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    Struggling to choose

    Hi, I want to pick one of them but don't know wich one should I go with, rack or cage.

    I only have back rack and my whole load in onto it, I did my first tour with only back rack and it was unconvinient because load-balance.

    Now I want to fix problem and buy one of them.

    I think to buy cage and attach regular dry bags onto it or montage a rack and use another pannier.

    What do you think? Which one would be decent choose?

    Thanks.

    by Stunning-Conflict-49

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    13 Comments

    1. incunabula001 on

      I would get the front rack, it’s far more versatile than the anything cages. It will be something you will use when you’re not bikepacking as well.

    2. TheAtomicFly66 on

      If you don’t need the full sized platform on that front rack you posted, check out Tumbleweed’s offering the T-Rack. It has a minimal platform (which i find to be enough) plus mounting points on the vertical legs for bottle cages. I think there might be a few other companies doing this now too. [https://tumbleweed.cc/collections/racks](https://tumbleweed.cc/collections/racks)

      A minimal front rack like this can be paired with a harness/roll at the bars to increase carrying capacity, especially if you have flat bars. Or with a top loader bag.

    3. Sultanofslide on

      Depending on bike sometimes front loads make handling a little iffy especially if it’s up high on a rack so I usually opt for cages and dry bags since the load is lower and it keeps you from putting too much weight on the front end 

    4. VegWzrd on

      I like the versatility of a front rack setup for mild terrain but hate weight cantilevered over the front axle on singletrack. So it depends what you’re riding.

    5. SkaUrMom on

      As someone who did something similar. I would say front rack. You can use paniers, or basket when around down. Just overal more useful. I really hate trying to get things into my little cage. I use it for water but it’s a pain to use straps ect. I’ve downsized to one cage on my down tube and it almost never gets used.

    6. Sosowski on

      If you have panniers in the back, there’s a front-rack that you can use to have front panniers that are bigger than the “bottle-cages” but much lower than the shelf-rack. I’d use that.

    7. Da3mon-X on

      I have the Old Man Mountain Elkhorn which is a rack with mounts on the arms for cages. Don’t have to choose one or the other!

    9. tonbretinju on

      Front pannier can carry way more stuff than fork cage + handlebar bag.
      Front pannier will be a bit harder to handle on technical terrain.
      Personnaly I have 2x Wolf Tooth Morse Cage with 5L drybag + Outer Shell harness with 13L drybag and it’s solid. It gives me around 25L of storage on the front of my bike.

    10. FrewGewEgellok on

      Why not both? Similar cargo cages are like 5€ a piece on Aliexpress, no need to spend 50€ just because they have a Wolf Tooth logo. Spend your money on a decent sturdy front rack and use whatever fits your route best. When you have less cargo just take the cargo cages. When you have more, take the rack. Be flexible.

    11. simplejackbikes on

      Carbon forks can’t take much weight… get an old man mountain divide and mount it to the axle

    12. polkah on

      Fork cage I great but I would only use it for longer trips when I have already maxed out my front and back capacity. Personally I’d go front rack/handlebar roll first, then fork cages if I need extra storage.

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