# Bar System or Minimal Front Rack?



## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Just curious on preference of others. I will probably "ride what I brung" and use my salsa minimalist rack up front with a dry bag on it vs. buying a bar system. But I am curious on what others here fancy and why.


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## Rob_E (Nov 22, 2010)

I had a standard front rack on my daily rider/touring bike. I've recently replaced the bike with a Troll, and I'm planning on carrying gear on the handlebars (probably Revelate harness) rather than using my front rack for a number of reasons:


The bike is both my touring bike and daily rider, and while the front rack has occassionally come in handy around town, mostly it's just dead weight, and I don't use it enough to justify the other drawbacks. I expect taking the harness off will be no problem. A simple step to change from touring mode to commuting mode.
Rack interferes with crown-mounted headlight. Sure, there are other places to mount the headlight, but mounting at the crown is easiest.
At some point I'm going to want to ship me, my bike, and my gear somewhere for a trip. The bike can fit into airline-legal luggage thanks to the S & S couplers, but racks will complicate that. A harness bag will fit in my luggage better.
Another aspect of my bike that may come in handy when bikepacking//touring is the "anything" mounts on the forks. Right now they hold my pump and a bottle cage, but they could do more carrying if necessary, and if the front rack didn't interfere. If it's not there, it won't interfere.
I use the bus on my commute often and the front rack interferes with the hook on the bus rack. Not really a bikepacking consideration, but I have used the bus to get closer to a camping destination, and it did work better without a front rack.

Your particular rack may not have the interference issues that mine does, and my other use-cases may not apply, but if you want to experiment with carrying a load on your handlebars instead of a rack, you don't need to invest in any system. I plan to get a harness, but in the mean time, I just strapped a dry bag on to my bars. It's not as easy-on/easy-off as a harness, but it gets the job done.


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## Smithhammer (Jul 18, 2015)

Unless you're only touring on mild surfaces (pavement, smooth dirt road) the bar system is the way to go, imo.


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## mdilthey (Dec 15, 2014)

Oveja Negra makes my favorite bar harness. Cheap and effective!


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## dh024 (Dec 11, 2010)

Smithhammer said:


> Unless you're only touring on mild surfaces (pavement, smooth dirt road) the bar system is the way to go, imo.


While I don't really disagree, the decision may also depend on how much gear you want to carry and whether you are willing to wear a backpack. I was using a bar-mounted 20L system and found I couldn't carry enough gear unless I wore a backpack (which I hate). And if I loaded up the front with a bunch of gear, I didn't like the way the bike handled anymore.

I switched back to a front rack and "soft" panniers and found this worked much better. More capacity, carries the weight lower, and the bike handled much nicer.


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## mdilthey (Dec 15, 2014)

dh024 said:


> While I don't really disagree, the decision may also depend on how much gear you want to carry and whether you are willing to wear a backpack. I was using a bar-mounted 20L system and found I couldn't carry enough gear unless I wore a backpack (which I hate). And if I loaded up the front with a bunch of gear, I didn't like the way the bike handled anymore.
> 
> I switched back to a front rack and "soft" panniers and found this worked much better. More capacity, carries the weight lower, and the bike handled much nicer.
> View attachment 1033495


Saw this bike on the Bike Forums, and I still love it. I don't carry panniers, but you make me want to.


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## Smithhammer (Jul 18, 2015)

dh024 said:


> While I don't really disagree, the decision may also depend on how much gear you want to carry and whether you are willing to wear a backpack...


Absolutely. I prefer to get as much of my gear (especially heavier gear) in a full-sized frame bag, with the handlebar bag and seatbag being for lighter stuff. And I find that I can carry quite a bit that way, as long as I'm truly just carrying the things I need, and not a bunch of 'thneeds.' But yeah, a lot of it comes down to how much you want to carry, combined with the type of terrain you plan to ride.

Sweet bike, btw. :thumbsup:


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## dh024 (Dec 11, 2010)

If I were just a BIT better at being selective about the gear I carry, I could probably do everything with a full-size frame bag and bar bag, you are right. But I tend to take it slow and carry too many luxuries. One day I'll get smarter!

And yes, I LOVE the ECR for dirt touring, but its not much of a bike on single-track. You sure can bomb down steep forestry roads and trails though -- that big bike is the most stable thing I have ever ridden. Love it.

Here is what I used to use (cx bike) off-road, which has now become my road touring bike (doesn't get much use since I discovered bikepacking and dirt-road touring, though):








Same bags - same concept. I don't like clip-on panniers for off-road travel, but I do really like these small, soft, strap on Arkel panniers. Certainly one alternative to newer-style bikepacking bags.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Great info so far, granted no one has voted for a small rack haha.

As I said I will be using a salsa minimalist front rack with a tent, sleep pad and sleeping bag. I will not be using that little piece of recalled metal either.

I have seen one other solution Logan from bikepacking.com used with his homemade bags using it on the handlebars but having the minimalist support it. I think they also used the carradice support on the front of one of the bikes for the Africa trip. Also on the bike by Engin make for Black Rainbow Bags has a support seen here.


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## dh024 (Dec 11, 2010)

Mr Pink57 said:


> Great info so far, granted no one has voted for a small rack haha.
> 
> As I said I will be using a salsa minimalist front rack with a tent, sleep pad and sleeping bag. I will not be using that little piece of recalled metal either.


Sorry for the hijack! For what it is worth, I have used a 20L bar bag (basically just a Sea to Summit dry bag that has lashing loops) that I attached to the bars and secured on my front rack. That setup worked just fine with an appropriate amount of gear. If you have that setup already, I don't think it is worth the money to invest in a new handlebar bag. There are some clever designs out there that are really convenient to access, but they probably won't be any more stable than what you have, I am guessing.


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## rifraf (Dec 22, 2012)

I prefer my Tubus racks and a small Velo Orange Pass Hunter front flat rack.
I had to get one of the VO's stays moved to fit my suspension corrected forks which was pricy but the combo is lighter than any of the alternatives with regards low rider with flat top rack that I've seen and carries the same amount of weight.

I dont tour particularly often but when I do its generally for a few weeks minimum and the backpacking set ups simply don't carry enough for my tastes in minimal luxury and necessary water haulage.

I still like looking at the picks of backpacking setups and reading about the ultralight gear now available.
Theres still plenty of new tricks this old dog can learn from.


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

When I was using Jones bars I used a old Revelate Sling with a 20l dry bag and was VERY happy with the setup. Recently some crushed stuff in my back has made me start experimenting with other bars (mostly just traditional risers) which has caused this setup to be much harder to secure.

A different bag system may help but the idea of just bolting on a small rack and strapping stuff on is pretty appealing.


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## Smithhammer (Jul 18, 2015)

Again, it depends a lot on what kind of touring one is doing, on what types of terrain/surfaces. Smooth dirt roads? Sure, run whatever you want. Rocky, forested singletrack? A front rack and bags are likely to get ripped right off the bike. Bikepacking bags, and the bikepacking approach, aren't just for people who want to take a 'minimalist' approach to touring - it developed as a way to tour in terrain where the traditional 'racks & panniers' approach doesn't work very well, if at all. Let the terrain that you plan to tour in help you decide what is the most appropriate way to carry your gear.


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## mdilthey (Dec 15, 2014)

When I am carrying some extra stuff for Kelley, I rock a front rack.


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## Mark_BC (Sep 19, 2012)

Can I ask that you add a third option? BOTH.

I use an aluminum bar I heated up and bent which goes up and over the front tire, and I attach this to the fork crown with the standard rack strap things. To this minimalist "rack", between it and the fork, I can strap things like sleeping bag and other soft cylindrical bags. And I also use a handlebar bag too. You can kind of see it here, without the stuff strapped to the side, and I also put stuff on top of it.


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## Harryonaspot (Oct 5, 2004)

Mark. Would like to see a better pic of this homemade front rack. And a shot of how it's mounted
Thanks
Harry


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## Mark_BC (Sep 19, 2012)

Here it is on the Pugsley



















The bottom of it mounts to the brazeons that the normal rack would have attached to. What I did was heat up the aluminum 3/8" bar (get the hot version of propane) and bend it around a 5 mm bolt I think it was, 270 degrees. Then you cut off the end of the curl that interferes with the vertical part of the bar, and then heat it up again and whack it in snug with a hammer so you have a nice big round eye you can put a bolt through. But drill it out first to make it nice and clear. Hard to describe in words but easy to understand once you envision it.

I wouldn't drill a hole through the bar itself because aluminum will fatigue crack if you remove too much material.


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## davesupra (Sep 2, 2013)

I'm not sure if you guys have seen this Bar Yak setup, but it looks like a slick way to attach bags up front. I haven't tried one yet, but thinking about it.


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## Harryonaspot (Oct 5, 2004)

Mark BC
Thanks for the pics. Nice design
Harry


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## schnee (Oct 15, 2005)

I do a front rack when I'm riding road and gravel, and will be carrying more stuff.

When I anticipate chunkier, more XC-like territory, then I use soft bags on the frame and bar. When I hit rocks hard, they sway around slightly rather than rigidly bounce back, which feels easier to ride with. It also encourages me to pack lighter.


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2015)

Mark_BC said:


> Here it is on the Pugsley
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 That's good stuff. For the size of the rack (small amount of material) you could also use stainless steel or stainless tubing if available and those could be drilled. Honestly when I first looked I wondered why someone hasn't built one of these commercially yet. Your design is so flexible it could be modified to fit almost anything. Great work.


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## RobertAxle142 (Mar 19, 2013)

Rack....lower center of gravity = better handling.


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## senor_mikey (Apr 25, 2009)

there are some guys out there doing the front rack and Carradice bag like 

__
http://instagr.am/p/6OsThBv_jw/
. He seems to ride some rough terrain.

I have a custom low trail bike that fits 2.1" knobbies. I use it with a custom front rack that fits a Swift Rando bag and I use a seat bag and I have a half frame bag that adds capacity,
Handles rocky trails pretty good, just a bit slower than a suspended bike.

__
https://flic.kr/p/21364079106

mike


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## bmike (Nov 17, 2009)

I use bags on my bikepacking rig but have a Marks Rack (Riv, Nitto) on my gravel / randonneuring bike. For touring gravel and dirt roads I still use the harness but the Marks Rack help supports the front roll. And gives me a place for my light mount.


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