Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
I commented above that on one bike I have a low rider rack (Tubus Ergo, now discontinued) and a small platform rack. The platform rack was sold by Nashbar. Photo is 12 years old. I like this much better than the Surly that it replaced.
I have the Tara for a different bike, but I like the Ergo better.
If you have canti brake posts on your bike, Sunlite also made a small platform rack similar to the Nashbar one.
I have that EXACT front rack, called a "Sixer", which I bought from Nashbar about 10 years ago, I think it was 8 or 10 dollars. Perfect size to hold a 6-pack, several times I've strapped one on top when the panniers were full of other groceries. The small scale of it works perfect with 20" wheels, and the distance from top of (any size) rim to the brake posts is the same. It's not designed for panniers but I put wood sticks between the hooked rod section just below the front of the rack, down to the fork dropouts, to keep panniers out of the spokes, and also filled the aft vertical pockets with empty plastic setzer bottles just to give it more shape when empty, for the same reason. Then I hung medium sized panniers (also from Nashbar mid-'90s). The weight rating of the rack is actually pretty high, I always have much less weight in the bags. On 20" wheels which have more "agile/twitchy" handling, it's not essential for the panniers to be centered on the steering axis in side view, in fact, having the panniers a bit forward of that actually adds stability to the handling, calms it down a bit, and likewise for handlebar accessories that add same mass forward, such as aero bars and drink bottle. This is due to both adding polar moment to the steered assembly, and, mass forward causes the steered assembly to steer in the direction of falling/banking, so adds stability.