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Inspired by the 'repurpose my 26'er' thread, I've been wondering what to do with this.
Initial thoughts were to SS it, but short of trundling to Bakewell-Matlock-Cromford-down the canal, it would be rendered a bit useless round here - hills and not the strongest legs.
So thinking bikepack/commuter (don't really commute many places tbf)/shopper. Not very original, but....
Thinking Aeroe Spider rear rack, maybe a frame bag, something for the bars (recommendations?) to balance the weight, as it's quite slack for what it is.
Maybe some Stooge Moto bars when they are back in stock. That would bring the front end up and back even more though - so maybe slam the stem and put a slightly longer stem on? The forks are 170mm - the Shan is designed around up to 160mm. Maybe some rigid 29'er forks to steepen it up a bit? But would I then end up down a rabbit hole of sticking a 27.5 front wheel in? The existing front hub would need some mods as it's currently on a 20mm axle. Front chainring is a 32t oval - not sure of the rear cassette, but 10sp I think with not a massive range, so would swap the front for a 28t
Any more thoughts?
A friend of mine has been bikepacking with a PP Shan a bit, though in a 27.5" setup. It has worked pretty well for him, though he's been mostly doing only short 1-2 night trips.
You could also consider putting cargo cages to the suspension for if you need more carrying capacity. With good adaptors (for example Tailfin) it works surprisingly well in my experience even when riding proper trails, esp. if you don't place particularly heavy items there.
The frame triangle is quite small, so you probably need to go custom if you want a frame bag. I had the Shan GT at one point and you could just about fit the smallest Blackburn bag there but it was quite tight. This thread has made me miss that thing, got stolen right after I got the setup perfect 🙁
I've been mostly using Blackburn Outpost handlebar roll. Gets the job done pretty well and wasn't too expensive, though there is more sophisticated designs out there for sure. I have the Ortlieb handlebar roll too, but I prefer the Blackburn since you don't have to always remove/reinstall everything if you want to take the bag into your tent or something. Never had a problem with either of them though, even when riding some pretty rough trails fully loaded.
Stealthy ad here but i have a full alpkit frame bag , bar roll and frame , top tube bag and saddle bag going on the for sale 😉 , would set you up nicely.
PS i had the Stooge Moto bars on my fatty and loved them, very relaxed and comfortable, much better than the Jones loops.
Aeroe Spider pannier rack fitted, along with Stooge Moto bars.
Panniers have arrived but not unpacked as a discrepancy between what I ordered and what has turned up.
Panniers will suit me on a day to day basis more than a big saddle pack - nipping to shops/gym etc. Can still drop the saddle too dependant on how/if I load the top rack.
Got a 28t chainring to replace the 32t oval. Need a longer bolt for my stem mounted phone holder, a handlebar bag and good to go. Maybe a frame bag at some point
Can the rack have the main legs removed from the seatstay clamp, trimmed a bit, then refit? It'd get the load lower and closer in to the seat tube, more saddle clearance, it'll handle a bit better plus reduce leverage on the clamps.
Can the rack have the main legs removed from the seatstay clamp, trimmed a bit, then refit? It’d get the load lower and closer in to the seat tube, more saddle clearance, it’ll handle a bit better plus reduce leverage on the clamps.
I’d bet there’d be a chance of interference between legs and panniers though?
The clamp loosens off to twist to the right angle, so should come off altogether. Looks like the legs may be tapered though
Hadn't spotted the taper. That's a shame if not adjustable.
I’d bet there’d be a chance of interference between legs and panniers though?
Yes maybe. I assumed he'd be using a top bag not panniers. Those rack-pack type bags can be good, with small fold-out side panniers.
I have these, once I've sorted out the discrepancy with Ortlieb
I’m pretty sure that they’re not tapered?
Not sure I'd want to bring them any closer for thigh and heel clearance
Look ok though
*Edit, they aren't tapered and can be adjusted
I'm not familiar with that rack system, but I'd be very wary of how much weight I was loadng it with, especially if going off road. It's so high! That's potentially a massive amount of leverage on the seat stays, and at their weakest point.
In the manual it’s says legs can be adjusted?
the clamp looks tapered on the outside but the tube is not.
alos means you could trim the tubes down.
In the manual it’s says legs can be adjusted?
the clamp looks tapered on the outside but the tube is not.
Yeah we sussed that out up there somewhere ^^ but cheers 😉
I've lowered it an inch already on the adjustment, may trim some more.
I get not wanting the weight high up, yet the trend these days seems to be to have the biggest pack possible strapped under the saddle
Fit the rack the other way round? That would lower the top a bit.
That wouldn't work for the panniers
Looks so high cos tiny wheels, but will likely get lowered a tad more
I’m not familiar with that rack system, but I’d be very wary of how much weight I was loadng it with, especially if going off road. It’s so high! That’s potentially a massive amount of leverage on the seat stays, and at their weakest point.
It's a well tried and tested system, I'm sure it'll be fine
Ah sorry. Glad you sorted it.
Haven't ridden the bike yet with the panniers fitted, but sitting on it and spinning the pedals, my heel is very close to them. I feel shortening the arms will bring them too close.
Anyone want to share their pannier pics and how close they sit to your pedals?
Would reversing the rack move the panniers more rearward?
Would reversing the rack move the panniers more rearward?
No doubt it would, but I reckon too far and there wouldn't be the support for the bottom part of the panniers
How have you set the top hooks on your panniers? You can set them to get the bags further back in relation to the the rack.
How have you set the top hooks on your panniers? You can set them to get the bags further back in relation to the the rack
Due to the mounting plate on the rack, the hooks are spread quite far apart, so very little adjustment left
you can run them closer together and then use the lower hooks to control / hold them from moving back and forth.
On my tandem I use one hook near the side of the bag and the other in the middle of the adjustment and then position the lower hook(s) to set the fore/aft position.
You might be limited on how much you can do that due to the style of rack vs lower hook position.
I’m not familiar with that rack system, but I’d be very wary of how much weight I was loadng it with, especially if going off road. It’s so high! That’s potentially a massive amount of leverage on the seat stays, and at their weakest point.
This.
The Tailfin type racks look a more sensible solution IMO, pivoting on the axle and seatpost.
The Tailfin type racks look a more sensible solution IMO, pivoting on the axle and seatpost.
the other option is use the axle mounting Old Man Mountain Divide or their smaller Elkhorn racks - very robust
Seems to be a fair bit of talk about how high this rack is - yes, it is a little. I think this may be exxagerated by the small wheels and small panniers (30cm tall), however, I'm not disputing this and appreciate the benefits of having the weight lower.
But then I open the internet and every other bikepacking bike looks like this....
CoG aside, there are good reasons that folk started to adopt those in-line carrying options and one of them was trying to make a rack and panniers fit on a bike that wasn't primarily built to carry them.
TBF, I think your panniers would look smaller if the tops were rolled down and cinched up tightly. I think some folk are assuming that the height they see in the photos is a true reflectionof their size and position.
Also - it's perhaps relevant that the Aeroe marketing mostly shows their cradle/bags fitted at an angle that results in no heel clearance issues.
FWIW I have an Aeroe rack (and cradles). It seems robust, well made and a good solution for when I want to carry a bit more than my normal bikepacking setup.
Can you get sliding dropouts for the bike?
If so then you might be able to squeeze in a 29er wheel, probably not in a huge tyre, something like 2" maybe. Would help for a bike packing bike.
I managed to fit 29er wheels in a stock 26" Cotic Soul frame and Reba forks with 33mm cx tyres. Was fun to ride.
anyway ignoring all the above, have a got a first trip planned yet?
Can you get sliding dropouts for the bike?
If so then you might be able to squeeze in a 29er wheel, probably not in a huge tyre, something like 2″ maybe. Would help for a bike packing bike.
They do 27.5 dropouts for the Shan and I have some 27.5 Lyriks. But they'd need a shorter air shaft. Then some wheels, etc etc. If I'm going to start doing that to it with the purpose of bigger wheels, I may as well just bung some racks on the Big Al tbh.
anyway ignoring all the above, have a got a first trip planned yet?
Not yet, but will just be a 1-2 nighter riding or from home to the Peak to start. A couple of the riding group seem interested, but if they don't follow it up I'll just go on my own for a night when the weather starts playing nicely.
It's not solely for bikepacking. It's more to make use of a redundant bike, so trips to the shop/gym etc
TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsSTR
Seems to be a fair bit of talk about how high this rack is – yes, it is a little. I think this may be exxagerated by the small wheels and small panniers (30cm tall), however, I’m not disputing this and appreciate the benefits of having the weight lower.
But then I open the internet and every other bikepacking bike looks like this….
I think the point about the height of that rack is more to do with it's attachment point & the moment it applies to the seat stays, rather than CoG considerations/bike handling.
On your image of the gravel bike with bikepacking kit on, everything is attached in place close to the load itself so the forces on the frame are low.
Little update. First ride today with the Stooge bars and 'pannier'- only to the gym and back down the track. Just had a coat, bottle of water, couple of phones and a lock in there.
Bike rode great with the bars, felt spot on.
As there was a little concern about how high the panniers sat on the rack. Properly cinched down, I don't think they are bad at all.
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Having never really had bike mounted bags before (other than around 35 years ago as a teenager), it felt quite liberating to be able to carry my stuff without having a bag strapped to me
it felt quite liberating to be able to carry my stuff without having a bag strapped to me
yeah it's great - although every time i set off for work I'm convinced I've forgotten something, as I don't have a big heavy lump on my back!
yeah it’s great – although every time i set off for work I’m convinced I’ve forgotten something, as I don’t have a big heavy lump on my back!
Yeah, all the way back from the gym I was convinced I'd lost something 🤣