robow

Your suggestion would work, he would just have to do like I once did with a similar bike and buy a new fork in order to have a wider choice of appropriate racks. cha ching

Btw, I use an Axiom Journey rack on one of my bikes and you do have some space to move your panniers rearward without being silly. I also have a Jandd Expedition rack which though much more expensive would work even with Bozo the Clown shoes.

bikemig 

Agreed about the jandd expedition; that may be at the end of the day a cost effective solution (even though it's expensive). The cheapest is to go the light weight touring route and strap dry bags to the handlebars and the top of the rack.

Cougrrcj

Old-school '70s Cannondale rear bags had an angled section removed at the lower front corner so as to reduce the chance of heel strike. I still use them today!



The came in different widths and with various models with extra external pockets.



Some models had internal plastic frames that are still available today!




Cannondale's front bags were rectangular in shape and generally not as wide front-to back.

djb

realistically, getting some longer bits that go from the rack to the mounting point, along with angling the rack back a certain amount, may get it far back enough not to have strike issues.
As noted too, trying stuff to move the panniers back may be a possibility also.

this will be the cheapest route, and then you can see how it works.

as for the bike, the geometry and gearing is going to be limiting, and you won't be able to change it without a certain amount of money spent.

I second the recommendation of going n to s, I did this trip many years ago and the general consensus is north to south, for over 25 years people have been saying this, so its not just a fad.

I get the money aspect, so I'd suggest the cheapest things first, then do some weekend rides with your panniers and what you think you'll be tkaing on the trip (most likely camping--he's a poor student) and see how it goes.

you will probably find the bike rides just so so, you may break spokes, the gearing won't be low enough and it will be murder on long hills.....but at least find this stuff out beforehand (even if you dont believe us on some of this stuff).

saddlesores

yo, OP, what's your budget?

you can get a folding BOB-style trailer on ebay for 'bout 75 bucks including shipping.

New Steel Bicycle Bike Cargo Luggage Trailer One Wheel Cart Carrier for Shopping | eBay

or a more BOB-like clone for under a hunnert bucks.

Single Wheel Bicycle Cargo Trailer with Removable Storage Bike Bag BCT 8002 | eBay

no heel strike issues, gets the weight off them 24-spoke racing wheels.

GeoKrpan

Axiom Odyssee Rear Rack

Note the "ears" on the lower mount that moves the rack back. I have been using one for four years.

Here's a store that has it on closeout for $17.99. Don't let the price fool you. It's well made, strong, and works perfectly.

Axiom Odyssee Rear Suspension Rack - Emerys Third Coast Triathlon, Cycling & Fitness On Sale Milwaukee, WI Menomonee Falls, Wi Trek Emery's emerys.com Triathlon on sale Professional Bicycle Fitting Garmin sale Wetsuit sale

LeeG

Right, they work great except for when you're pedaling.

think about that.

LeeG

Great, now for the op move all those bags onto a road bike with a carbon fork. No front low riders and rear load moves forward two inches into heel strike.

guys, he's riding a short road bike, putting all the weight behind the rear axle is nuts, especially if it's a 24 spoke wheel.

djb

we know, its a recipe that is probably too expensive to fix for him, not to mention impractical. Guess it depends on how realistic he is for the shortcomings.

to the fellow, original poster-we arent trying to be ****** here, just being realistic about what problems you most likely will encounter if you get the heel strike sorted, and put 40lbs of stuff on the rear of this bike.

staehpj1

That rack looks like a light duty model intended for a trunk bag or very small panniers. My guess is that it is intended more for commuting. You might check out the Blackburn EX-1 or maybe one of the Axiom models. I have found them to be a good value and a decent rack. I think they are longer and or the platform is farther back.

djb

Andrew,

That $18 axiom rack with the setback thingee brackets would clearly be of help and would be a really cheap way to try your bike out with your bags on.
My wife has a diff Axiom rack on a similar bike to yours, and the rack has the same "setback" brackets at the bottom, and it does the job of moving the rack back a certain amount. Gearing and handling of your bike is a diff matter, but one step at a time. At least if you are not hitting your feet on your panniers, then you can see how it works with diff stuff in your bags and start to get a feeling for how it would be for a trip like you want to do.

If you end up realizing that your bike as is might not work for a long trip carrying lots of stuff, well at least with a pannier like the Axiom one, you will still be able to use your panniers.

re the search function on this forum, I have always found it to be extremely frustrating, and doesnt work very well, so I never use it because I get fed up with it in just one or two tries......

another thing for pannier position on a rack, sometimes you can simply move the panniers back a certain amount, and if they tend to move forward when riding, you could rig up something on the rack rails to physically keep the pannier from sliding forward (like a small pipe rachet thingee or whatever they are called, hose clamp things that come in diff sizes and cost 50 cents at a hardware store).

Aidoneus

The second one above is an auction, now just under $100. It looks like it is this Aosom model, which is available from Amazon for $54.49 + $15 for shipping:

https://www.amazon.com/Aosom-Single-W...N%3DB00762O452

BTW, I don't think that it is worth purchasing for touring.

fietsbob

move the bags mounting hooks on top, (change the angle if you wish) .. to shift the bags further back

djb

perhaps one good thing to do would be to eyeball your current setup and guesstimate how much farther back your panniers would have to be. That on sale axiom probably will bring the panniers back enough---and also, if your rack is tilted slightly backwards, it can help eek out a bit more room--the factor here is how long are the horizontal attachment pieces that go to your bike under the seat, this may be the limiting factor of if and how much you could lean it back a bit.

it will probably come down to you needing to try this rack in person to know if it helps enough, but at $20 plus shipping, its a great buy and worst case scenario, you can sell it (but I suspect that between the rack and mucking about with pannier position, you'll be able to find the extra clearance necessary--I dont have size 12 feet but would hope it will work for you).

Mongoeric

First, I agree with all that are recommending North to South. Unless you like strong headwinds and being on the wrong side of the road with respect to the view. . .

Moving the panniers back will solve the heal strike but will increase the weight on the rear wheel which may become an overwhelming problem.

It is unclear what you financial situation is but getting a true touring rig would be the best solution. Clearly the LHT is a great option but REI touring bikes are an even better value. If they are included on the one item sale they can be a great deal. If that isn't an option, the trailer is not a bad option for a racing oriented bike. It gets the weight off the rear wheel and there is less potential for some other fatigue type failure on a different bike part. To me if you have enough money to do this you have enough money to get properly outfitted.

Finally, make sure you do some riding fully loaded. Some things break right away, others break after a long while. You want to find out about the things that will break the first week. My son and I spend the first few days going south from Vancouver fixing things on his bike that were not tour ready. He didn't have time to ride his new touring bike.

Have fun, ride safe and pedal, pedal, pedal.

Miele Man

Looks like you might have problems.

You want to tour a long distance on what appears to me to be a racing bike with short chainstays and tight geometry. There's a good reason why touring bikes have longer chainstays and that reason is so the rear panniers don't get hit by the heel of the rider. Also, rear panniers have the fronts angled in order to give even better heel clearance. Your panniers don't have that which is part of your problem.

Be aware that movibg your panniers back behind the rear axle can lead to shimmy/speed wobble at speed.

How much do you intend to carry? You might be able to get smaller rear panniers with the heel clearance taper you need. those plus a handlebar bag might be better.

Be sure to try your setup with the planned load BEFORE you set out on the tour itself.

Good luck and cheers.

Miele Man

Does anyone still sell panniers like those with a similar internal frame? My luggers from 1986 finaly wore out and I've not seen panniers like them in the stores in quite a long time.

Thanks and cheers.

FML123

I have US size 11/Eur size 45 feet. I mounted an Axiom Streamliner rear rack on a hardtail MTB. Where the rack mounts to the dropouts there is a ~50 extension that moves the rack rearward that distance for extra heel clearance. I also used Ortleib Backroller panniers, which have mounting rails that allow the bag to be slid rearward, from the crank. That combo worked well for me. The only problem was that the Streamliner is narrow at the top, so the trunk back I mounted on top wobbled left and right.

phughes

pdlamb

You mind if this image gets saved and re-used on more dead thread revivals?

phughes

Ha! Go for it.