Since Steve in Peoria mentioned that he's holding his breath for a ride report on the epic (trademark Rapha) dorkaleur/World's Largest Handlebar Bag combination, I figured I'd better bang out a quick writeup before he turns blue and topples off his recumbent.
In short, the ride is surprisingly anti-climactic. In my pre-dorkaleur days, I tried the Xootr Crossrack and Arkel "big orange sack" in both a front-mounted and rear-mounted configuration without any rack support. On the rear, there was a definite "very heavy tail wagging a very small dog" effect. On the front, cornering got downright spooky. The big bag seemed to want to pull the front end over into corners, very much like overloaded and unbalanced front panniers. Of course, with no front rack under it, i had to mount the rack higher to avoid front wheel interference, and the higher center of gravity was not a good thing.
In dorkaleur configuration, the load rides a little lower and gets some support from the front rack. The result is a bike that just corners like a bike -- nothing terribly out of the ordinary. The steering may be a little heavier, but on a small-wheeled bike, the front end feels a bit light to begin with, so it all balances out. With that much bag sitting right out there in plain sight, I fully expected at least a little placebo effect, but after a week of commutes, nothing.
With all that said, I've actually de-dorkaleured the bike because, frankly, it's just SO much overkill. How much bag does one need for a 4-mile (round trip) commute, anyway? Plus, I stumbled into a great deal on a Jandd Duffel Rack Pack that's more appropriate for my commuting load. Of course, being unable to leave well enough alone, I've done some custom tweaks on that as well, but that's grist for another post.
2 comments:
Mr J said: "Since Steve in Peoria mentioned that he's holding his breath for a ride report on the epic (trademark Rapha) dorkaleur/World's Largest Handlebar Bag combination, I figured I'd better bang out a quick writeup before he turns blue and topples off his recumbent."
I appreciate the promptness, but you failed to give me credit for a remarkably short attention spa... was that a squirrel!!??
oh yeah... front loading... I'm glad to hear that things worked out well. As long as the load isn't flopping all over, it is usually manageable. There is always a period of acclimation, though. I tried commuting with my panniers in the front (on my regular bike) instead of in the rear, and while it started out feeling odd, it gradually just became normal but different. You learn to expect the extra inertia when steering.
And why I am I not shocked, shocked!!, to learn that you've since changed the configuration? I suppose I'm more shocked to learn that you haven't traded the bike for a Schwinn Newsboy bike or something, really. :)
Steve in Peoria
Hmmm Raleigh 20, I've been thinking about trying to find one of these, like I need another bike in the stable or another project but they look very cool and sometimes it would be nice to have a portable bike. Interested to hear what you think of it long term.
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