreme rack - but it appears to cost more. I cannot find any TGE in stock anywhere - one Euro shop quotes 10 week delivery. You may not be able to purchase a TGE at good price until Fall or Winter. The JandD has low, medium and high mounting rails, while TGE has only low and high rails.

Probably the smarter, simpler, lighter, cheaper solution is to reduce your gear/load so that only small "front" bags are required with a good lowrider rack - Tubus Tara or Duo.

indyfabz

I have a Nitto Big front rack from Rivendell. High and low mount options and a larger platform than the Grand Expedition. (I have carried a large bundle of firewood on it several times.) No problems with hitting the down tube. Nickel plated steel. High and low lower mounting holes to allow clearance for fenders if that is your style. Comes with all hardware, including at least two different size P-clamps. But not for the "frugal."

fietsbob

plastic stiffeners on the back of your panniers .. may bump first ..

And there are some rotation limiters made or can be created...

My Touring frame had a nylon block made, that bumped against the unique fork crown to limit it's swing ...

joshtee

Thanks for the info.

I actually read about the 'hitting down tube problem' from multiple places including a few from here on this forum. In the Amazon example, the person had to basically fab his own bracket to get it to have the clearance shown in the photo you posted. His first photo shows the frame hitting issue. I am not against making my own brackets, but if I don't have to, I'd rather buy something that does not need me to do so.

I definitely would like to have a rack with the mounting options of the Jandd. I'm pretty sure I'd be using the medium or high mounting points, mostly.

joshtee

The Nitto looks like a very good option. Thanks.

joshtee

Thanks for the info.

I read about the Jandd 'hitting the down tube' from different sources, a few from this forum, actually. From the Amazon picture you posted, that person had to basically fab a new brackets to get the result shown in the photo. He posted another photo that showed the down tube problem, initially. I don't have a problem making some brackets to get it to work, but I'd rather not if there is another similar rack that does not require it.

I defiantly want a rack that has the ability, like the Jandd, to mount panniers at multiple heights. I will probably use middle to upper, mostly.

tinux

Great useful thread, guys!

fishboat

A bit of a zombie @robow thread, but I was doing some front rack research on a new-to-me bike('93 Trek 970, rigid, though wide fork) and searched on the Minoura front rack..up popped this thread. While the design of the Minoura rack (canti post and axle mount) is nice..and I think would work..the 2.5 pounds is quite a bit. I was just out in the garage sizing up the Jandd front rack on the bike (rack is too narrow, it would splay outward if mounted) and then tried the modified Axiom low riders..it looks like the Axioms would do nicely. The width of the pair of racks-mounted can be adjusted by the width of the added hoop. Weight wise the Jandd front rack https://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FRLOW comes in at 425g on my lab-scale. Their website says 752g..not sure what that's about. The modified Axiom rack with an added steel hoop, including mounting hardware, comes in at 490g.

I thought adding another option to this thread would be useful as a reference. The link below is a thread I posted last year on the modified Axiom rack I put together for my GF's bike('91 Trek 750). It works.
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...ront-rack.html