I’m after a rack for the front of my stoater for a touring trip next year. I like the idea of front loading the bike. I’m interested In th outpost front rack but wonder if other have experience of it good or bad. It would also mean fabricating a dynamo light mount.Alternatives include the pelago cycles commuter which has a bigger top rack though costs more, also any input would be helpful here.
The other option is a standard low rider and standard bar bag providing more flexibility. I guess what I’m asking is what’s better standard low rider or platform from rack? So can you show me your touring setups and recommendations for racks. I don’t need a rear as I’ll likely use a carradice.

in answer to the second question, I used a low rider rack to useful effect a year or two back, even rough stuff wasn’t too much of a problem as long as it was say landy tracks. it was on a robust touring bike. where it did fall down (with front panniers) was in rutted tracks, across moors and so on – the panniers would catch on the side of the ruts and it became a bit annoying. that was only for a few hundred yards out of a pretty decent day’s ride though..

I should further add I quite fancy a randonneur front bag but don’t want to restrict myself on luggage capacity of I need it.

Rats double post

Try get hold of a Specialised pizza rack, it has a much bigger top platform with a light mount built in. Also isn’t as wide as the Blackburn rack, meaning the panniers don’t stick out as far.

Having toured in a similar fashion to that which you described, I’d advise to go for something a little sturdier than the Blackburn outpost rack. I ordered one into store and found it to be rather flimsy, especially when the top was removed. I also found the top platform sits far too forward over the front axle making the load feel incredibly unpredictable. It also means a rando bag will sit at some distance away from the handlebars, making on-the-bike bag access a real chore. I’ve also heard the top rack bolts tend to work loose after rigorous riding…
I opted for the meaty surly front rack instead. Yes it’s big, yes it’s heavy, and no it’s not particularly cheap, but it’s set and forget and can handle anything I throw at it – perfect for my touring needs!

I moved on from the Blackburn racks, as the platform is a bit small, and kinda oddly placed (for me).

I use the Racktime Topit racks on most of my bikes now. They’ll take small panniers, but I only ride for the day, so everything I need goes in a drybag on the top.

Or – in a drybag, in a Wald 137 basket (don’t knock the idea of a basket until you’ve tried it 😉 ).

I’ve got a Swift Ozette rando bag, but it’s not a great fit with those racks – sure it works, but only ‘ish, I can’t get it to feel especially secure – it does fit almost magically well on a Nitto M18 tho’ (as does the Wald basket). Other rando bags might work better / differently I guess, but everything I looked at ‘needed’ that tombstone on the back of the rack to lock down onto securely.
That said, a Porteur bag might work ‘better’ than a traditional rando bag?

UK supply might be a challenge, but Pass & Stow racks came up a lot in my research. There seem to be more options now than when I was looking, and they’ve been covered above – Specialized Pizza Rack (supply bumped on to Feb 2017 I think), plus the Surly and Pelago porteur racks.

no problems here with the outpost rack, i really like it..

Iike a rack with top platform too but I agree that the Blackburn for some odd that placed the platform too car forward. Needs to be back at far as possible.

I use one of the old style Blackburn mtb front racks but have modified it and have straight blade forks