Alexthe

The bike is my one and only, a Motobecane Grand Jubilee 1978 . I have Weinmanns 999 . most of the nice small or medium elegant front racks by Nitto or Velo Orange or .... That I am aware of, seem to be designed with cantilever brake . I know of the vintage TA's that are quite nice that work with the brakes I have on now . I am interested in the The Constructeur Front Rack by Velo Orange , can it work with my braking system? or should I change to cantilevers at the front. I have a handlebar bag Which I want to mount. it is a Gilles Berthoud largest one #28....something .

Any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you

Dfrost 

Not possible to change to cantilevers without brazing on canti posts, followed by repaint or powder coat of the brazed area.

The VO Constructeur Front Rack will work with your existing brakes after the top strut is bent a bit to pass over your brake. The one shown with that rack looks a bit tight for a bolted-on brake. But they also sell this one with more clearance for your application. I’d recommend calling them about your intended setup. They are friendly folks.

https://velo-orange.com/collections/...cts/rack-strut

I’m sure you’re aware that bags like the GB 28 also need a decaleur to support the top of the bag, like this one from VO. That tall bag generally needs a correspondingly tall head tube, or high stem (with a different type of decaleur) to get the decaleur high enough. The VO Kit linked below has the decaleur clamped by the headset.

https://velo-orange.com/collections/...-decaleur-kits

gugie , a frequent voice around this forum, makes a decaleur variation of the VO that clamps around the quill part of the stem, so it isn't limited by the height of the headset or the stem. Here’s one, intentionally flipped (tubes going up instead of down) for my tall bag in front of an even taller stem. He’d also be an excellent contact if you choose to add canti posts.

Makeawish78

Hi Friends,

I am new to this forum. Seek your help. I have a hybrid bike and want to get a dog carrier for my 14 kg pet dog. I visited the cycle shop nearby and he dint have any baskets for a 14 kg dog. He wanted me to fit a rear bike panieer rack and add in a basket. That sounded the most practical solution. Have you guys any experience with boarding pets on bikes. Any suggestions on readymade pet carriers that I can use for the bike. Please advise.

Thanks,
Vish

thumpism 

Welcome! I think the rear rack would be advisable but don't know what carrier for the dog would be adequate. Bottom half of a plastic dog crate, perhaps, or a wicker laundry basket? Having 30+ pounds up high on the front might be dicey so would probably be more stable on the rear. Maybe consider a bike trailer?

Dfrost 

You’ll get more comments if you start a new thread with your question, rather than semi-burying it in a thread that isn’t quite relevant.

Regardless, thumpism ’s suggestions are good ones.

Makeawish78

Thank you friend. Noted.

Makeawish78

That's a good point. Will do. Thank you

Alexthe

Well I did have a conversation with Velo Orange thanks so much for suggesting it and all the rest that's you have said. At least I learned I won't be going this route. In the bicycle I am missing eyelet ( can't spell ) . Needed.

Here is the bag





and brakes

this is what I think I want.

and this

These last two pictures is from an old post in the forum, it's just that I would like to have . This bag has a part of a Nitto Decaleir on it and thought I would buy the other missing part . or go with a GB one . I feel I have to get the measurements right so that the bag sits squarely on the rack and is supported by the top support in proper proportion. That's the tricky part, I guess. What would work? Perhaps I should start a new thread on this, more specific question concerning using a TA rack or similar with a Nitto or other ,top support w/ A #28 Gilles Berthoud .

bulgie 

The GB decaleur is adjustable and comes in a few sizes, so it will probably work with wherever your bag needs to sit on the rack. You'd ditch the existing decaleur part on the bag now. There are downsides to the GB design though; not everyone likes them.

Even better, a Matchak Dock-It is able to stabilize the bag no matter where it needs to be, and gives you multiple choices of where to attach to the handlebar or stem. Super easy to use (quick on and off), stable and safe. I think you buy them through Waxwing Bag Co. (Not sure because as a framebuilder, I got mine direct from Tom when they were in beta testing). I have no connection with either Tom or Waxwing, just impressed with the design.

Another excellent option, a Gugie custom. Partly because he could (I think) make it fit your existing bag-side piece. They're somewhat adjustable but being custom, fit would be no problem. Never bought one of his (I make my own), but I follow his Flickr account and I've seen lots of his work, which is always beautiful. A more traditional look than the Dock-it, if that matters to you.

Mark B in Seattle

Dfrost 

bulgie , I tried a Dock-It when gugie did my fork mods and racks in 2017, but the Waxwings bag wasn’t all that stable against steering inputs unless all four underside Velcro straps were thoroughly tight. Maybe it has been improved, or my center mounting location missed a key location criteria. Seems like Jan Heine has given his stamp of approval to that device. The subsequent “traditional” decaleur from Mark G, shown in my post above, has been superb without the Velcro supplements. Here’s Mark’s Flickr album for his racks that you mentioned.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/115397...57655828096714

Alexthe ,
Not really sure you need the extra fork eyelets, since you have one set already. A thick washer on each eyelet to space the rack support away from the fork tip should work.

Alternatively, have you considered a Nitto M18 Rack, available many places? It mounts behind bolt on calipers like yours. If you don’t want to use the P-clamps, long rack struts available from Rivendell would attach to your existing eyelets with the addition of a few washers as mentioned above. Note all the other rack hardware Rivendell offers.

https://www.rivbike.com/products/nit...c89dbd7a&_ss=r

Here’s an alternative to mid-fork P-clamps from Tubus than might be more secure:

https://www.tubus.com/en/products/ac...ithout-eyelets

FWIW, here’s my entire setup, which is quite similar to what you’re after. (The low-rider pannier racks aren’t mounted for most of my rides.) Note that Mark added eyelets at mid-fork and a second set for the low-rider pannier racks, along with the custom racks that appear in his Flickr album.

Alexthe

I am open to considering either . Do you have a link of pictures or something so I may see the Gugie custom you speak of, or a website. I tried googling it but not much success. Will the Doc-it work with the existing wooden piece that is on the bag now I have in the photograph?

Dfrost 

Did you look at that Flickr album of Gugie’s racks that I linked? Not sure that a Google search would reveal it, but you might try Gugificazione instead.

No, the Dock-It won’t work with your bag attachment: Here’s mine before I switched to the dual tube-type shown previously, and a link to the SmugMug album where there are other photos of everything about this bike, including those racks, Gugie’s other mods to this Miyata, as well as plenty of “before” photos.

https://dfrost.smugmug.com/Bicycles/...wesome-Photos/



We could really use a photo of the entire front end of your bike. What’s the distance from the top of your front brake to your handlebars? As mentioned previously, a tall bag like the GB28, very similar to my big Waxwing, needs lots of vertical space.

Alexthe

Thanks for all the great information, where to begin, as for the ntto M18 rack , it wouldn't be for me. Aesthetically it doesn't appeal to me. I like the work of Mr Gugie , ( is that also Mark G ) ? I guess so, and if I could PM him maybe That could work. I have made picture of my very work in progress bike, with measurements







In the hope, that a picture is worth 1000 words I hope this gives a better idea of what I'll need to do. I'm not very tall at all at 5'6 1/2 and as you can see those handlebars are pretty low. with The saddle height gives me a nice springy feel of my back, when I'm on the drops, the only place I can break at the moment. The black fenders are beautiful made in Japan, ( Honjo ) ? vintage. are not mounted yet and I will have to get the hardware from somewhere maybe Rene' Herse . The bag will be quite a lot above the bars but I don't think it will matter too much to me anyway it's all I can do except raise the bars a little.but I like how they are now, then again I have to play with different positions. I am learning what an extraordinary difference it makes the slightest amount in different places can make all the difference especially in a vintage bike perhaps? My brakes were so uncomfortable until I made a small adjustment. Whatever I do get, it should be a very low elegant traditional rack in that rounded shape like in the picture I posted and the Decaleur would be very adjustable or, custom made . When and or if, I get a frame, and build my own bike with the components I have, they'll all move to the new bike which will be a bit smaller.

Below this Decaleur also looks very good to me on the Rene Herse site .

My Regards to all readers
AB

Dfrost 

Alexthe , the significant height difference between the tall GB28 bag and your small frame certainly poses decaleur challenges.

gugie /Mark Guglielmana may have ideas how to make that work, as well as guidance on your desired use of the VO Constructeur front rack. If you haven’t sent him a PM, do so.

Since this Motobecane is your only bike (correct?), pretty certain you don’t want to pursue modifications that would take it off the road for any length of time.

Alexthe

Which small frame, me or the bike ? The Moto is 52 or 3 . It is probably a little big for me , but not too big I think , just not perfect . When this was bought people were riding bikes on the big side from what I've heard. My father brought it in 1978 he's about my size.
This is a lovely setup, and I want to use this bag for as long as I'm riding a bicycle. that's why I bought it ( used and still very expensive ).
What modifications were you thinking of, to keep it off the road?
I am hoping that people will agree with greater experience than mine that if I purchased a low front rack that sits on the front fender I should be alright? The beauty I posted a picture of,sits way up high on the front fender, So that wouldn't work But the same rack, sitting right on the fender, wouldn't that be good ? The VO Constructeur was only because one was for sale on eBay and I was considering it I have no particular love of it , there is better ..Condition is not the most important thing to me Shape and quality is . an old one is fine .It's just finding something right .

gugie 

Operators are standing by.

gugie 

Mark B., Dave, thanks for the kind words!

Mark B. has commented personally to me that he had made some decaleurs of the same design some time ago, which lines up with my thinking that everything we think we've invented has really been done before, and gave me more confidence in the design.

If the OP thought about brazing on cantilevers, that's quite a rabbit hole to go down. Soon you're modifying other parts of the frame, there's repaint/powder coat to consider, maybe a custom rack and decaleur...it can get pricey. Trying to make something off the peg with some small modifications can be a great value. The nice thing about VO racks is that they're stainless steel (not chrome painted CrMo) they can be modified. I've shortened/lengthened the stays to get them to fit properly.

Alexthe

I'm so confused,"Gugie "(his real name is Mark)" I have dyslexia I really, have , "if operators are standing by," then we must speak! I look forward to It I will private message you or you me , the craftsman Mark or , and Gugie . And Let you all know what happens .
Alex B

gugie 

PM sent

Mark "Gugie" Guglielmana