polymorphself 

Hi all,

About time to do something I've been thinking of doing for awhile, but now have better reason to. A new grocery store opened downtown within a very reasonable biking distance of me, and parking isn't the easiest. It's time to add fenders, a rack and panniers to my Miyata. My thoughts so far:

Fenders: VO facetted or hammered, can't decide, but leaning towards facetted.
Rack: VO Constructeur
Panniers: Really no idea, I've never put much thought into them before. As for aesthetics I love the stuff from Acorn bags, so something like that, although they don't make panniers.

Afterthought: Would an actual bag atop a rack be better suited for my purpose? I've not done riding with luggage before.

Any and all thoughts appreciated!

A pic of the bicycle for inspiration:

52telecaster

Great idea. I like an upright riding position for these bikes. Typically I use a front rack, portuer bars, barcons and b17 or wider saddle.

The latest of these projects for me

SurferRosa

I use a Blackburn rear rack attached to the nutted brake bolt and hang from it a Banjo Brothers grocery pannier. I also use a messenger bag slung over my shoulder.

polymorphself 

Thanks! B17 is definitely in the cards as well. As for the handlebars, upright would be great but this is currently my only complete riding bicycle, so I'm not ready to totally alter the riding style.

ascherer 

You'll find lots of ideas here. I have an old Blackburn rack on the rear with Linus Market bags. They're not as easy on/off as Ortleib-style attachments but they're pretty simple and have a handle and shoulder strap. Up front is what I think is an old Blackburn knockoff with a Wald 137 attached using small hose clamps. In that is an Acorn basket bag that's made for that basket.


Shopper mode


Commuter mode

polymorphself 

Great thread recommendation! Thanks. Your bags and bike are beautiful as well. Blackburn racks seem popular, can you think of a benefit over the VO constucteur rack? It's clearly larger and maybe that will be useful.

noobinsf 

For groceries, I would think panniers are better suited since you can pack them up and distribute the weight between two if you have a heavy load. You also keep the center of gravity lower. I like my Ortleibs.

ascherer 

Thank you! As for my choice - it was what I had on hand vs. what I would have to buy! Rack size may depend on what you require to haul, and maybe other factors - I live in a NYC apartment and storage space is at a premium. As it is I can handle 3 bags of groceries rear, one up front and if necessary a fifth in a backpack. I find it's more bag size than rack size that drives how much I can carry. I considered using a porteur racks up front but they struck me as too big/bulky/expensive for my needs. Ultimately when we're not all working from home the bike will see more use as a commuter. In that mode I throw my work gear in the Acorn bag and leave the Linus bags off.

Edit: These fenders are Planet Bike Cascadias. Very sturdy, they've been on 3 bikes. I have VO Faceted fenders on another bike. They're beautiful and they work as well as the plastic ones

noobinsf 

One other thing to consider -- if groceries are going to be a key duty for this bike -- would be the rack's weight limit. I see the Constructeur recommended for 15 lbs, while something like the Planet Bike Eco is rated for 55 lbs. I know the Planet Bike Eco is a little fugly (not to knock it -- I have one mounted on my Motobecane), but I think a Blackburn may give you a happy medium between aesthetics and function. 15 lbs seems like it's a bit too slight for grocery hauling.

polymorphself 

That's a good call, thank you! I do my shopping weekly typically, so it's not much, but this is something to consider. I very much like the subtly of the constructeur rack, but I want it to be versatile and not have to worry about weight limits depending on what I'm doing.

KHSguy10

Bushwhackers makes decent grocery panniers, They are called the BushWhacker Omaha. if you're OK with spending a little bit of cash for racks, there are the salsa WanderLust racks for the rear, And for the front there is the salsa DownUnder front rack. I don't personally have any racks or bags on my bike, but i saw those panniers yesterday, and thought they were cool, i also just saw that they get 5 stars, i was looking for the year of my dads cannondale M400 (it's a 1994) and noticed that C-Dale made racks and panniers in the 80's and 90's, then i got sucked down the bike bag rabbithole. as for the racks, i just saw that it gets like 4 1/2 stars.

Classtime 

For hauling groceries? https://carryfreedom.com/
I have pulled mine with both road bikes and mountain bikes. I don't have to pack it in any special way. I just put the grocery bags in a box I built and ride away.

ramzilla

Ditch the drop bars & convert it to something like this:

polymorphself 

I would, but as mentioned earlier this is currently my only complete riding bicycle and I don't want to commit to completely changing the riding style, just making it more versatile for things like getting groceries.

52telecaster

the trailer is a nics option. I have the luxury of having 3 rideable bikes usually. The one with the hitch is designated as my truck and used for large grocery runs. Incredibly helpful.

Pompiere

I tried fitting fenders on my 310 and frankly there isn't a lot of room if you have the original size 27x1 1/8 tires. It is pretty tight around the chain stays and under the front brake. It may be better if you are using 700x28 or if you use one of the minimalist fenders like SKS Raceblades.

ramzilla

Oh well. Too bad you don't have room for two bikes. You can't go very fast on a loaded bike and, drop bars are for going fast. It doesn't really matter how light a bike is for hauling either. If you're carrying 20 to 40 extra pounds you might as well be riding a heavier (30lb) bike. Be good. Have fun.

ramzilla

That's a really nice set up.

ramzilla

nlerner

My RB-T is my grocery-getter; I have a Topeak MTX rear rack/bag system and a front Wald basket attached to a Nitto rack. I can carry three bags of groceries reasonably well.

Dfrost 

polymorphself , Your ‘85 (correct?) 310 came with 27” wheels, and your initial photo looks like they’re still there, with not much fender clearance.

Change to 700C rims and you’ll have fender clearance with up to 28mm tires, if it’s like my ‘79 912 that also started with 27”. I use SKS plastic fenders on that one, stainless steel Berthoud on the other when it’s in 650B configuration. Metal fenders are lovely, but take longer to fit properly (plan on at least several hours with lots of on/off iterations). There’s some good stuff on that subject in the Rene Herse archives, although this link may not include the clever way to alter metal fender radii by pushing the outer edges Inward (increases radius) or out, and metal shaping to increase clearance at various contact point. There was a great Peter Weigle article in BQ Vol 9, #2, Winter 2010, with lots of details. Unfortunately can’t find a link to that article.

https://www.renehersecycles.com/cate...nents/fenders/

Your 310 doesn’t have rack mounts on the seat stays. Yes, you can use “P-clamps” with a rack using two forward mounts, but those don’t do your paint any favors. Or you could use a rear rack that utilizes a single connection at the rear brake bolt. The Tubus Evo/Fly (stainless version) works very well for that. Yes, they’re pricey, but very strong, light weight and stable. Downside to this one is the small top platform, so a rack bag wouldn’t work, but they are great with panniers.

https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...s.php?id=51479

Axiom makes something similar and much less expensive, but I dislike those extensions they use to push the rack rearward, which makes the rack less stable. I shortened that when I used one on a backup bike.

https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...s.php?id=51479

You've started that this is your only bike. So panniers will be a good load carrying approach. Your 310 also doesn’t have particularly long chainstays, so heel clearance may be an issue, in which case those Axiom extensions may be helpful! In selecting panniers, cutaway corners nearest your heels will give useful clearance, too, and you’ll appreciate a solid, easily on/off attachment. Ortlieb is mentioned frequently, and they are seriously waterproof. You might also want to check Arkels, which have their fans, including my wife and me.

https://www.universalcycles.com/sear...rkel+panniers+

A front rack might seem like a good idea, but much load on the front with your Miyata geometry could make the handling “interesting”. There’s ways to solve that quite effectively (did that on my 912), but they include substantial fork changes.

SurferRosa

I'm gonna disagree, just from experience while riding about 100 blocks of smooth trail to the grocery. It's fun passing guys on modern bikes with my '75 Moto's loaded grocery pannier (plus a full mess bag). But it's not all about speed, having fun, or the comfort of different hand positions. It gets so windy here, I'm often thankful for the drop bars when on the open trail heading straight into it.

squirtdad

here is mine 82 nishiki.

I have have tried different options for carrying things, used wald baskets for years, but now use some pannier bags I got... easy off and on. the one in the pick below the bike is an example, a filmore by soma fabrications with a little nicer attachment set up

tricky 

This is my favorite setup for a grocery bike. You can use the basket for small loads or groceries or really load things up in the panniers and use the basket for awkwardly shaped things that don't fit into panniers. I also usually have a bungie net to secure loads on the front or rear.

ramzilla