Has anyone used Thorn _Mid-Loader_ front racks?

[Danneaux]

Hi All,

By any chance, has any forum member used Thorn's older Mid-Loader front pannier racks? I am interested in user impressions, especially from those who started with Mid-Loaders and then switched to the later Low-Loader Mk V design.

Thanks!

Dan.

[richie thornger]

Can you still get them? I couldn't see them on the site the other day. I got a pair of Ortlieb rears thrown in with the Nomad and I was trying them on the low loaders. No good. Too low on corners and kept hitting the curbs when weaving through traffic. I've created a monster instead. Thread to follow.

[Danneaux]

Can you still get them?

Only occasionally on ebay.co.uk.  SJS Cycles had one up, but I don't see it today. I was sorely tempted, but was "saved" by their requirement for local (UK) buyers, and the fact that it was missing the eyelets to attach front fender stays (it was an early model, a take-off with paint wear around the mounting eyelets).

On looking further, I am not entirely convinced the Mid-Loader could hold rotational sway in check. I have a horrible feeling the bags would want to swing around the fork blade, racks and all. This may be why there is now a MarkV. Still, the Mid-Loaders gave that little bit of extra ground clearance as you have found.

...[Got a set of] Ortlieb rears thrown in with the Nomad and I was trying them on the low loaders. No good. Too low on corners and kept hitting the curbs

Been there, done that! I ran rear panniers on the Low-Loader MarkVs mounted on the Miyata 1000LT in the pre-Sherpa days. It actually worked extremely well from a loading and handling standpoint (center of gravity dropped to the point where it felt like the bike could stand on its own), but it made for tough sledding when I went cross-country through mesquite bushes and sagebrush in the desert. And yes, curbs were deadly. With 700C wheels, I could just get away with it on cornering, even as deeply as I lean (I used to ride on the tread-skinwall interface back in my uni days...and still have the scars on my ribs and armpits -- ouch -- when I didn't get away with it. Skinwalls don't have as much traction as tread. You have been warned. ).

I love using and building racks. The set I made for the folder frame I'm brazing are the strongest I've seen, but they're also the most compact, thanks to the 20" wheels. I used tubular cro-mo tubing and milled mounting points that support the weight on the threads and heads of allen bolts; each rack easily supports my weight at 172lbs/78kg. The back rack also supports the folded bike and allows it to be rolled like a trolley or parked on itself when not ridden.

Please let me know if you find and try a Lid-Loader; I'd love to hear your user impressions.

Best,

Dan.

[richie thornger]

My efforts took about 20 minutes purely out of curiosity. Engineering is not my strong point but I couldn't resist knocking it up. It does the job though. I tried it with my big sleeping bag that just squeezed under the bar bag and had some large Ortliebs hanging off the top rack. It's pretty sturdy, but also pretty heavy but I haven't compared what it weighs to an alternative like a Surly Nice. I saw what you wrote about them and the brackets did look a bit weak for the intended load. I just need to create a little kickstand for it and I think I've managed to bring together all the major racks!!!

My mind was awash with your last sentence Dan. Lid-Loaders?? A rack for a crash helmet??? Amazing, or racks that lift up and have insides like a waste bin???
Then the penny dropped

I'll attach the photo here as well just in case anyone else wants a laugh.

[Danneaux]

Lid-Loaders??

Typos, the bane of my existence. Still, it's fun to see what comes out when my mind goes faster than my fingers just as the phone rings and I hit the "POST" button. 

It gave me a laugh, too!

Richie...would your rack setup work or fit as well if the rack were reversed front-to-rear so the "return" at the top was located at the head tube?

All the best,

Dan.

[richie thornger]

I tried that originally when I was just offering it up to the wheel to see what it would look like and if it would fit at all. The light was still attached to the fork crown and it wouldn't fit on. Before I knew it I had spun it round and managed to line up the bottom rack stay holes with a spare hole on the low loaders. A few bolts later and I was thinking of a way to hold it up and nipped to the builders merchant next door for a pre drilled piece of restraining strap. Although ugly as sin, this did the job. I used the smaller spacers that came with the low loaders and this allowed me to slip the strap in between the spacer and the hanging strut.
If it had involved anything more complicated I would have stopped and gone back to what I was doing.
As the rack was now sturdy I thought I would try mounting the light on the front and hey presto a monster is born. Having the lip at the front  means the bag wont fall off that way
It's got a kind of grocers bike feel to it now.
The Blackburn rack is aluminium. I wouldn't have a problem with using it just for the parcel shelf for a sleeping bag, but I don't think it's up to globe trotting with full 20l Ortliebs hanging off the top rack.
When the sun comes back...about 2013 I think, I may have a tinker with it the other way round.
I've been waiting for it to get dark to go and test out the light. That time is now
I'm interested to know what your low loader conversion is.

[Danneaux]

I'm interested to know what your low loader conversion is.

Right here!

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4294.0

Hope this helps; I'm intrigued by them myself.

Dan.