Strong front wicker basket for Pashley Roadster- any suggestions?

[LiveFree]

Hello all-

As the title suggests, I am in need of a good strong front wicker basket for a men's pashley sovereign roadster: I already have one on the back, but am tending to haul around more than I can sensibly fit in there. I am wondering if anybody has any suggestions as to where I might buy a good-quality, preferably reasonably priced front wicker basket from? I do really need one with a pretty heavy duty fixing system to mount it to the bike (not just leather straps,) as I will often be carrying quite heavy weights in there- possibly even my little dog, if he will fit! I know that pashley sell one- but the £50 price tag rather puts me off that particular option!

Many thanks

[Brucey]

the pashley baskets look nice but

a) they are pretty flimsy and
b) the support bracket is scientifically designed to ruin your bike.

On the latter point it rubs on the headstock and the heavier the load the more it rubs. They provide a stick-on thing to help prevent damage but this doesn't last long; the paint and then the frame itself will start to suffer soon after.

In point of fact most commercial basket supports are a big 'fail' in that they don't spread the load over the bottom of the basket very well. This means that sooner or later the support punches its way through the bottom of the basket.

You can buy heavy duty baskets (for a price) but the support bracket is best made to fit the basket or at least modified to support it properly.

If you want something that is going to bear a real load, last very long, and not look sinfully ugly you will probably spend more (possibly a lot more) than £50 by the time you are done.

If you want cheap, durable and effective then a steco front rack and a plastic Basil crate is a pretty good choice. However it weighs a ton and is not very good looking though.

cheers

[StephenW]

I have the Steco rack which mounts to the head tube, and doesn't turn with the steering. If have enough space between the top of the wheel and the bottom of the handlebars, I'd recommend it. It's much nicer to load up a basket that isn't flopping about with the steering, and with heavy loads it has little effect on the handling.

If you don't have the space for that rack, the Steco one which mounts to the axle and handlebars is OK. (I used it previously). It turns with the steering.

[CliveyT]

If you want something that is going to bear a real load, last very long, and not look sinfully ugly you will probably spend more (possibly a lot more) than £50 by the time you are done.

If it's made here then almost certainly so, unless you find a basketmaker prepared to work for peanuts. Mrs T is a basketmaker and could make any a basket around any bracket you want But her standard bike basket (with leather straps) is £75

[LiveFree]

Hi Folks- many thanks for your comments and for taking the time to reply to this query. As far as I can see, within my current budget, it seems that there is really two options- one, the steco front rack; or two, just shopping more frequently so I don't end up with huge loads to carry! I will check out the steco rack thoroughly- thanks to those that suggested it- but, to be totally honest, for now I will probably just stick with option number two. I am a bit of a traditionalist, and wanted to stick with the wicker basket look for the pashley- it doesn't surprise me at all Brucey what you said about the pashley basket. To my mind, this is sort of representative of the whole pashley approach to business! I.e selling something that looks nice- but is not particularly well thought out or well manufactured. Don't get me wrong, I like my pashley and it's certainly not a BAD bike- but, they are a lot of money considering the quality of the finished product.

Happy Cycling to you all

[RickH]

Late to the party but...

How much capacity do you want?

Mrs H has a klickfix basket (link). It fits on a quick release bracket (usually on the handlebars, but other options may be aavailable) & is rated for 7kg. Also available is a pet carrier ("Doggy Shopper"again 7kg max) that could be substituted if you wanted.

[Brucey]

NB there is more than one steco carrier; the sort I was thinking of attaches to the front axle and the handlebars, is very strong and versatile. If you don't have that you can have a carrier that attaches to a QD bracket on the upper part of the down tube; this is quite strong and versatile too. Third choice is anything that bolts to the head tube. Loads that don't turn with the steering are more stable (by and large) but of course there is a limit to the height of the load before the handlebars clout it. This means that -practically speaking- if you want to carry a decent weight (say 50lb or so) which might be bulky too, you are usually better off with a carrier that turns with the steering. This also has advantages at night because the lamp can be attached to the steered part of the bike.

[FWIW my carrier bike is an old GPO bike and the steering is good (the load doesn't turn with the steering) but even though the load is as low as it can be ( practically touching the front tyre) the handlebars quite often are in the way of anything at all bulky. I have tried to address this by using a quick-adjustable stem, so the handlebars can be pulled backwards and upwards if necessary. Even with the handlebars moved, things quite often get in the way; needless to say it is incredibly dangerous to ride a bike with a restricted steering lock.]

Near to me there is a shop which sells very good quality (for the money) baskets to local customers. The baskets (which are strong, and hand-made in the EU) are imported directly, one container load at a time. AFAICT these are not available for sale online. They are (in the large size) about 12" tall, ~15" wide and ~10" front to back (from memory). {edit; I measured a basket when I was in there anyway today and it is actually 18" wide, 12" tall and 12" front to back, with a taper on the sides so the base is ~3" smaller.] On a good support they will accept a large load quite reliably and usually last about ten years (even on bikes that live outdoors), longer if they are more thoroughly varnished before use.

cheers

[StephenW]

There's nothing to stop you putting a wicker basket on the Steco rack! Since the basket will be very well supported, it probably doesn't need to be particularly strong.

The rack which attaches to the axle and handlebars also comes in a small version. If you didn't want the rack to be so visible, that could be a good option.

https://www.dutchbikebits.com/index.php ... uct_id=267

https://www.dutchbikebits.com/index.php ... duct_id=53

[LiveFree]

Many thanks to you all for these further suggestions, they are much appreciated. I am thinking that the most useful and sensible approach then will be in-line with the suggestions of Brucey and Stephen: I will almost certainly buy one of the steco front racks and then mount a nice big basket on for carting stuff around- perhaps including the dog!

Brucey, do you mind if I ask how much the baskets are that your local shop sells?

The steco rack seems to be quite reasonably priced for what it is- I am slightly wondering, though, if it will interfere with my front dynamo light on the pashley? I would probably take the basket on and off depending on whether I need the extra load carrying capacity or not.

Best Wishes to you all

[Suffolker]

I've had several baskets made by Suffolk basketmakers, ranging from an enormous one for my Pashley trade bike, to a small-ish one for my Raleigh Superbe. Unfortunately, almost all these makers have packed up.

Whatever you eventually decide and get, my own experience is that wicker baskets, cycle and otherwise, are magnets for woodworm, in places where the insects are otherwise absent (seemingly). I've found that it pays to treat them, if raw wood, with some sort of woodworm preventative, let them dry and air thoroughly, and then apply, as Brucey suggests, 2 or 3 coats of varnish for protection, well worked-in to the weave. I use International or Sadolin Yacht Varnishes, depending on the wicker colour; which, since they're intended for a marine environment, are both durable and, importantly, flexible enough to move with the wicker without cracking etc.

[Brucey]

If you want to take the basket on and off quickly then a support which mounts on the down tube (and doesn't turn with the steering of course) on a QD bracket would be the thing. However this bracket is rather pricey and (as mentioned above) can cause trouble with any tall loads because you won't be able to turn the handlebars fully. It also leaves the basket vulnerable to theft; IIRC you can optionally secure the rack using a bolt (through the QD mounting) but it is only one bolt and it would be easy for a crim to have your basket this way.

Whatever support you have it will compete with space for the front light. If you have the QD support mentioned above then you can sometimes mount a front light below it but not always; it runs the risk of being obscured from certain angles and of course means that the carrier is liable to be higher up with less steering clearance for tall loads.

Very much the best thing (if you can bring yourself to do it) is to 'embrace the support' and leave it and the basket permanently attached to the bike, mounting the dynamo light on the front of the support. That way it will never be obscured, and with most supports the lamp can be mounted inside the RH leg so that it won't be vulnerable to being knocked about.

The 'large' basket (size amended upthread) available locally to me works out about £30 (plus more for a support of some kind of course). This basket comes with two straps and a single coat of varnish, which usually lasts a year or so but in the meantime may hinder the takeup of any anti-rot/anti pest treatment you may apply. Once this coat of varnish weathers completely, the wicker turns from a nice golden shade to a rather dull grey colour. There is also a 'small' size basket in a similar style which is barely any cheaper and is about 3-4" smaller all round. I have seen baskets made in the UK and many of them are superb (with nice touches like multi-coloured wicker and so forth), but I'd expect to pay a fair bit more for one of similar size that is as strong.

cheers

[StephenW]

The rack which mounts to the axle and handlebars, and the one which mounts to the head tube, are both designed to be permanently attached to the bike. It would be a faff to remove and reattach them regularly. They also both come with a bracket for mounting your light.

If you wanted to remove the basket regularly, you could attach it to the rack with reusable zip ties or velcro straps or something like that. I originally intended to do that, but I find the basket (a 50 l plastic crate in my case) so handy that I never want to take it off.

As Brucey says, the rack which attaches to the down-tube is designed to be removed from its bracket. You can attach it to the bracket with a small padlock if you are worried about security. I have no personal experience of this rack. Unlike the others, it does not have a light bracket. It does cost more than twice as much as the others, although I believe it is particularly sturdy.

[slowster]

Holland Bike Shop sell a very large range of crates and baskets for fitting to front racks like the Steco: https://hollandbikeshop.com/en-gb/bicycle-basket/.

With a front rack one option might be to go down the DIY or re-purposing route, and make or adapt your crate, whether it be plastic or wood or a wire basket or whatever.

[Brucey]

the QD-non-steering rack I mentioned looks like this



and is sold as the 'Azor Pickup'. It comes in Alu (expensive, 10kg weight limit) and Steel (less expensive, 25kg weight limit) versions. The bracket stays mounted to the down tube and the two prongs on the rack just slide in and out of it. As I mentioned previously a locking bolt can be added to secure the rack into the bracket, but in normal use it isn't needed from the POV of stability.

Steco-branded racks come in lots of varieties but this is the usual handlebar/fork mounted one (15kg rating)


and this is the most common headtube mounted one (10kg rating)


not every frame will accept the head tube mounted one, because it requires a fair length of unobstructed head tube in order to be mounted.

Both Steco branded racks will accept more than their nominal rating, but obviously too much/too often is going to cause trouble. By contrast I wouldn't fancy the Azor rack used regularly at the maximum rating, long term. Not without regular inspections anyway. The reason for this is that there is very little redundancy in the structure and there are welds near the most highly stressed (and fatigue loaded) points; should a crack start here, the rack could fail catastrophically.

Note also that the Pashley Pronto/Mailbike uses a head-tube mounted carrier. This is meant to be fitted to brackets welded on the frame, but IIRC it can equally well be mounted using 'U' bolts and adaptor brackets. [About as well as a steco rack, anyway.] I don't think this carrier is mega-strong; I have seen several (which BTW I strongly suspect have been grossly overloaded, eg by having people sit on them) that have cracked. But cracks are not that likely in normal use and the carrier does not usually fail catastrophically if a single weld cracks; it is also stronger and larger than most other front carriers, and it isn't particularly heavy either. A downside (for basket use) is that you would have to get lucky and find a cheap basket that fits or have a basket made to fit (= Pricey, probably)

This is the wire mesh-lined Pronto front carrier

the normal version has just the framework and can be used 'as is' for carrying cardboard boxes and similar packages or (more commonly) uses the Royal Mail style plastic bin/basket in the front. The bin is robust and weatherproof, and is drilled for drainage of rainwater. The drain holes are big enough that you can lose small parts through them.... ask me how I know this....

cheers

[LiveFree]

Hi Folks- wow, thanks for another round of very helpful replies! I figured that was the rack that you were all mentioning- it is what came up when I did a google search. I totally take on board, Brucey, what you said about 'embracing the support'- this seems the only sensible approach. I would still quite like a basket that can be taken on and off as and when required: but, even this I am now starting to reconsider. I must say, I had rather drastically underestimated the cost of a front rack and large wicker basket: the one on the back of Mr Pash was incredibly cheap, but well made and looks like its been coated in something: hopefully, something that will keep Mr Wood-worm away anyway!! I think that, for now, due to financial constraints I may just resort to carrying a rucksack on my back with half the load in and shoving the rest in the rear basket. If this little plan fails, or I win the lottery (!) I will almost certainly go down the steco front rack and large basket route.

I guess the only slight concern I have about the steco rack- in steel- is simply the weight: the bicycle already weighs about 26kg (or was it 28kg? I forget!) and is a bit of a job to get up the front step of my little house- with another 2.6kg and a front basket- this will make it even more tricky! That's for me to ponder though; I don't much fancy the alloy one.

Thanks again to you all for your help