Carbon fiber pannier rack on Kickstarter

[tuscanyswe]

Originally Posted by donevwil

Fully loaded I agree, but I know a lot of people who simply don't have the n+1 with more touring geo yet do a lot of touring. I signed up because my wife is doing a tour at the end of the year and has only her Hampsten GPTi and a 32lb commuter to choose from. This rack would enable her to ride her Hampsten and isn't much more than a nice Tubus.

I was wondering what tire clearance is. Certainly doesn't look like there's clearance for more than a 32 at best and certainly not fenders.

said 35 somewhere on there

[donevwil]

Originally Posted by tuscanyswe

said 35 somewhere on there

Thank you, I just went back to the webpage:

"Tailfin is compatible with almost all road, hybrid and cyclocross bikes with tyre sizes up to 700Cx35. If your tyre is wider then please message us."

[rnhood]

Sorta neat, and unique, but I really don't see any advantage over other lightweight racks such as Bontrager's "Backrack Lightweight". In fact the metal construction and attachment means on the Bontrager lead me to think its far more robust. Yea, the Bontrager weighs more at 465g but by the time its all up and ready to roll the roughly 200g savings on the Tailfin is all but meaningless.

Thank you very much, but I'll stick with the tried and true.

[marciero]

Originally Posted by donevwil

Fully loaded I agree, but I know a lot of people who simply don't have the n+1 with more touring geo yet do a lot of touring. I signed up because my wife is doing a tour at the end of the year and has only her Hampsten GPTi and a 32lb commuter to choose from. This rack would enable her to ride her Hampsten and isn't much more than a nice Tubus.

I was wondering what tire clearance is. Certainly doesn't look like there's clearance for more than a 32 at best and certainly not fenders.

Fair enough. Speaking of which, the Tubus would be another option, esp. the ti version for that bike.

[donevwil]

Originally Posted by marciero

Fair enough. Speaking of which, the Tubus would be another option, esp. the ti version for that bike.

That's exactly where I was headed (Ti Airy) until I saw the Kickstarter.

[cadence90]

Originally Posted by donevwil

I was wondering what tire clearance is. Certainly doesn't look like there's clearance for more than a 32 at best and certainly not fenders.

From the Kickstarter page:

[BobbyJones]

Originally Posted by donevwil

That's exactly where I was headed (Ti Airy) until I saw the Kickstarter.

Sounds like you really want this, but as an FYI I've been running a Tubus Fly / QR adapter and arkel Drylite panniers. I don't have the exact weights, but sub 1kg, around $200 all in, more versatile and available right now.

Been rock solid for over a year and works very well on my small sized ti frame.

Originally Posted by marciero

Why??
...If you insist on commuting or bike packing on your race machine I think that there are a range of options better suited and even lighter. You could start with a Revelate or similar saddle bag.

If you've ever used a Relveate or similar you'll know it's not the same thing as a rack and panniers. The saddlebags have a narrow range of use depending on what you're putting in them.

[seric]

I'm curious what the retail price will be. After being burned on a few of the 104 campaigns I've backed, I now attempt to be work the savings over retail into the opportunity cost assessment in backing a campaign. This campaign will certainly succeed at this point. The wise dollar might wait to purchase after the campaign once any manufacturing or design issues are identified.

[Joxster]

Why do we need a carbon fibre rack?

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Joxster

Why do we need a carbon fibre rack?

Cuz it's.....carbon. That's why..what's wrong with you?

[Joxster]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Cuz it's.....carbon. That's why..what's wrong with you?

I don't like carbon, there I said it. It's to flexy

[unterhausen]

I think bikepacking gear is a lot better answer for touring. I just carry a bag over my shoulder when I'm going to work. Cool idea thought

[marciero]

Originally Posted by BobbyJones

If you've ever used a Relveate or similar you'll know it's not the same thing as a rack and panniers. The saddlebags have a narrow range of use depending on what you're putting in them.

Was suggesting Revelate as one of a range of options. Those have surprisingly large capacity, and put the load in a better place. I have used a range of saddle bags and panniers. I would say that the panniers are only more versatile in that they have a larger carrying capacity. I have put a laptop in my Carradice saddle bag. That bag has as much capacity as you would need for commuting or most credit card touring. Of course, it's not carbon, and has a stodgy British look.
My large Ortlieb saddle bag, which is quite small in comparison, is my choice for commuting on the "fast" bike. You can stuffed a surprising amount of clothes, papers, etc.

As far as the Tubus goes, you then also have the option of strapping things to the top of the rack, like shoes. The tubus would be a better match for a ti frame I think.

[donevwil]

I just (finally?) received my Tailfin rack, anyone else get one?

My needs have shifted a bit, as things tend to do in fourteen months, but I'm eager to mount it up and give it a try.

Tailfin.jpg

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by marciero

Why??
The irony is that the bikes they seem to be targetting- higher-performance race-specific bikes-are the machines whose handling would suffer the most from rear loading.
If you insist on commuting or bike packing on your race machine I think that there are a range of options better suited and even lighter. You could start with a Revelate or similar saddle bag.

Originally Posted by donevwil

Fully loaded I agree, but I know a lot of people who simply don't have the n+1 with more touring geo yet do a lot of touring. I signed up because my wife is doing a tour at the end of the year and has only her Hampsten GPTi and a 32lb commuter to choose from. This rack would enable her to ride her Hampsten and isn't much more than a nice Tubus.

I was wondering what tire clearance is. Certainly doesn't look like there's clearance for more than a 32 at best and certainly not fenders.

Lived in DC with the wifey for a while. We could afford a nice, spacious 1 bedroom apartment, but storage for a small fleet of bikes for me alone would have been very inconvenient - she's not a serious cyclist, and she would not have liked multiple racked bikes in there. So, this is probably going to appeal a lot to young, urban professionals who can do a short bike commute with just work clothes packed, and maybe lunch, plus who have some sort of indoor bike parking at work where they can store a lock there. The sort of people who I have in mind won't have a load that's heavy enough to render their handling unacceptable.

In a smaller 1-bedroom in the Twin Cities, I have one built roadie in the storage closet, and my CX/commuter and her bike live on a bike rack in the garage. Each parking stall gets 1 rack. So, right now, I'm not in a position where I will need it or want it, and I guess I agree this won't end up being a huge market, but what the heck. I hope it works out!

My concern when seeing this was whether the panniers were clamping to a carbon structure. I will trust carbon for many things, but not where it might get abraded, e.g. by a clamp - my panniers have worn the finish off my steel tubed-rack in a couple spots. Looks like their panniers are not clamping directly to a carbon structure. So, the last point of long-term concern would be where the carbon fork bonds to the alloy seat post clamp - is that going to hold up over time? I bet Calfee or someone could fix that, but a) would it be worse the price, and b) if it fails mid-ride, is there a risk of injuring the rider, anybody nearby, or damaging the bike or anything nearby?