An extra rear bike rack just became my new front rack without much effort or extra hardware. But is it good enough for carrying some of the load next tour?

A little background: For some reason, I’ve resisted carrying anything but a handlebar bag on the front of my bike. I think it’s because I’m worried the extra capacity would cause me to overpack, but I’ve slowly warmed to the idea of distributing more weight on the front and less on the back. It might be because I carry a metric crap-ton* of weight on the back of my typical tour:

It’s time to take advantage of physics and common-sense and redistribute some of that up front.

It just so happens I have an extra rear rack lying around. Nothing too fancy, just a $20 Avenir rack that’s tested to 25 lbs when mounted on the back. I’m not too cheap to buy a “real” front rack, but after doing a little research, I saw many people (mountain bikers in particular) use platform racks and even reuse those rear racks up front. So, I decided to give it a whirl. Here’s what it looks like:

The rack faces inwardly, just as it does on the rear. I have two panniers hanging on it in this picture mainly to demo what it could look like… these are Ortlieb back rollers, so they’re a bit bigger than your typical front bags.

The real trick, of course, is how to mount it. For the moment, I used the hardware that I used on the rear and nothing more. In order to get enough clearance for the brakes, I needed to mount the braces on the top rather than the bottom of the rack. I also had to bend the holy hell out of them, but the crossing action seems to provide a sturdy mount via the upper fork.

The bottom of the rack attaches at the mount point at the bottom of the fork. Because there’s an additional brazon relatively close by, I can foresee bracing the whole thing with a cross beam… perhaps even using two water bottle cages to get a little extra function, so long as it gives actual structure.

I took the bike for a quick spin in the snow today with my 9 lb city lock bungeed to the top platform to see how it felt with a moderate weight. Everything rode fine, even with the newfound oddity of having weight at that point in the bike’s geometry for the first time.

A few initial observations:

– I don’t think it’s a good idea to ride with more than 10 pounds on this current system… those mounting brackets probably bear weight differently than when on the rear, so the flex of a heavier weight could muck things up.

– I can fix that with a secondary bracing like I mentioned above. It will probably mean using some P-clips to attach the rack to the brace, and then the brace would fasten at the mid-fork.

– I’m back and forth on using the platform or getting front panniers. I think the panniers riding lower would help distribute the overall weight better, and I did just save about $50 on a rack, right? That said, a dry bag bungeed on the platform (like this, although he attached front panniers too) would probably do the trick too… again, I’m not too cheap to get these things, but why not save a few bucks if form and function are served?

More to come on this project. What kinds of hacks have you been up to lately?

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*1 metric crap-ton = approximately 40 pounds

A little advice courtesy of Adventure Cycling… get a map case to keep yourself from being like the gentleman pictured. It keeps you organized and not all crashed on the side of the road.

I have one integrated in my handlebar bag, but there are literally dozens of types. I’ve also seen people use clips for cue sheets as well. No matter what, don’t be “that guy” or “that gal”  whipping out your map on the fly!

If you spend time properly planning on how you pack panniers for your next bike tour, you’ll find that’s well worth the investment. Why? It’s all about efficiency.

Pack panniers with weight in in mind

Generally heavy things should go at the bottom of your panniers. Why? It’s all about weight distribution and center of gravity. If you have heavier things higher in the bags, the center of gravity for the bike is higher, which means less stability. Pack with weight low.

Lose the bags within the bags

If your panniers are already waterproof, you might want to ditch the extra bags for the gear that goes in them. Why? It’s easier to stuff more things inside your pannier when they can fit into the shape that’s available within the bag. If your gear is already stuffed into a ball the size of a grapefruit, it might leave extra space around it. Sometimes that means for a less organized setup, but if you pack your panniers with some kind of organizational system in the first place, you’ll gain more efficiencies with how you use the space in the bag itself.

Distribute wisely

The heaviest thing you’re rolling with is probably sitting in the saddle. That means most of the weight ends up on the rear of the bike. That’s fine. It’s designed that way. That said, try to move some of the weight to the front and you’ll take some of the strain on that rear wheel, plus get some added stability on your ride. Don’t have a front rack? Consider a handlebar bag. At least pull some weight up front and you’ll find some benefits.

Adventure Cycling and America ByCycle made this great video on how to pack your panniers for bike tours. Great stuff:

Last night was all about tour planning. I use a few tools when planning a trip:

Adventure Cycling Association maps – I like the detail, planning and thought put into these. They are pricey, so take look on eBay or even Craigslist to see if someone is reselling their set, or consider becoming a member of ACA to get a discount and support their efforts.

Google Maps – If you haven’t tried out the bike route feature on Google Maps, it’s a teriffic resource. Word to the wise: it’s far from perfect. Sometimes Google routes you way out of your way to favor bike paths and trails, and sometimes it puts you on roads that are flat out bad ideas (hello Highway 9 in West Virgina!). Still, this is a great way to deviate from established routes.

Crazy Guy on a Bike – Warning: this site will pull you in, trap you and keep you there for hours (but in a good way). For years, this has been a repository of bike touring routes, and a great way to get first-hand stories on how the roads treated the author and his or her group. The site’s design will force you to remember what websites looked like in the late 90s… a serious throwback. Amazing information.

Other people’s stuff – blogs, message boards, e-books, routes using mobile phone apps… the list goes on and on. Google terms related to your route and get ready to sort the wheat from the chaff. There’s a ton out there.

I’m working on a hybrid ride of the Lewis + Clark and Northern Tier routes by the ACA, linking by a “short cut” from Missoula to Great Falls, MT mentioned in a book by Tod Rodger. More to come on that.

What resources do you use? Have you found anything else to be particularly helpful? Do you recommend anything in particular based on your experience?