I too was torn between the mini-front and the two-strut top rack, but I ultimately went with the mini-front on my Quickbeam. I think the main point that sold me on the mini-front was the aforementioned brazing of the stays, as opposed to the bolt-on style of the top rack. The mini-front also appeals to me more aesthetically than the TR, as it's basically hidden underneath my Wald basket.
I initially pushed the mini-front to the limit by lugging around a 20-25 lb backpack on it in a basket, but because the backpack blocks my handlebar-mounted headlight, and because Mark @ Riv said this was a bad idea, I just wear the backpack when I have stupendous loads. For my normal commuting routine, however, a medium wald basket w. medium shopsack loaded up works great. It seems one can carry 10-15 lbs. on a mini-front with no problem, though I don't know what the 'official' suggested load is. From what I remember, Nitto tends to be very conservative with the max #s, so perhaps it's ok to push it... On Jan 27, 1:40 am, Brian Hanson <stone...@gmail.com> wrote: > I've got the Honjo 45s on my Hilsen 700c. They are long, and I have them > back a bit more than yours. No problems - just watch the curb drops - pull > up on the bars a bit... > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonehog/sets/72157625750853504/with/532... > > Brian > Seattle > > On Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 4:53 PM, Ad Noyce <adamab...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Thanks all for the encouraging words. To answer some of these questions: > > > @ Thomas: the cream head tube is not standard. I knew from the beginning > > it was an extra expense that I was going to spring for. Riv luckily had an > > unpainted 48cm frame in stock which knocked down the price a little... > > > So yes, those are Honjos, and they are extra long. Whaddya think? Does it > > look funny? It's possible they were meant to be extra long on 700c tires > > (mine are 650B). Are there any guiding principles on how much coverage > > fenders should provide, etc? I did a lot of flickr searching and these are > > possibly the longest I've seen. Although if you look at Jan Heine's > > randonneurs from an online sample page of Bicycle Quarterly or in the > > Reader, his are pretty long too. > > > @ William: yes, I may just use some spacers in there...I'm a little > > clueless about what makes a good fender line other than just eyeballing it > > but I am game for making the right tweaks if anyone has suggestions... > > > @ Minh: yes, I've got the fender mounted to both the Nitto platform and I'm > > also using the fork crown daruma. > > > Hope these comments are helpful-- > > > Best, > > Adam > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > > . > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
