I have always been thrilled with the freedom of movement allowed by a bicycle. Yes I am subject to the whim of the elements, other motorists and cyclists, and the occasional errant deer, but all in all bikes are the best deal in transport out there and I am always tinkering and experimenting with my everyday transport looking for perfection.
I have enjoyed many wonderful bikes with various arrangements for carrying loads, but never really found a way to carry a heavy load on a bicycle without having the load greatly and negatively affect the handling of my ride. In the past I have usually carried my loads in bags on a rear rack. Experiments with a front basket always, in those pre-bungie net days had my load bounce out onto the road. Any load on a rear rack that approached ten pounds per side would immediately be felt, usually in the form of making my bike feel ‘whippy’; that is, if I were to grip the bars of the bike, the weight on the rear of the bike would flex the whole frame. This ‘whippy’ affect was most prominent when starting from a stop or when rising from the saddle to accelerate or climb a hill.
I was lucky enough to get a prototype Pelican so that I could experiment with carrying a load on the front instead of the rear of a bicycle. This would allow me to answer questions for myself, like what the heck is it like to carry a heavy load on the front anyway? The front wheel and tire on my all bikes last forever while the rear wheel breaks spokes and tire wears out pretty quickly, so why don’t I try to balance the load fore and aft as well as side to side?
The pelican is a 58. The rack is a VO porteur. Both coincidentally, are made by Ahren Rodgers in Madison WI. I built the wheels myself, to please myself with a generally not recommended 36 way skinny 15/16 spokes and aluminum nipples build. The tires are 700×37, and the balance of the bike is stuff I have accumulated over the years and used and reused on many different rides. The headset is a no-name (maybe a tange) steel that I kept from an eighties steel trek signature lug frameset that I sold.
The bags are a pair of panniers that I got for $5 at a rummage sale and didn’t know what I might do with them, so I elected to sacrifice them to the experiment of a couple of bags slung under a porteur style rack. That way I could continue to carry my groceries and used book finds like normal, just up front instead of in the back, and for odd loads, like a wheel, or a bicycle frame, I would have the top of the rack free for a bit more stuff.
The (ahem, ‘temporary’ and experimental) attachment of the panniers to the rack are 5 zip ties each along the top rail. The bags are pretty old, and almost brittle, but no tears yet and well worth $5.
The bottom profile of the rack is triangular, and to keep the bag and any load out of the spokes I attached a 1/2” dowel to the lower inside side of the pannier with a small wood screw and shiner (washer) on each end of the dowel and zip tied it to the rack. Carradice and Baggins saddle bags use a similar setup with a dowel across the top of the bag. It is a very secure setup and I have had absolutely no trouble with it. A usable bag system could be created with nearly any bag; a couple of sale messenger bags, old back packs, some canvas shopping bags, or even some Gucci knock-off purses from Chinatown here in sf (hmm, maybe I should price some).
Since building the Pelican, it has become my first choice for casual riding, heavy loads in mind or not. It handles over forty pounds on the front with grace, and ease and with absolutely no ‘whippiness’. It is my notion that the more direct connection of the front rack to the handlebars negates most of the flex that I had experienced with a rear load. One handed riding with a heavy load on the front is natural and uneventful and at high (25 mph or so coasting downhill) or low speeds the Pelican is always stable and easily handled and steered. A heavy load makes the Pelican feel more secure, rather than less.
Happily, I have also found that carrying the Pelican up and down stairs with its front load is much easier than a bicycle with a rear load. The natural balance point of the bicycle is just below the shifters on the down tube and gripping the bicycle there to negotiate up or down the three flights of stairs in downtown San Francisco to the Bart platform is much less of an ordeal than it used to be. Rear loads were always awkward and either dug the bike into my shoulder or, when carrying it lower, made me force the front of the bike down to keep the rear of the bicycle from bouncing around on the steps.
I am extremely pleased with the Pelican and my temporary and experimental load carrying setup. I recommend this method of carrying loads to anyone, provided that their bicycle is designed for a front load, and they take care and exhibit due diligence in ensuring that their bags and the loads they carry will not create a hazard for themselves and others.
Thanks Box Dog, and Gabe E. for letting me write my Pelican story.John P. San Francisco, 8/2008
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