Registered: Oct 2004
Location: Southern California
Posts: 25

I'm a new Tour Easy owner and I have been trying to figure out the best way to mount a pannier. I have a small custom tailbox that was built by the gentleman I bought the TE from. I really like it and want to keep it, therefore a rack is not an option. I have tried to mount the pannier to the seat stay. It seems stable enough, even though the tension is not equal on the two pannier hooks that grab the seat stay. I am wondering if the seat stay is sturdy enough to do this. I don't plan on any huge loads, just some occasional groceries. I have some pictures here:

http://photobucket.com/albums/v239/...er/Tour%20Easy/

If anyone sees anything that is risky please let me know. Thank you in advance for your input.

David

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David

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Registered: Aug 2003
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 8

I have had no experience with the setup you are suggesting, but I have had great experience with the Lloonngg panniers from Easy Riders Recumbent Club.

They'll carry everything you need, and their low mounting under the seat helps with stability on the trail. Laurie "Wo" Smith's service can't be beat, either.

Check out these panniers and other models at http://www.geocities.com/e_r_r_c/catalog.html and see if there is something that will work for you.

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Lorno
Gold Rush
St. Louis

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Registered: Nov 2002
Location: Mt. Vernon, VA
Posts: 323

A couple of years ago I decided to take my Tour Easy on a jaunt across the midwest. Loaded conventionally on a rear rack, I found the handling characteriztics of the bike to be pretty bad. So I posted a question similar to yours on this site. I heard back from someone at Easy Racers (Sandra, I think) and she pointed me to trick Gardner came up with. You attach your panniers to the seat stay, mounting them diagonally. This gets the weight low and well forward of the rear axle. My panniers are connected by a fabric strip, so I couldn't use Gardner's method. It did show me the two keys to carrying a load on a Tour Easy, keep it low and in front of the rear axle.

So give search of this site, specifically under my name and you'll find Gardner's seat stay method.

Having said all that, if you can afford to switch to the underseat rack, by all means do so. I have read many. many glowing testimonials about the underseat rack and loooonnggg panniers.

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Registered: Feb 2003
Location: Belhaven, NC
Posts: 41

I will add to what rootchopper said by admitting to having thoughts about "enhancing" the underseat rack made for TEs by Terracycle. My "enhancement" involves adding a piecesof 5/16" aluminum rod to each side of the rack, effectively extending the line that is made by the top bar on the U/S rack back to the seat stay and they using a set of the "Rack Adapters" sold by Hostel Shoppe along with two insulated cable clamps to secure the tail end of the rod to the seat stays. At the front end of the added piece, I made a 90 degree bend about 2" long and positioned it paralell to the US rack top bar where it turns in to be clamped to the bike frame. I then use a couple of the famous Easy Racer Miracle Seat Clamps (aka small hose clamps) to snug the "ehhancement" rod up next to the U/S rack. The reason I did this was to eventually mount a set of modified Radical Design Alpha panniers to the bike, or to have the flexibility of using 4 small panniers vs. 2 huge ones i.e. ERRC Lloooong panniers. This may be silly but I don't like the ERRC logo on everything since I am not a member/subscriber. Incidentally, with the exception of the "Llooong Panniers", the folks at Inertia Designs make great stuff that looks surprisingly like the ERRC stuff, sans the logo.

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WillyP - '99 Tour Easy EX
If this is the best life has to offer, I'll take it!!

Last edited by WillyP on 01-16-2005 at 02:09 PM

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Registered: Nov 2002
Location: Huntsville, AL USA
Posts: 222

WillyP: I read your words several times, but can't quite noodle out what it looks like. Any chance of posting a pix or two, or a sketch?--george, who lusts after a TE.

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Red Zippered Tour Easy EX
'96 VW Passat TDI
2000, & 2004 Jetta TDI

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Registered: Dec 2004
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1

I am interested by the same question (as a new Ti-Rush owner).

I've looked at the ERRC offering and wonder whether anyone of you has tried using other panniers with the Easy Reacher under-seat rack. I have a (brand new) pair of Ortlieb's waterproof "bikepacker plus" bags, and feel it's a bit of a shame to then buy the Lloonngg panniers. Or is it a question of their height?

Happy biking - Frog

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