Advice on Pannier Racks and Bags

[Wylie]

I'm currently doing up a saracen ruftrax 2 (not sure which year ...but i'll try and include some pics if anyone can ball park it) It's for my girlfriend so that we can day trip etc when summer comes. The frame is able to take a rear pannier rack, but having never used them before i am hoping to seek out some help and advice on the subject. I am on a somewhat tightish budget so please bear this in mind.

 

[hamster]

I have a couple of spare ones - say £5 plus postage. Personally I like Blackburn (probably because I've toured for almost 30 years with them and never broken one). People seem to rate Tortec while Tubus is definitely the gold standard for expedition use.

 

[greencat]

Blackburn racks are great. Bags wise, a lot of people rate Ortlieb but I didn't have a great experience with them. I like Lidl's Ortlieb-a-like panniers, but who knows when they'll be stocking them again.

It is very easy to overpack. I now lean on the side of "I can probably buy it if I miss it". For a first time out, I'd consider B&B and eating out to remove camping hassles. My missus' first bike camping trip put her both for life - although she says she'd consider doing one or the other in the future, I'm not sure I quite believe it.

 

[Wylie]

Thanks for the advice guys ....great food for thought. Pm on the way Hamster

 

[foz]

I never had good experiences with Blackburn, but there are many many different makes and models. Whichever you go for, try and make sure it has a 4 point fixing and some sort of triangulation across the wheel, both of these will make it a lot sturdier.

 

[Wylie]

Whichever you go for, try and make sure it has a 4 point fixing and some sort of triangulation across the wheel, both of these will make it a lot sturdier.

do the "one point fixed" seat post attached types wobble a bit. I thought about one for my stumpy as it has rear suspension and thus have limited options. Dont really know what u mean when u say some some sort of triangulation across the wheel. Do you mean across the top of the rack or from the rack to each dropout?

 

[Madmax1993]

Re:

A seatpost mounted rack has a much lower weight limit (probably 5-10kg) due to the leverage it applies to your seatpost. A frame mounted one can carry up to 25kg depending on the brand and model.

 

[foz]

I didn't mean seat post mounted, which can only carry light weights. 4 point fixing means an arm to each seatstay at the top, instead of a single arm to the seatstay bridge. Triangulation would be from the top of the rack down to the dropouts, so some sort of angled brace when looked at from the rear, this helps reduce side to side sway

 

[rwm1962]

How much you taking for a day trip? Most budget racks would likely suffice & even better ones can be picked up cheap second hand. Same with panniers. You can spend a fortune on waterproof ones like Ortlieb but while they may add to the cache of being a 'serious' or 'proper' tourer for a day trip stuff in a drybag or carrier bag inside a less water resistant pannier would be fine. Check Rockbros on ebay. My favourite vinyl panniers(EBC own brand) cost me £3 at a car boot. I prefer them to Ortlieb - they are roll-top but also have a traditional flap lid that tightens down - great for stuffing jacket under & has an inside pocket for snacks, etc to save you having to go into main body of pannier for everything On your full sussers frame,seat-post & bar bags could be the way to go. Check out Alpkit, or PlanetX - especially their flash sales. You can get seatpost bags that accomodate dropper posts too. Mine cost a packet but good old Alpkit offer a cheaper version now.

 

[greencat]

Another thought on this. See if you can borrow the kit before you buy and as rwm says, don't pay a lot for it. If you are just going out for day trips, a small/medium rucksack strapped to a rear rack has worked plenty well enough for me in the past.