Cycling UK Forum

I've got the folding touring rack for my Bike Friday but it is high so sways when I carry my heavy Ortlieb case on it. Does anyone by any chance know if there's a lower rack that fits a Pocket Llama or that could be bodged to fit? Something like the Dahon Arclite would be good - I had one on my Dahon before it got nicked & it worked well (I don't need too much heel clearance as I don't use large panniers on the rear) but it doesn't look like the bosses are in the same place on the two bikes. I contacted Bike Friday but they couldn't suggest anything but maybe someone here might know of something?

Try one of these on the front:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mini-Alloy-Front- ... 2c5b284092
They are very easy to fit and are surprisingly sturdy. A rear rack might interfere with the folding, a front one shouldn't. Also you should find that putting loads on the front rather than the back works better on most small wheelers.

Thanks for that link but I do already have a front rack - I need a rear one that's lower than the present pannier rack for carrying an Ortlieb Shuttle case - one of the best pieces of kit I've ever owned. It's really good for city trips which I do a lot of, whilst for touring with panniers I'd just put the touring rack back on.

On my BF New World Tourist I have a fixed (ie, not folding) rack. It was one of the options when I bought the bike new.
It can carry conventional panniers and enables the folded bike to stand inverted on its own stand.
Its quite rigid and I feel sure it would accommodate your Ortlieb bag.

Thanks for posting those pics - I'm curious about the bar ends, what are they? I'm after something like that as I couldn't have drops with the Sram hub changers. I must say that mine's fast developing bits of lagging around the tube too! The folding pannier rack in itself is absolutely fine, the problem with it and any conventional rack that will take large panniers is the height - when the Shuttle bag is full it can be pretty heavy & then the whole thing tends to sway, hence the need for a low rack to keep the centre of gravity down. I might just go down the Dahon Arc rack route & hope I can bodge it - there's one on eBay at the moment; the Shuttle bag's too good to give up!

Hello,
The handlebars are BF "H" bars. Original equipment on my bike. The pics don't show them too well. If it would help I could take a pic which shows them to better advantage but you can see them on the BF website.
In recent years I have taken to using a large Carradice saddlebag with SQR fitment which you can see (just about) under the saddle. I only use the pannier rack for supplementary items and as an inverted stand.

The handlebars are BF "H" bars. Original equipment on my bike.

Yes, I wondered about those at the time - should have ordered them but will no doubt make something work! I can see the advantage of the saddle bag but the Shuttle bag is ideal for city trips as it clips on & off in one go & then can just be wheeled along- I should market these things! Can't work out how to get a pic up here but here's a couple of links for those who use their bike for trips into cities a lot. Although the first is still mounted a bit higher than I had it before.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h ... x=67&ty=88

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h ... 9,r:21,s:0

On your Bike Friday rack have you tightened up the allen bolts at the top of the rack..the bolts that allow the support arms to fold..If they are not tight then the rack will flex..I have carried huge loads on my rear rack..and it has never flexed..the bike flexes but not the rack..

I've just been to check and yes, one of the 4 top bolts needed tightening. Thanks for that tip - what a dur-brain for not thinking of it myself; will load up & see what happens!

this is a normal Tor-tec ultralight , but I did add two front prongs that are longer to reach far enough. I got them off a very old rack from a shopping bike.

Looks excellent fro proper panniers, it's even higher than the one I have already! But I am going to try to bodge a really low one for when I'm not using big panniers; I just clip the case on the top & the bike'll be easier to fold with a smaller rack I think.

if you are fitting a top bag you ar ebetter with a low rack. The tor tec really prevents the fold and I remove it for folding/packing.