RZetlin

Are there any recommendations for rust protection sprays for the bike like WD40?

Bleu

anti crush spacer, also a piece of pvc plumbing

tds101 

It's inserted in the seatpost to prevent damage during shipping...

Duragrouch

For spraying inside the frame tubes? That's actually not a bad application for WD-40. Others have also mentioned Boeshield, which was developed by Boeing for corrosion protection, it may be better, do a quick search and you'll find their website.

The above can't hurt, but IIRC, your frame is aluminum, so less vulnerable than unpainted steel inside the tubes.

Sentinel1

Get a Dahon mu SL. It's one of the lightest folding bikes ever made.

Sentinel1

The Liberte is probably the best folder in the world for the MONEY. Out of the box. Getting a budget folder under 24lbs is impressive.

john m flores 

I've had a Liberté for 5 years and it's been really good. Definitely value for money.

I don't need to fold so much these days, so currently it's my grocery getter. My heels just clear with the panniers pushes beyond the rear axle.

Would recommend, especially when they are on sale.

Duragrouch

Panniers behind the rear axle for heel clearance: Truer words were never said. Very hard to find such rear racks. My blackburn TRX-2 is good but no longer made. Axiom has one and with lower pannier tiers like mine. Looks like you finessed your basket mounting even with using only half the rack length, well done.

Darned nice setup at budget cost. Anyone can cook a fine steak. It's making a fabulous meal with low-cost ingredients that shows artistry.

OOO! Bonus points: Notice on your frame, the weld between the top tube and the seat tube, that weld is finish-dressed, sanded, unlike all the other welds. That can be a crack point on the seat tube, and that dressing helps for a smoother transition in stresses.

john m flores 

Here's a top view of how the panniers are mounted on this 30 year Performance Bike rack that I had lying around. As you can see, the pannier mounts are pushed way to the front and the panniers placed on the rear of the rack. The panniers are hooked to the stays but with this extreme mounting position, the back of the panniers tend to fall inward towards the centerline of the bike. I use a Hip Lock reusable ziptie to pull the front corners of the panniers together to counteract it.

Duragrouch

(above) Oh wow, I thought you had perhaps attached the panniers to the rack vertical strut, either permanent, or a forward facing U-hook, to counteract the bottoms of the panniers tipping forward. I'm surprised they are stable with just the two hooks on each. EDIT: Oh, I see now the top hooks are not just U-hooks but clips that wrap around, yeah that works better.

I was really lucky to find the Blackburn TRX-2 on clearance price on Nashbar, I think it was a bit over $20, long and wide deck with 3/4 of it behind the axle, the deck actually extends a couple inches aft of the tire, which is a plus for me; When folded, my aero bars need to tip up, so with the handlebar stem down when folded, the bike would be resting on the tip of those; No problem, I just rotate the bike onto its aft end, it's stable sitting on the rear tire and back of rack. But that rack setup required the absolute longest stays I could find to reach the seatstay braze-ons.

Another good aft-sitting rack (and wide deck, unlike their Streamliners), with lower tiers for panniers (also stock stays not long enough though):
https://www.amazon.com/Axiom-Journey...dp/B009VU3RAU/

splithub

Sorry, i don't understand that completely. Is that a weld over another weld and then sanded for a better look? Or for additional stability? Thanks!

Duragrouch

Zooming up on your picture, it appears that the weld connecting the main beam/top tube to the top of the seat tube, the weld there appears much smoother than all the other welds, and I don't think it's due to a better weld process, but finish-dressing the weld by sanding, for a gentle transition at the weld edges. I think that is intentional. It is a common occurance with typical aluminum welds, not finished like that, to exhibit a crack where the tube meets the weld, in high stress places, in particular, the top front of the seat tube just above that weld, because that area (under rider weight) is loaded in tension, which is how fatigue happens. The back side of that tube is loaded in compression, so normally doesn't fatigue. Finish-dressing the weld to a finer taper where it meets the tube, reduces the stress concentration there. My old Cannondale had that treatment at every weld, it's a hand process, adds expense. My Dahon steel frame, normally better in fatigue than aluminum, cracked near there, not at the weld but above it, earlier model, had the seat tube clamp T-slot in front when it should have been in back, and plastic bushing which caused too much flex in tube under clamping. Dahon Mariners and other aluminum bikes also have a diagonal U-section gusset welded in that area. Your bike, I note, has that same sort of gusset on the lower front side of the hinge, another vulnerable place. Dahons typically have just a second layer of aluminum welded against the tube, for reinforcement there. So anyway, the smooth weld finishing is a plus. Not necessary at the other welds, but can be a big plus where they did it, they did that for a reason and it aint looks, it's durability.

Reddleman

I found that the Blackburn Grid series of rear racks were pretty good too for full-size panniers on a 20” wheeler bike, in my case for a pair of 26l Carradice canvas monsters. Blackburn seems to have about 2/3 of the rack deck behind the rear axle and the long adjustable arms are capable of reaching the lower seat stays. Ron Damon, look away now:

Ron Damon

Some things cannot be un-seen. Maybe what the Aussies say about you is true.

Duragrouch

That does look good! In the years after the TRX-2, Blackburn came out with some heavy duty rear and front racks, I think perhaps even made from steel, but those were squarely over the rear axle. Wow, those stays do just reach, and at a good angle, I've often recommended to people to do that rather than the stays coming from the top deck and being almost verticle; Like you've done can much better resist fore/aft loads from the rack trying to swing under acceleration and braking. My rack is so far back that I have a good angle to the top deck, otherwise I would have done like you did. That's also why I'm not a fan of curving the stays, it means the rack will be constantly pivoting around the tiny lower mount bolts, not by much, but enough to loosen the bolts.

Schwinnsta

Would it not be the case now that the horizontal rack stays put the vertical into bending, allowing small movements like you describe with the bent type stays?

Duragrouch

A very valid point. Higher up just under the deck would be better, and still have a good angle, but I don't think his stays are long enough for that. I will say that very curved flat stays have way more flex than that vertical rack strut. But good catch, I agree.