Rack and Panniers for T2000?

[ptaylor]

Bishop. I just got a phone call from John at Old Man Mountain. He wants you to give him a call at 888-439-6445. He thinks he can gt you a fit.

Paul

[bishop]

Thanks alot Paul.  Hope Old Man Mt. can fix my problem. Truly appreciate your and everyone elses efforts.  I feel like the Cannondale website should @ least have some link or suggestion for a front rack for their bike.  This is not a Wal-Mart piece of equipment and it is SOLD AS A TOURING BIKE!  But maybe their interest ends at only the products they sell?

[bishop]

Just got off the phone with John from Old Man Mountain and he's
shipping me an Ultimate LowRider.  I'm hoping for the miracle he
promises!  It turns out I was right, EVERY eyelet on the T2000 fork is
merely decorative!  Thanks Paul and BC and others for all the help.  I'll be
sure to let everyone know if this one works!

[BC]

Paul,  Nice of you to do some leg work with C-dale and OMM! Cycle tourists are good people! One of the things I realized while preparing for my NT tour was that touring cyclists are, for manufacturers, just a tiny segment of their market. Many bike shops are pretty vague on touring issues and equipment, too. I'm not sure how well they hear some of our concerns - which makes this forum a valuable asset.

Cannondale's response is interesting: "the only rack we know fits for sure" is the OMM. It begs the question as to why they'd put a fork on their high-end touring model with such obvious and known limitations. When I first talked to one of the C-dale techs, he directed me to an OMM AC Low-rider, which we know doesn't fit. The thing I'm not too crazy about with the Ultimate Low-rider is that it mounts using a long skewer right through it, which would seem to be a pain if you have to remove your front wheel. Bishop, if the OMM doesn't solve your problems, I'd go directly to C-dale using the contact info in Paul's e-mail rather than going through your bike shop. That's what I did, and the fork swap didn't take long. I think you'd have a quicker resolution than if you went through the bike shop. If it's any consolation, it's worth doing all the head-scratching and cussing now, before you leave on the tour. Once underway, you don't want to be thinking about this stuff! You just want it to work. Once I got my fork issue resolved, the T2000 did just fine on the NT and rode really well. I'm hoping to ride it on the Trans Am in a couple of years.

I live quite close to the NT route in mid-coast Maine and have plenty of space if you need a stop-over on your way through - I rode the NT with an AC group, and we all stayed here for our last layover day. Plenty of tent space, covered storage space, a work rack for the bike, hot water, laundry and shower, and internet for e-mail - all the essentials! If you're
interested, I can e-mail you my contact info. Good luck!

[RussellSeaton]

"The thing I'm not too crazy about with the Ultimate Low-rider is that it mounts using a long skewer right through it, which would seem to be a pain if you have to remove your front wheel."

This is the reason I would never consider an OMM rack.  I take my front wheel off my touring bike when hauling it around.  I don't want to muck about with the rack every time I take the front wheel off.  OMM racks solve a problem where normal racks cannot work, such as suspended mountain bikes.  But why put up with their difficulties when you do not have to?  I want my racks to stay on the bike exactly where I bolted them.  Not move when I take the wheels off.

I have a Redline Conquest Tour frame and fork.  Fork is large tubed aluminum.  Regular low rider rack from Nashbar fits on it just fine.  See link below.  click on picture to blow up picture to see the large diameter fork better.  Not quite as large a diameter as the Fatty fork, but still much, much larger than a steel fork.  As it should be since its an aluminum fork.

http://sport.infotree.ru/index.php?m=description&id_subcat=12&id_brand=124&id_model=4807&action=open#1

My lowrider rack.  Could not get the Blackburn Custom low rider, two separate pieces, bolt through fork, no hoop in front, to work on the Redline fork since the rack hole in the middle of the fork tube is not all the way through.  Its just a bolt and welded in nut in the fork tube.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=112&subcategory=1079&brand=&sku=7723&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20Racks

[biker_james]

It's too bad that Cannondale is doing this to themselves. I'm sure that they are right, and 99% of the T2000's never carry a front rack, its pretty bad that its so hard to get one to fit if you do need it. I've always wondered if there ws a reason for the straight fork of the T2000, over the traditional fork of the T800's, other than trying to differentiate between the two models. Givewn that the frames are the same, it seems like they are pushing serious tourers to the lower model. I bought my T800 because, at that time I wasn't prepared to ante up the extra for the T2000. Now that the shifters have been upgraded to Ultegra after 6 years, and the saddle swapped for a Brooks, its pretty close to a T2000 anyway.

[RussellSeaton]

"I'm sure that they are right, and 99% of the T2000's never carry a front rack,"

I would doubt this statement.  Why would anyone buy a T2000 if they were not planning on touring with it?  Cannondale makes dozens of models of bikes.  Many of them with the same low gearing and a similar frame as the T2000 or T800.  Why pay extra or get more weight with the T2000 or T800 if you aren't going to tour with it?  And can get the same low gearing on another Cannondale.

Of course it could be similar to SUVs.  Buy a bad, macho, etc. looking one for image.  Never know when a blizzard will come to San Diego and you will need your big SUV to get to the mall.  I guess the loaded touring bike might have the same image thing working for it.  Give the buyer the illusion they are just moments away from going on a round the world tour in hostile lands fending for themselves completely self supported.  Argghhhhh.



"I've always wondered if there ws a reason for the straight fork of the T2000, over the traditional fork of the T800's, other than trying to differentiate between the two models."

Probably the image thing above.  People love straight blade forks.  They think they are stiffer, which is interpreted as good, supposedly.  The big, fat, round blades on the T2000 look stronger than the skinny tapering curved blades on the T800.  Image.

[bishop]

I couldn't give a rat's *** about image.  Why would Cannondale sell their TOP OF THE LINE TOURING BIKE WITHOUT ANY FRONT RACK BEING ABLE TO USE ANY OF THE FORK'S EYELTES?

[BC]

You said it, Bishop! I agree with Russell. When the C-dale rep told me that most people use the T2000 as a sport road bike, I thought it was a bunch of hooey designed to deflect my frustration. I pointed out to the guy that it was marketed as a touring bike, shown in their catalogue fully loaded, and that I bought it for that purpose. Sigh! In 2005, I opted for the T2000 over the T800 for a few of the upgrades - chiefly the Mavic A719 wheelset. I remember looking at the fork doubtfully, but the bike shop guy and I decided that C-dale wouldn't put a fork that didn't work on this bike. Hah! After my fiasco and the eventual fork swap that solved all my problems, I asked one of C-dale's reps why they put the Fatty fork on the T2000. Again, Russell is right. I was told they wanted something "stiffer" than the T800 fork. From my perspective, the T800 fork is a definite upgrade over the Fatty fork, which is why I urged Bishop to try that route. Get a fork that works, and get the rack you actually want - not the only one that you can manage to make work. Interestingly, C-dale puts Tubus racks on some of the touring bikes they sell in Europe - look at the Touring Classic model on their UK website. I'm intending to write to Cannondale again to ask them to revisit the Fatty design, since it's so problematic for people. This isn't the first time it's been talked about in this forum. And it's too bad, since otherwise the bike performed and rode quite well.

[bishop]

Thanks for the reminder BC.  I will make sure that the OMM rack will stay on if I need to take the front wheel off.  If not (and probably NOT) I will start the hassle of contacting C-dale for the T800 fork.  How much will the fork set me back?  Did you install it yourself?  Damn, what a hassle with this!

[bishop]

UPDATE:  The bike shop that sold me the T2000 has given me two
options, sort of.  Replacing the front fork with a Surly long haul trucker
(for purpose of color match to the rest of my bike) or, if they can find
one, a 2006 fork from a T800 (which is black, like mine).  He also said I
could get a 2007 T800 fork but it would be blue, not black.  So, if the
Surly becomes an option, does anyone know if this fork is front-rack
friendly?  He didn't think it would effect the ride that much, if I decide to
go with it.  The Saga continues.

[BC]

Cannondale didn't charge me anything for the fork swap. We arranged that they'd paint the T800 fork to match my bike, send it to the shop where I bought the bike, and the shop wrench would install it. It was all done pretty quickly once we agreed to this plan. They even had me bring the OMM AC Low Rider (which they told me would fit) to the bike shop, the bike shop paid me for it, and C-dale refunded the cost to the bike shop. I installed the Tara on the new fork, and never looked back. So, I worked the deal out directly with a C-dale customer rep, but we went through the bike shop for the actual exchange and labor. If C-dale was willing to do that for you, I doubt you'd regret it. There's enough to do when preparing for a cross-country ride that you shouldn't have to bang your head against the wall trying to settle such a basic decision as which rack to get. Don't know when your departure date is, but I'd encourage you to consider the swap option, if C-dale would do it.

The Tara is so simple that it's almost elegant, yet it's so rugged it's practically bomb-proof. 4 bolts to install it, and you're done. All I did was just check the bolts for tightness periodically when doing routine maintenance on the tour. I take my wheels off a lot to clean 'em, so I'd hate to have to deal with that skewer on the OMM rack. And, of course, if you ever have a front wheel flat, it'll probably be in the pouring rain on a busy stretch of road with a narrow shoulder!

Driving to work today, I thought of the simplest solution that C-dale could adopt if they really want to keep the Fatty fork - simply design and make their own front rack to fit. They put their own rear rack on the bike - why not go the whole way? Maybe add $50 to the price and save a lot of consumer hassles. When I write to them, I intend to offer that as a suggestion.

Good luck! Hang in there!

[ptaylor]

Hey Bishop. Whats the latest? This is a very interesting saga.

Paul

[bishop]

Funny you should ask Paul...

THE SAGA HAS COME TO A CLOSE!!

Just yesterday I FINALLY got my T800 fork put on my T2000 bike.  The
local bike shop where I bought my T2000 last summer ordered me a
T800 fork.  Although it isn't the same year as my bike nor is it the
same color.  But at this point I just wanted the problem resolved!  My
bike is charcoal/black and the new fork is dark brown which really
doesn't phase me in the least.  They didn't charge me for the fork and
gave me 1/2 off installation ($20).  I ordered a Tubus Tara front rack
from the very helpful "Wayne" at The Touring Store and it fits just like
BC said, an elegant glove.  Funny how easy something works when all
the parts come together!!  So I've returned the OMM (X2) and Jandd
rack's and look forward to my first ride with all the stuff loaded this
weekend!  I hope the new fork doesn't effect the bikes riding geometry
any.  Even if it does, at least I can use my front panniers now!

I'd like to repeat and extend a heartfelt thanks to all of you who really
helped me out in this colossal jam.  I'm not sure where I'd be without
this forum?  Cannondale really needs to look closely at this design flaw.    
It is an avoidable fiasco.  They really should design their own rack if
they continue with the fatty fork.

I'll let you all know how the first loaded down ride goes.  But it feels
solid in the garage.

Thanks again,

Bill

[BC]

Hey, Bishop,

Great news! Glad to hear that you got it all sorted out! I still think that C-dale owes you 20 bucks...or more!

I never noticed a change in the bike's handling due to the fork swap, so I hope that the transition is smooth for you, too. If you're not accustomed to riding a fully loaded bike, the first ride will be an eye-opener, no matter what fork you have. Once you get the weight distribution between all 4 panniers figured out, the bike will feel steady and sure.

I wish you all the best, and as many tailwinds as you can get. Ride safe!   BC