Vintage Touring rig, which racks?
07-20-10, 01:48 PM
#1
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Port Orange, FL
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Bikes: Koga Miyata Traveller
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Vintage Touring rig, which racks?
Bought a 1991 Koga Miyata Traveler from Mel, it is on it's way. I am going to mostly build it up with parts from my decommissioned Long Haul Trucker. That would be a modern XT drive-train, barcons, WTB Mountain/road drop bar with Brooks Tape, Brooks B67 aged, Sugino crankset,etc... My real quandry comes when I get to racks. Now, obviously, the bike is not going to be period correct, but have all the latest modern components. I have a Tubus cargo rear rack, and a Surly nice front rack that I was going to use, but I just remembered I have a mid 1980's set of Jim Blackburn racks, the rear is standard, the front is lowrider. Would you use the Tubus/Surly modern setup? Or would you put the vintage Jim Blackburn setup on it?
07-20-10, 02:39 PM
#4
Senior Member
You should use the Blackburn racks, and send the Tubus/Surly racks to me :-)
OK, hopefully this is more helpful: I just spent a lot of time trying to find the right vintage or vintage-look racks for a Univega Gran Turismo, but couldn't find or afford what I wanted. So, I looked through a lot of pics of vintage touring bikes, and concluded they look just fine with the Tubus/Surly racks. By "fine" I mean that they don't clash with the bike or jar my sensibilities. I couldn't afford a Tubus Cosmo, so I used a Bontrager BackRack II, which has about the right look, and is fine for what I actually need, as opposed to what I want :-P
OK, hopefully this is more helpful: I just spent a lot of time trying to find the right vintage or vintage-look racks for a Univega Gran Turismo, but couldn't find or afford what I wanted. So, I looked through a lot of pics of vintage touring bikes, and concluded they look just fine with the Tubus/Surly racks. By "fine" I mean that they don't clash with the bike or jar my sensibilities. I couldn't afford a Tubus Cosmo, so I used a Bontrager BackRack II, which has about the right look, and is fine for what I actually need, as opposed to what I want :-P
07-20-10, 02:52 PM
#5
PanGalacticGargleBlaster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Smugglers Notch, Vermont
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Bikes: Upright and Recumbent....too many to list, mostly Vintage.
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The Miyata 1000's (close cousin to the OP's bike) came with Blackburn Racks for whatever thats worth.
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07-20-10, 05:49 PM
#6
sultan of schwinn
My answer will be pretty agnostic/cryptic:
Use the ones that fit you bike the best and the ones that are more practical and easier to load/attach panniers for you. Touring bikes when you do a tour are tools. So are their racks and panniers. Pick the ones that work better for you.
Use the ones that fit you bike the best and the ones that are more practical and easier to load/attach panniers for you. Touring bikes when you do a tour are tools. So are their racks and panniers. Pick the ones that work better for you.
07-20-10, 06:54 PM
#7
My answer will be pretty agnostic/cryptic:
Use the ones that fit you bike the best and the ones that are more practical and easier to load/attach panniers for you. Touring bikes when you do a tour are tools. So are their racks and panniers. Pick the ones that work better for you.
Use the ones that fit you bike the best and the ones that are more practical and easier to load/attach panniers for you. Touring bikes when you do a tour are tools. So are their racks and panniers. Pick the ones that work better for you.
07-21-10, 06:14 AM
#8
Senior Member
Who's "Mel?"
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07-21-10, 08:06 AM
#9
PanGalacticGargleBlaster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Smugglers Notch, Vermont
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i'd love to know too....i've seen that name thrown around a few times lately and I'm clueless.
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07-21-10, 11:20 AM
#12
Senior Member
I picked up a Surly "Nice" rear rack off of CL last spring for $65, so that's a great deal on one of the most seriously heavy duty racks I've ever seen.
For rear panniers, I have a used set of Arkels and Ortliebs, again CL finds. They are basically new, but I paid half the new rate.
I have Blackburns that are nice as well, but this Surly is an overbuilt beast.
For a front rack, I have a Nitto m12, with a Brand V bag.
This is the rig they are going on.
My Bruce Gordon Rock 'n Road.
Here she is in road trim, but you should see this baby with the monster cross set up.
I built a set of Deore XT/Open Pros with Challenge Grifo cyclocross 700 x 32 tires for the fire roads up in the BWCA near our cabin.
I started riding again last week for the first time since knee surgery, and I really love this bike.
The racks I have chosen will make it quite versatile.
Build is still in progress, but you'll get the idea.
For rear panniers, I have a used set of Arkels and Ortliebs, again CL finds. They are basically new, but I paid half the new rate.
I have Blackburns that are nice as well, but this Surly is an overbuilt beast.
For a front rack, I have a Nitto m12, with a Brand V bag.
This is the rig they are going on.
My Bruce Gordon Rock 'n Road.
Here she is in road trim, but you should see this baby with the monster cross set up.
I built a set of Deore XT/Open Pros with Challenge Grifo cyclocross 700 x 32 tires for the fire roads up in the BWCA near our cabin.
I started riding again last week for the first time since knee surgery, and I really love this bike.
The racks I have chosen will make it quite versatile.
Build is still in progress, but you'll get the idea.
07-21-10, 07:02 PM
#13
sultan of schwinn
I picked up a Surly "Nice" rear rack off of CL last spring for $65, so that's a great deal on one of the most seriously heavy duty racks I've ever seen.
For rear panniers, I have a used set of Arkels and Ortliebs, again CL finds. They are basically new, but I paid half the new rate.
I have Blackburns that are nice as well, but this Surly is an overbuilt beast.
For a front rack, I have a Nitto m12, with a Brand V bag.
This is the rig they are going on.
My Bruce Gordon Rock 'n Road.
Here she is in road trim, but you should see this baby with the monster cross set up.
I built a set of Deore XT/Open Pros with Challenge Grifo cyclocross 700 x 32 tires for the fire roads up in the BWCA near our cabin.
I started riding again last week for the first time since knee surgery, and I really love this bike.
The racks I have chosen will make it quite versatile.
Build is still in progress, but you'll get the idea.
For rear panniers, I have a used set of Arkels and Ortliebs, again CL finds. They are basically new, but I paid half the new rate.
I have Blackburns that are nice as well, but this Surly is an overbuilt beast.
For a front rack, I have a Nitto m12, with a Brand V bag.
This is the rig they are going on.
My Bruce Gordon Rock 'n Road.
Here she is in road trim, but you should see this baby with the monster cross set up.
I built a set of Deore XT/Open Pros with Challenge Grifo cyclocross 700 x 32 tires for the fire roads up in the BWCA near our cabin.
I started riding again last week for the first time since knee surgery, and I really love this bike.
The racks I have chosen will make it quite versatile.
Build is still in progress, but you'll get the idea.
That's a really pretty bike and glad you feel better so you can ride it. Is that and 11-34 cassette? How do you like it? I am planning on a touring build using an 11-34 and Saint hubs and RD, and I would love some input on the set up.
Boundary waters? Gee
I used to portage some of these paths with a canoe on my head, back in the late 80s in canoe camping trips and some of them are far too aggressive to ride with anything less than a single track (roots, water divets and the suck). I bet that would be a fun adventure!
07-22-10, 05:06 AM
#15
Senior Member
Thank you.
This bike strikes me as a mix of a MTB, cyclocross bike, and a light tourer.
It handles fast like a cylocross bike off road, but it really is beefy like a MTB.
It has enough braze-ons for racks and lights, so that will suit me.
I bought it for two long distance trips that I was going on this summer before I hurt my knee.
Now I'll use it to get my knee back into shape on longer day trips.
The bike is mostly Deore XT including the rear derailleur. Typical MTB gearing ratios, including an 11-34, but I also have a tighter set around here somewhere.
Wheelsets are either a set of Phil Woods hubs/Mavic MA2 rims or the Deore XT/Open Pro wheelsets.
The Deore XT wheelset is an off road set up. The 700 x32 Grifos I am using are decent cyclocross racing tires a friend gave me to try.
Otherwise I am running Continental Top Touring tires.
We have hundreds of miles of fire roads and loose gravel roads around the cabin, and I think these will work great for exploring.
Lots of mud as well, that's why I set the fender line so high.
The Surly rack is really heavy, so I think I'll mainly use it for long trips, as the Nitto m12 will handle the Brand V for shorter jaunts.
Eventually I have a local builder that will build an updated version of this bike for me, but for now it will suit my needs very well I'm sure.
This bike strikes me as a mix of a MTB, cyclocross bike, and a light tourer.
It handles fast like a cylocross bike off road, but it really is beefy like a MTB.
It has enough braze-ons for racks and lights, so that will suit me.
I bought it for two long distance trips that I was going on this summer before I hurt my knee.
Now I'll use it to get my knee back into shape on longer day trips.
The bike is mostly Deore XT including the rear derailleur. Typical MTB gearing ratios, including an 11-34, but I also have a tighter set around here somewhere.
Wheelsets are either a set of Phil Woods hubs/Mavic MA2 rims or the Deore XT/Open Pro wheelsets.
The Deore XT wheelset is an off road set up. The 700 x32 Grifos I am using are decent cyclocross racing tires a friend gave me to try.
Otherwise I am running Continental Top Touring tires.
We have hundreds of miles of fire roads and loose gravel roads around the cabin, and I think these will work great for exploring.
Lots of mud as well, that's why I set the fender line so high.
The Surly rack is really heavy, so I think I'll mainly use it for long trips, as the Nitto m12 will handle the Brand V for shorter jaunts.
Eventually I have a local builder that will build an updated version of this bike for me, but for now it will suit my needs very well I'm sure.
Last edited by gomango; 07-22-10 at 05:14 AM.
07-22-10, 05:52 AM
#16
Fat Guy on a Little Bike
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 15,944
Bikes: Two wheeled ones
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Thank you.
This bike strikes me as a mix of a MTB, cyclocross bike, and a light tourer.
It handles fast like a cylocross bike off road, but it really is beefy like a MTB.
It has enough braze-ons for racks and lights, so that will suit me.
I bought it for two long distance trips that I was going on this summer before I hurt my knee.
Now I'll use it to get my knee back into shape on longer day trips.
The bike is mostly Deore XT including the rear derailleur. Typical MTB gearing ratios, including an 11-34, but I also have a tighter set around here somewhere.
Wheelsets are either a set of Phil Woods hubs/Mavic MA2 rims or the Deore XT/Open Pro wheelsets.
The Deore XT wheelset is an off road set up. The 700 x32 Grifos I am using are decent cyclocross racing tires a friend gave me to try.
Otherwise I am running Continental Top Touring tires.
We have hundreds of miles of fire roads and loose gravel roads around the cabin, and I think these will work great for exploring.
Lots of mud as well, that's why I set the fender line so high.
The Surly rack is really heavy, so I think I'll mainly use it for long trips, as the Nitto m12 will handle the Brand V for shorter jaunts.
Eventually I have a local builder that will build an updated version of this bike for me, but for now it will suit my needs very well I'm sure.
This bike strikes me as a mix of a MTB, cyclocross bike, and a light tourer.
It handles fast like a cylocross bike off road, but it really is beefy like a MTB.
It has enough braze-ons for racks and lights, so that will suit me.
I bought it for two long distance trips that I was going on this summer before I hurt my knee.
Now I'll use it to get my knee back into shape on longer day trips.
The bike is mostly Deore XT including the rear derailleur. Typical MTB gearing ratios, including an 11-34, but I also have a tighter set around here somewhere.
Wheelsets are either a set of Phil Woods hubs/Mavic MA2 rims or the Deore XT/Open Pro wheelsets.
The Deore XT wheelset is an off road set up. The 700 x32 Grifos I am using are decent cyclocross racing tires a friend gave me to try.
Otherwise I am running Continental Top Touring tires.
We have hundreds of miles of fire roads and loose gravel roads around the cabin, and I think these will work great for exploring.
Lots of mud as well, that's why I set the fender line so high.
The Surly rack is really heavy, so I think I'll mainly use it for long trips, as the Nitto m12 will handle the Brand V for shorter jaunts.
Eventually I have a local builder that will build an updated version of this bike for me, but for now it will suit my needs very well I'm sure.
07-22-10, 06:18 AM
#17
Senior Member
I bought the bike from Slushlover2 with mis-matched wheelsets. The front was the Phil Wood/Ma2 wheel, the rear was a Deore XT/Sun rim.
I called in a favor from a friend for the new Phil Wood hub, and found the MA2 on the local CL laced to a different hub for cheap.
Voila, matched wheelset as soon as I build it next week.
The only concern I have so far is the weight of the Surly rack. That baby is a tank.
Oh, another item. If anyone knows the year this was built, let me know please.
I'll call Bruce Gordon as well, but I'd be interested to hear from someone else with first-hand knowledge of the bike.
Last edited by gomango; 07-22-10 at 06:22 AM.
