# Dumb noob question - pannier racks on a road bike



## Lozatron (3 Jan 2009)

Hi all

I've been commuting for a little while and, as seems to be pretty common in these parts, I'm thinking about moving from my hybrid to a road bike with drop handlebars.

I don't want to spend a huge amount but it seems that if you are a little patient and look on ebay you can pick up a second hand, reasonably cared for road bike for not too much money.

So here's the dumb question...is it possible to fit a pannier rack to any road bike? Or indeed desirable? I've noticed on my rides in (being overtaken by all the chaps on road bikes...) that there seems to be an inverse relationship between the amount of lycra worn and the presence of pannier racks on the back.

I'm going to be carrying ~5 kilos on the back of the bike.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice...


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## RedBike (3 Jan 2009)

Ideally the bike needs to have the right mounts but I suppose you can fudge it with p-clips. 

Bikes with shorter rear chain stays will have clearance issue with your heal and larger pannier bag. 

At 5kg you might be able to get away with a rack that mounts on the seat post. http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&q=seatpost+rack


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## HLaB (3 Jan 2009)

Somebody will probably confirm it but I believe Trek and Giant do good entry level road bikes which take racks and mud guards and sound perfect for commuting.


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## genesta (3 Jan 2009)

Look for an "Audax" bike - a good half way compromise between full-on sports bike and a tourer, and ideal for commuting. I'm willing to be corrected, but I can't imagine any Audax bike coming without braze-ons for mudguards and a rack, and the chainstays will be long enough not to cause the problem identified by Redbike. 

(I commute on an Audax fitted with panniers, and I'm regularly overtaken. It's a good excuse...!)


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## Landslide (3 Jan 2009)

How much gear are you planning to carry (in terms of volume)? It may be worth looking at a large saddlebag like those in the Carradice range.


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## MacB (3 Jan 2009)

Giant definitely do, as do Trek but, as I found, it can be really hard to find out what will fit to what. Detailed specs rarely seem to mention whether there are proper fittings for guards and rack. I only seemed to be really sure when I actually saw pictures of bikes complete with these bits.

I was reading a touring/commuting blog last night that indicated, if wanting a full rear rack, you need to look for a wheel base 102cm or larger. They seemed to feel this was the minimum requirement to avoid catching your heel on the pannier. I have no idea if this is true, or applies to all styles of frame geometry but certainly worth considering.


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## BentMikey (3 Jan 2009)

Landslide said:


> How much gear are you planning to carry (in terms of volume)? It may be worth looking at a large saddlebag like those in the Carradice range.



+1

I have a Carradice long flap camper, it's a superb saddlebag, and I carry 5-10kg in it when using the upright.


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## Lozatron (3 Jan 2009)

Hi - thanks! Landslide - I commute with two bags on the rack - a briefcase style bag which I keep my laptop, trousers and shirt in (http://snipurl.com/9evuh) and another smaller bag for shoes and washkit (http://snipurl.com/9evw4).

There's a cycle surgery near the office - they stock Giant and Trek I believe - I'll have a look in there to see what they look like.

I'm quite keen to buy second hand - there's nowhere really safe to leave my bike at work and I don't want to live in fear of it getting nicked. By the same token - something with a few years of wear on it will probably look less desirable to your prospective thief...


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## chetty (3 Jan 2009)

> something with a few years of wear on it will probably look less
> desirable to your prospective thief...

Don't count on it. Thieving scum will take anything they can lay their hands on.

In my case, this was a 12 yr old 6 speed mtb clunker originally purchased new for £75 in a French supermarket and with a bent frame (car got rear ended when bike was on the bike rack) Thought it would be "invisible" and so ideal for a 2 mile commute to the station. Came home one night and the lock was cut and the bike stolen!! 

chetty


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## chetty (3 Jan 2009)

And this was only the 3rd week of leaving it at the station...


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## wafflycat (3 Jan 2009)

On my roadbike (entry level racer that doesn't take a full rear rack) I use this

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Topeak_QR_Beam_RX_Rear_Rack/5300003208/

I have a rack pack on it which is ok for day rides. This one

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Topeak_RX_Trunk_Bag_EX/5360012014/

You can get bags that are bigger and the rack to cope. See all the stuff on here http://www.wiggle.co.uk/m/Cycle/7/Topeak/

The system I use on the road bike is more than enough for a full day ride, but not for commuting where you've got more stuff to carry.

BUT - other road bike - my audax/tourer is the bike I use if I'm going to be carrying more stuff. It's also my everyday bike of choice. On it I have a proper rear rack and I can use traditional panniers, traditional saddle back, rack pack (bigger than the topeak one) and it makes it a bike suitable for just about anything, from a short ride into town to post a letter, get some shopping, to a full day-ride, to a three week cycle tour in France.


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## threefingerjoe (3 Jan 2009)

IMHO, a LOT of people who are riding road bikes, would find a touring bike more suitable. I use a straight bar, slick-tyred hybrid for a commuter, but if you want one with the drop bars for commuting, I'd strongly suggest a tourer. They have a slightly longer wheelbase, more relaxed geometry, plenty of braze-ons and will accomodate mudguards, and whatever tyres you want to run, including big, fat tyres, if you so desire.


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## SoulOnIce (4 Jan 2009)

Lozatron said:


> Hi - thanks! Landslide - I commute with two bags on the rack - a briefcase style bag which I keep my laptop, trousers and shirt in (http://snipurl.com/9evuh) and another smaller bag for shoes and washkit (http://snipurl.com/9evw4).



Ok, here's a way you can cut your luggage down. Do as I do and leave a towel, washbag and pair of shoes at the office. 

I don't go in on my bike every day so on the days I drive in I will replace the towel if it is stinky or replace any single item in the washbag that has been used up.

You can even do as I do and leave a couple of pairs of trousers at the office so there is even less stuff to carry. I also keep a spare suit at the office in case I have an important meeting or media appearance to do.


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## alecstilleyedye (4 Jan 2009)

in the spirit of keeping the weight off my back (literally) i have a pair of shoes that stay at work 365, and take my jeans in on monday and home on friday. i keep a set of toiletries in my locker, towels do 2 days before coming home for a wash, with only undies, t-shirt and lunch making the daily trip. i've moved the essential bike stuff (spare tube, tools and repair kit) into an aldi frame bag.


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## MacB (4 Jan 2009)

Leave at work(I do have a permanent large locker) - toiletries, shoes, belt and spare jacket and tie in case of meetings

Always on bike - saddle pack with 2 spare tubes, patches, levers, multitool, multispanners and second multitool based around pliers. 4 lights, front = LED plus Fenix torch and rear = 2 x Smartflash one on constant and one on flash.

Panniers - take 2 on Monday with laptop and shirts and underwear for week, plus towel and trousers. Bring only one pannier home with empty lunch box and dirty clothes. Fridays bring both panniers home with laptop and towel and trousers.

Daily - have the one pannier with couple of spare tops, waterproofs, wooly hat, lunch.

At work - leave cycling gear hanging in locker room to air and dry through the day, put on again for trip home.


I'm still sorting my cycling gear out, nearly completed top half, just windproof breathable to go. Highly recommend merino base and mid layers, due to size and lack of fitness I sweat a lot and they're coping Bottom half I've got 2 pairs padded cycling shorts but at present am wearing jogging bottoms over the top. Not ideal particularly when get wet, will be moving to Ron Hills next, probably the tracksters not the bikesters. May add some knee warmers to daily pannier load just in case. Footwear still not finalised, currently use white sports socks and not ideal. Also using Nike trainers, ankle boot style but very soft and flexi. Looking at getting better socks, probably wool, and some sturdier, warmer trek style boots, maybe MTB ones. The Nikes will be great for Spring/Autumn.


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## Plax (5 Jan 2009)

BentMikey said:


> +1
> 
> I have a Carradice long flap camper, it's a superb saddlebag, and I carry 5-10kg in it when using the upright.



+2

I have recently discovered the SQR system. I have a hybrid that doesn't have braze ons for a rack. I fudged the mudguards with p-clips. I already had a carradice barley saddle bag on my tourer (fitted to the saddle permanantly). Was looking at the carradice website and noticed the SQR system and treated myself to one, plus an extra seatpost block. Can now happily swap the saddle bag between bikes. 
http://www.bikeplus.co.uk/ (type SQR in the search box).
It fits all carradice saddlebags, and you can get some monster saddlebags if you have a look here;
http://www.carradice.co.uk/saddlebags/index.html

The barley has about a 7 litre capacity so I can fit all my tools etc in the side pockets and my lunch and very neatly packed down blouse, trousers, clean underwear, deoderant etc. I leave shoes in the office. 
I'd probably go for a camper long flap bag now - 24 litre capacity, Girlie heaven!


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## biking_fox (5 Jan 2009)

Some Winter Training road bikes do have braze ons for mudguards at least, which will normally also take paniers. The Dawes Giro 300 certainly used to though I'v enot looked at last years models. However although I do ahve a rack, I seldom use it for commuting, prefering a warm rucksack for a 20min commute.


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## Lozatron (6 Jan 2009)

Ah now - I've been giving a lot of thought to the excellent weight saving advice here. The thing is - I get changed in the gym just accross the road from work - we *do* have a shower at work...but to access it I'd have to walk into the office all kitted out in my lycra...

I guess I have to ask myself - am I brave enough to face the jibes of my colleagues.


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## biking_fox (6 Jan 2009)

Do it everyday and it will be normal within a fortnight, everyone will only comment when you _don't_ come in lycra.


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## SoulOnIce (6 Jan 2009)

biking_fox said:


> Do it everyday and it will be normal within a fortnight, everyone will only comment when you _don't_ come in lycra.



Agree. Once the novelty wears off you get no comments. You could also do like me and wear baggies rather than skin tight shorts. They look better IMHO.


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## Lozatron (11 Jan 2009)

So - thanks for the excellent advice. Got a Dawes Audax bike off ebay this weekend - kind chap I bought it from threw in a rack which was nice - I'm going to be trying it out tomorrow...so now I can put a child seat on the hybrid and use that to take the little empress out for trips.

Have ordered some Ultra Gator tyres which seem to be highly rated in this parish - my current bike has the Schwalbe Marathon Plus which have served me very well but are an absolute ****er to fit. Hopefuly Ultra Gator will be more forgiving of my cack-handedness...


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## Randochap (12 Jan 2009)

Good decision! An all round better bike for your use, I would say.

Check out the "audax" sport-tourers at Veloweb. More pages coming this week on audax kit, gearing, etc.

Gatorskins are a good, reasonably priced tyre. Fast, but comfy in 28s.


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