I stuck a rack and a trunk bag on my trek 1200 which is pretty much a roadie bike and not really suited for the task of commuting with the luggage in its new position
It feels a lot heavier than the same items in a rucksack, and the real world weight difference is only 1 or 2 lbs. I hate the handling of it.
Are there any bikes that feel nice to ride for a 35mile round trip with a rack and bag on the back? This set up has taken all the fun out of my commute on the trek and I don't really want to abandon the idea as I like having no bag on my back - and the wife bought me this for christmas... and the bike to work scheme is open for applications 😆
Two bikes I have been looking at are Planet X Uncle John and the Specialized Tricross bikes.
I like the idea of staying with a roadie-ish bike - so Cyclo cross bikes with mounts etc seem a good idea? Anyone ride an Uncle John with a rack?
Mate of mine has a Tricross and used it for touring the Hebrides last year (another trip planned this year). Lovely bikes - highly recommended. Depends who your C2W scheme is with, but if it's Halfords you'll not get a PX anyway.
I have a selection of shops I can go to, I think one of them can get Planet X in.
One is a specialized dealer too.
Can you ask him how it handles with the panniers etc on in comparison to them off?
Cheers!!
As a general point, you're always gonna notice a difference. The lighter the bike, the more pronounced this will be. If you want to mask it, you could consider a heavier bike - I have a steel-framed Kona Sutra which is used for both commuting and touring - but I'd say it's just something you get used to. Of course a touring bike will tend to feel more stable than a CX bike, but he certainly didn't have any problems with it on any of the roads and tracks we tackled.
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