# Ok, people. School me on front racks/bags.



## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

I'm thinking about getting a front rack and bag for my commuter, so I can whip out my camera without having to get off the bike. Though this has a lot to do with laziness and impatience, there's a practical side to this as well: I ride through some sketchy parts of town and will often pull over to take a shot. I'd like to make that operation as low-profile and fast as possible.

So what is the effect on handling a bike if you have a front rack and a bag mounted on top of it? What about with a handlebar bag that's big enough for a DSLR?


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

_


DrRoebuck said:



So what is the effect on handling a bike if you have a front rack and a bag mounted on top of it? What about with a handlebar bag that's big enough for a DSLR?

Click to expand...

_Much will depend on the design of the bike. I use a front bag on my touring bike (an Atlantis). It handles great, as long as you attach it properly. You can use a decaleur, but I use a combination of straps - two attached to the outside of the bars and two to the tops of the handlebar. I love it. My map is right there. I can flip open the top and grab my camera. Then when I stop, I take the bag with me. I use a Berthoud front bag, but they are stupid expensive. Photo below.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

oarsman said:


> Much will depend on the design of the bike. I use a front bag on my touring bike (an Atlantis). It handles great, as long as you attach it properly. You can use a decaleur, but I use a combination of straps - two attached to the outside of the bars and two to the tops of the handlebar. I love it. My map is right there. I can flip open the top and grab my camera. Then when I stop, I take the bag with me. I use a Berthoud front bag, but they are stupid expensive. Photo below.


Awesome.

I'm getting a GB bag as well; the 2586. Do you have canti brakes on the Atlantis? I'm having trouble finding a front rack for my fixie with caliper brakes. Looks like Peter White has the rack in stock, else I might go with a Velo-Orange rack.

Also, the BG decaleur apparently doesn't work with threadless stems, so I might have to do what you did with the straps on the side.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

DrRoebuck said:


> Awesome.
> 
> I'm getting a GB bag as well; the 2586. Do you have canti brakes on the Atlantis? I'm having trouble finding a front rack for my fixie with caliper brakes. Looks like Peter White has the rack in stock, else I might go with a Velo-Orange rack.
> 
> Also, the BG decaleur apparently doesn't work with threadless stems, so I might have to do what you did with the straps on the side.


Does have cantis. I use a nitto front rack. When I had the S&S couplings retrofitted, I got the builder to add bosses for the rack (I used P clamps before that). I have since slightly refined the "attachment". In addition to the straps to the outside of the bars, I use two that go through the tabs at the back of the bag then go around the tops of the bars. Don't have a pic of that right now. Works absolutely brilliantly. Totally stable.

The velo-orange rack looks pretty good to me.


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## rcnute (Dec 21, 2004)

Depending on how high you have your bars (if no front rack) you could use a Rivendell Hobo bag. It's great for schlepping around. Two straps attach to the bars.

I just got a Berthoud GB 25 bag (Mark's Rack on the Bleriot; Nitto M-12 for my soon to arrive Kogswell) and am learning about the joys of trying to secure it in just the right spot. :mad2: 

Try going over to the iBob list. More stuff about bar bags than you'll know what to do with.


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## 10ae1203 (Jan 14, 2007)

I have this one: http://www.topeak.com/products/Bags/TourGuideHandlebarBagDX 

The handlebar mount gets a little droopy after a while, but is easily straightened again. I imagine you could fit 2 dslrs and lunch in it. It's big.

It doesn't seem to hurt the handling much. I have had it pretty full a time or 2. A cable lock, a couple tools, wallet, phone, p&s camera, a water bottle, loose junk and half-dozen ears of corn fit if you leave one side open.


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## ispoke (Feb 28, 2005)

You might check the Wall Bike website for options. I recall seeing a decaleur bolt that fits on the faceplate of a threadless stem, which might suit your purposes.

Bicycle Quarterly regularly discusses handlebar bags and how they affect front end handling. In fact the latest issue reviewed and compared the options including GB and other small run canvas/leather types in addition to plastic/nylon bags. The closer you can get the bag to the steering axis, the less the affect (which is good). A "short" decaleur like some of those used for GB bags is better than a "long" modern clamp/QR bracket used on many nylon bags.

I use an Acorn bag (www.acornbags.com) on my Nor'Wester and a Carradice Zipped Roll on my Pereira rando. The Acorn could carry my N50 dSLR but the zipper'd opening isn't very wide. Since they use leather straps that fasten around the handlebar, the bags hang very close to the steering axis and can also hang low enough to allow finger room on the handlebars. I'm very happy with both setups.

I use the VO Randonneur Front Rack to help stabilize the Acorn handlebar bag. The bag doesn't actually drop low enough to sit on the rack, but I use a shoestring to guy-down the bag to the racks so it doesn't move around. Works great.

PM me if you'd like more info from the BQ handlebar bag review. But it sounds like you already made your choice...


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

I found the Nitto Mark's Rack at the Soma Store. If they have it in stock I'll order that and the GB bag.



10ae1203 said:


> I have this one: http://www.topeak.com/products/Bags/TourGuideHandlebarBagDX
> 
> The handlebar mount gets a little droopy after a while, but is easily straightened again. I imagine you could fit 2 dslrs and lunch in it. It's big.
> 
> It doesn't seem to hurt the handling much. I have had it pretty full a time or 2. A cable lock, a couple tools, wallet, phone, p&s camera, a water bottle, loose junk and half-dozen ears of corn fit if you leave one side open.


The Topeak looks really nice. My only concern about handlebar mounted bags like is that I lose the top of the bar, which I use for my light. Also, I'd be surprised if that could hold my camera (which is a heavy one) and a mini u-lock without constantly slipping.




ispoke said:


> I use an Acorn bag (www.acornbags.com) on my Nor'Wester and a Carradice Zipped Roll on my Pereira rando. The Acorn could carry my N50 dSLR but the zipper'd opening isn't very wide. Since they use leather straps that fasten around the handlebar, the bags hang very close to the steering axis and can also hang low enough to allow finger room on the handlebars. I'm very happy with both setups.


That's a nice bag and would be great, but it doesn't look big enough.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

How about something like this?

http://optechusa.com/product/detail/?PRODUCT_ID=58&PRODUCT_SUB_ID=&CATEGORY_ID=


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