Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Porteur Racks

This is not my bike. This is a photo I grabbed from the internet showing a type of rack that I'm interested in for my bike.
I've been looking at front racks that provide a flat surface on which to place your load. There aren't that many out there. I found the following, most of them are pretty expensive. The ones made by hand are the most expensive and I'm sure they are worth the price. Please let me know what others are available.

VeloOrange
CETMA
Paul Flatbed
Civia Pizzeria
Pass and Stow
Pret a Porteur (this one is my one of my favorites)
Henbrow Frame Fixing Rack (I like the mounting of this one)

I found a couple do-it-yourself versions too:
Instructables
Bicycle Quarterly (you have to buy this issue to get the plans)

Some of you may remember that I had a wire basket mounted on top of a narrow front rack. I liked the setup, but I want something less restrictive regarding the load shape and size. A basket limits you to the shape of the basket.

5 comments:

reverend dick said...

Don't get the Paul's. It's waaaaaay too flexy. There's no triangulation.

Really.

Rob E. said...

I don't know what rack this is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/binghypo/5636191776
But if it's the one I remember from previous searches, it may be convertible: wide when you want it with sides that fold down when not in use. Or I could be making that up. My memory ain't what it used to be. I drooled over a variety of porteur racks for a while, but eventually I settled on an Old Man Mountain Cold Springs rack. It's got a fairly wide top shelf, but can also take panniers, so it seemed like the ultimate in versatility. I still like the looks of porteur racks, but OMM means I can carry more stuff more places, so I'm pretty happy with it.

Ben said...

That's very sturdy looking, although you will need to have bungee cords handy!

GrimTim said...

"I've been looking at front racks that provide a flat surface on which to place your load"

heh heh

Tom said...

You can buy a front "box rack" directly from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Torker-Cargo-Front-Rack-Black/dp/B0030KVBE6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316798481&sr=8-1

This is the rack that's used on the Torker Cargo T. I have the bike with the rack and it's very sturdy. The load is distributed between the handlebar and the front axle.