One other thing about front-pannier-only setups: If you have a non touring-specific frame but want to go touring, it’s much easier to replace the front fork with something more suitable and fit a decent lowrider rack than it is to cobble a rack onto the back, putting stresses on the frame it isn’t designed for and deal with the inevitable heal clearance problems.
Yep my old faithful Stumpy, bought an original Stumpy in 83 ish and traded it in for this one a few years later, a deal I couldn’t refuse from Bike in Bristol. It was my only Mtb for prob five years then became my go to alround road hack. It gained Tubus racks and has done a few thousand miles of touring. It’s still on the original thumb shifters and derailierurs.
I’m debating what fixing system for the front panniers I want to put on my Vaya.
To my eyes, tubus lowriders tend to put them a bit low, whereas the Racktime Topit tends to put them too high. The Blackburn outpost seems a possible solution as they can be mounted either high or low. I’ve also seen pictures of a Vaya or two fitted with a Pelago front rack which has mounts for panniers and looks like it puts the panniers where I think I want them. The rack itself comes in two sizes, huge or enormous, to strap even more stuff to 🙂 .
Has anybody used a Pelago rack or know who has them in the UK?
Of course, I might be wrong about lowriders as lots of people here seem to use them !
This is mine, I’ve only done one ride on it really, from Ipswich to Manchester, but that was a pretty good one. It’s nice and comfy, but pretty sketchy to ride sometimes with all the weight on the back.
@Jerrys What are your concerns about having the panniers low? The only time I’ve had an issue with lowriders being too low was when we took a wrong turn down a rutted green lane and the panniers were grounding out. With the Blackburn Cargo I was able to lift them up a few inches to the next rail and carry on pushing!
The Pelago racks don’t look particularly suitable for front panniers. You could always buy one of the cheap lowrider racks to give it a try? ETC £16.99 lowrider rack
@Jerrys What are your concerns about having the panniers low? The only time I’ve had an issue with lowriders being too low was when we took a wrong turn down a rutted green lane and the panniers were grounding out. With the Blackburn Cargo I was able to lift them up a few inches to the next rail and carry on pushing!
The Pelago racks don’t look particularly suitable for front panniers.
Busta – I think I’ve got the (illogical) fear that I’ll ground the panniers, but in reality I won’t be anywhere near tracks which are really that bad.
Not sure if the link below works (it’s the Vaya builds thread on mtbr.com) but half way done page 86 of the thread it shows a vaya with a pelago rack and pannier attached.
Bear in mind that the bottom of a pannier on low riders is still a couple of inches higher than the bottom of your pedal stroke, so you’ll suffer pedal strike before it is an issue.
I see the Pelago on the Vaya. It looks like it will work then! The horizontal rail looked too narrow for the pannier hooks to me.
Front racks just bug me though, they almost never look ‘right’. Which given the modicum of effort I’ve put into getting the rest of the bike looking acceptable would be a crying shame.
Hand made niceness (but $200 + shipping and tax)
Crashed into a box of mechano £22
Nothing complicated about the first one, it’s just some bent and welded tube, no reason Topeak couldn’t make it and sell it for £20. Yet somehow they fail miserably.
the lower arms are angled open at the rear and they are too fat to get one of the two ortlieb brackets on – the gen 1 IIRC – and the angle can cause them to slide off on rough stuff . the ergo has a flat encapsulated lower rail
It lives! [url=https://flic.kr/p/FEPGwC]2016-04-08_05-20-37[/url] by thisisnotaspoon, on Flickr
New, found in the spares box and restored bits:
5800 hubs, DT Comp spokes, brass nipples and Mavic Open Sport rims, 32h
XT 8 speed mech
Shimano 9 speed 105 cassette 11-28
Shimano 9s chain
UN55 BB
Stronglight impact chainset and tripple chainrings
Jagwire cables
Stronglight A9 headset, but with the original top nut as I couldn’t get the alloy stronglight one to thread onto the slightly bashed top of the steerer threads despite the steel one going on perfectly.
Saddle is an on-one bignose, but will be replaced by a charge bucket, re-covered in matching leather (toestraps and bar tape)
Ritchey bar tape with an extra layer on top. Turned out I couldn’t find a way to get the internal routing on the bars, hence the slightly odd cable routing you can see under the tape.
Shimano CX50 brakes with tektro holders and pads, the only combo that seems to work in the fork and even then it’s close.
Leather toe straps from Rose bikes.
Continental Sport Contact tyres, cheap, but IMO every bit as good as more expensive tyres.
Cleaned out the friction shifters and it was hard to tell what was meant to be there and what was solidified grease! Polished the levers and they’re lovely bits of kit, bars and stem have been polished too.
Frame and forks were going to be coated and I’d found a place selling decals and headtube badges, but found out I was being made redundant so that’s for another year. A morning with a lot of T-cut and elbow grease has it looking presentable for now.
Other than that the only job left to do is the front mudguard is a little deformed from storage, needs a bit of heat to re-set it and get the ‘beak’ pointed straight and the flaps will be replaced with offcuts of leather from the saddle.
1) It rides beautifully nice and stiff but with just enough flex that you can feel it ‘working’ when banked over into a corner on a rough bit of road.
2) I’ve missed having mudguards and riding through puddles with impunity!
3) 9speed cassette is far too good for friction shifting, the chain doesn’t sit ‘in’ the gear enough and derails up/down under power unless you’re lucky. And there’s only the slightest ‘tick’ between gears to let you know it’s shifted. Might have to pick up some indexed shifters, which would be a shame as the (early 80’s Cyclone GT?) Suntour ones little bit’s of jewlery!
4) Toe clips are a nice change, and the pedals are nicely balanced so getting clipped in never posed a problem, but I need to sort out some shoes for them (and the ‘cleat’ with the little lipped plate). By the end of the ride the pedal was digging right through my trainers!