2012 Novara Randonee rear rack

[VeloVeg]

Here's the question--If you were heading out on a 5,000 mile fully self-contained cross-country (USA) journey that would incorporate a wide variety of road surfaces and some pretty remote areas, would you use the stock rear rack on the 2012 Randonee or consider an upgrade as a worthy investment?

I haven't seen the new Randonee, but someone has sought my advice and knowing the reputation of stock racks, I'm leaning toward advising an upgrade. I tend to think a Tubus Cargo is a solid investment. For me, overkill in wheels and racks = peace of mind.

What do you think?

Ted

[John Nelson]

If your friend is planning to overload the rack, then the Tubus Cargo would be a reasonable upgrade. But if your friend will have a standard load, then the Randonee rear rack would probably be fine.

A review at Bicycle Times magazine says, "The Randonee comes with a stout-looking 6160 tubular aluminum alloy rear rack that Novara designed and had manufactured specifically for this bike."

The reviews at REI.com are also favorable, but I would not trust those reviews to be totally unbiased. REI does "moderate" its user reviews.

In any event, I would advise fully loading up the bike and taking it on a bumpy road (maybe you can find some rumble strips to ride on) for a long ride to identify any infant mortality when you can still get it easily addressed.

[Pat Lamb]

FWIW, my daughter and I took the previous incarnation of the Randonee rack across the U.S. with no problems beyond loose mounting bolts.  They're a bit off-center now, because we both went down and bent them a bit, but they carried everything just fine.  I probably had 30-40 pounds on the rear.  (Is your friend going to use front racks, too?  Tubus Tara is very good.)

The newer version of the Randonnee rack in the last couple of years has a longer center post up from the lower rack mount before it branches out.  I'm a little bit concerned with the change (longer moment arm, necessary structural rigidity, blah, blah, blah), but I haven't read or heard of any failures because of that theoretical weak point.  I'd try to leave the kitchen sink at home if I were loading that one, but it should be good with a reasonable load.

[VeloVeg]

Thank for your replies.

She's using the Tubus Tara up front. I don't think her panniers will be overloaded. Estimated 50 lbs. split between front and rear.

For the sake of the pannier mounting hardware, I'm wondering if the new rack uses 8 mm or 10 mm tubing? The Tubus is 10 mm.

Thanks again,

Ted

[nlsteve]

Ted:

I just bought this bike & the rack looks pretty good to me.  Also, the reviewer in the new Adventure Cycling magazine called this rack "sturdy."  If I can, I'll figure out the gauge of the aluminum & get back to you later.

but I intend to trust mine with moderate loads, especially with those 32 mm tires.   

Steve

[RussSeaton]

The REI Novara Randonee rear rack uses 10mm / 3/8" solid aluminum tubing.  It looks like a very good rack to me.  I would not hesitate to use it for any loaded touring.