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Bicycle Baskets

prplchknz

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I'm thinking of getting the Wald 135 Deep Sized Grocery Front Basket:
original.jpg
do you think i should also get a rear one. Keep in mind I don't have a car, I might be getting one in June but that is not guaranteed and I'm gonna ride it to the store. Or do you think I should do a combination of a backpack and the basket? any one who's used a bike as their mode of transport would be useful in this situation.
 

Stanton Moore

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If you ride very far, or in the heat, then I don't recommend a backpack. It can make you really hot and sweaty. And the baskets have a retro-cool thing.
 

prplchknz

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If you ride very far, or in the heat, then I don't recommend a backpack. It can make you really hot and sweaty. And the baskets have a retro-cool thing.

I'm in southern Florida, so the heat is unavoidable, so 1 vote for rear basket
 

Bamboo

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I've installed those walds before, they are decent. Good looking, at least. That said, really loaded down they can mess with the steering. I've also put racks on the rear, and that can mess with the handling too.

Too much weight on the back means if you're not gripping the handlebars tight you get a lot of front end shimmy. I'd imagine that the steeper (more upright) the steering tube angle, the worse that would be.

Weight on the front end mounted on the bars will make steering slow, and you'll have to focus on the countersteering to make the bike go where you want without oscillating out of line.

If you balance the two I don't know what would happen.

What sort of bike do you have?
 

prplchknz

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I've installed those walds before, they are decent. Good looking, at least. That said, really loaded down they can mess with the steering. I've also put racks on the rear, and that can mess with the handling too.

Too much weight on the back means if you're not gripping the handlebars tight you get a lot of front end shimmy. I'd imagine that the steeper (more upright) the steering tube angle, the worse that would be.

Weight on the front end mounted on the bars will make steering slow, and you'll have to focus on the countersteering to make the bike go where you want without oscillating out of line.

If you balance the two I don't know what would happen.

What sort of bike do you have?

a cruiser with peddle brakes
 

gromit

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Hey prpl!

I use my bike for transportation. I have a rear basket and I do the basket and backpack method. Although I'm considering getting panniers for the back, I think I'd be able to hold more stuff.

If you don't mind going grocery shopping 2x per week, you could possibly even get by with just the basket and no backpack.
 
W

WALMART

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I like backpacks. I'd bike everywhere if I could - my bike, my backpack, and I. I can fit about three or four days of groceries in it, if you've got the willpower to make the trip so often.
 

Bamboo

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a cruiser with peddle brakes

so high bars and upright angles and you're moving slow. i'd wait to see how it feels with a load in the front, i'd guess it would oscillate (left to right wide swooping) at low speed with weight but I'm no expert.

it's probably nothing you can't deal with.
 

Giggly

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I had a basket and somebody stole it off my bike! I was so sad.
 

prplchknz

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so high bars and upright angles and you're moving slow. i'd wait to see how it feels with a load in the front, i'd guess it would oscillate (left to right wide swooping) at low speed with weight but I'm no expert.

it's probably nothing you can't deal with.

this is what it looks like:
8201-90%20rip%20curl%20562%20target.jpg

except mine's purple
 

Usehername

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I'd take it to a bike shop and see what's compatible before you pay for anything. :)

You're going to be able to hold the most with a rear-rack and panniers, but those are expensive. Cheaper options include a rear-rack and milk crate on top, and a backpack.

Also: your bars might make installing weight-bearing a basket difficult, because it's towards the pleasure geometry end rather than the workhorse end.
 

prplchknz

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I'd take it to a bike shop and see what's compatible before you pay for anything. :)

You're going to be able to hold the most with a rear-rack and panniers, but those are expensive. Cheaper options include a rear-rack and milk crate on top, and a backpack.

Also: your bars might make installing weight-bearing a basket difficult, because it's towards the pleasure geometry end rather than the workhorse end.
:happy2: i have no idea what the last sentence means :happy2: that's my i have no clue face-so-i
m-gonna-keep-smiling
 

prplchknz

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I texted my dad and asked him to ask his friend who knows a lot about bikes for reccomendations, and my dad's like i'll show him the bike (I also texted a pic of it) and he might have something lying around that he might give me. so I might not have to pay for it, but not holding my breath at the same time.
 

Winds of Thor

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I've always thought bike baskets to be handy and felt it would be useful, but they're also considered girly, and I won't use one.
 

gromit

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It's a bag or basket attached to the side of the rear bicycle rack like this:
FOFL4LBFH6EBR6U.LARGE.jpg


Fairly unisex in my opinion. And they can have a huge capacity.
 

Bamboo

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Panniers!

yeah i second this from a handling and capacity standpoint. best solution.

but for simplicity a plain ol basket is probably fine. some people find taking panniers on and off/setting them up difficult.

despite the unpleasant handling characteristics with a lot of weight i've used a rear rack and been just fine.

i don't have any pics but i modded my rear rack with a piece of 5mm underlayment (like thin plywood). I radiused the edges with a jigsaw and coated the whole thing in polyurethane (underside with truck bed undercoat for rain proofing would be a good idea but i just thick enamel coated). then I screwed this into the aluminum rack with sheet metal screws. basically made a platform for strapping stuff down and it blocks rain too. and the wood top looks kinda cool. bike is in another state otherwise i'd take a picture.

i actually just made it as a test and never took it apart. also, now I can carry light passengers on the bumper, but that's probably pushing it too far.

edit: so the benefit of the platform is you can strap a back down and not worry about the straps hanging down, or you can drop a basket on top and strap the whole thing in place and then remove it. also good for carrying the big u locks flat. etc. it's just a small improvement over a regular rear rack. you can probably buy something like it ready made.
 

gromit

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Yeah I want to get some, but right now I just use a basket and bungee cord to keep stuff falling out of the basket. Will see how far the grocery store is after I move probably.
[MENTION=6168]Bamboo[/MENTION], I can't quite picture what you are saying with the plywood. You affixed it to the top of the rear rack?
 
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