Retro bike racks wanted but not found.

April 6, 2010 7:01 PM

I recently purchased a new bicycle. A GT Kustom Kruiser Moto Glide to be specific. This is my first bike since college and also the first that's I've actually ridden regularly. It has become apparent that I should get some some type of rack/basket. The problem I am encountering is all the ones I can find are very square and boring (for example). What I would like is something that would be more in line with the bike's aesthetics. Prefer to purchase, but not against a DIY solution if you have any ideas.
posted by damionbroadaway to sports, hobbies, & recreation (12 answers total)

Nice bike. You might consider getting a motorcycle style handlebar bag if you could pull it off. No idea if that's a nice one, but it would look awesome on your ride.
posted by advicepig at 7:24 PM on April 6, 2010

advicepig:

I hadn't considered that option. In my head, anything on the front handlebars = little girl basket. I was thinking about rear racks. You have made me reconsider though. Might look at motorcycle saddlebags as an option.

Thanks.
posted by damionbroadaway at 7:27 PM on April 6, 2010

With the way your bike is built, you may have a hard time finding a bike specific rack that will work, there doesn't look like there's good place to mount it on either the brake bridge area or the drop outs.

I know nothing about how motorcycle saddlebags attach.
posted by advicepig at 7:33 PM on April 6, 2010

Motorcycle saddlebags with that aesthetic are heavy because they're thick leather to stand a chance of not disintegrating if the bike goes down, with heavy hardware to stay attached when the bike stays up. The only bike bag I could see on there is a tool roll but that's not really a cruiser bike thing, it's a motorcycle thing -- and I dunno about the "acting like it's a motorcycle" look.

On that bike I would rock a black messenger bag with serious hardware, maybe something from Chrome.
posted by mendel at 8:00 PM on April 6, 2010

Also, if you want to search around, I think the kind of look that bike's going after is "lowrider", especially with those ape hangers. Check out these guys and you might find some ideas for carrying stuff around that fits in the look.
posted by mendel at 8:03 PM on April 6, 2010

mendal:

I'm not trying to look like a motorcycle. It's just they usually have body lines similar to what I have on my bicycle.

Getting a messenger bag or backpack is always an option, but I was hoping to be able add something to my bike that was both easy on the eyes and functional.

I did find these, but they are pretty big. Only weight 9.5 lbs though.

Thanks for the lowrider suggestion. I'll hit up the googles for forums and what-not.

advicepig:

Forgot to thank you for the compliment earlier. Thank you.
posted by damionbroadaway at 8:12 PM on April 6, 2010

They may be more expensive than you wanted, but Velo Orange have nice, retro racks, bags, panniers, etc.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 8:27 PM on April 6, 2010

I don't know if they fit the aesthetic you're after, but I like the looks of Acorn bags.
posted by bentley at 8:48 PM on April 6, 2010

You could try the range available from Cycle Chic. I have one of their satchel panniers and have been very pleased with it.
posted by girlgenius at 9:17 PM on April 6, 2010

Harris Cyclery has a selection of saddlebags, including the always-classy Brooks bags, which are made to attach to the loops on a Brooks saddle. YMMV.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:46 PM on April 6, 2010

Thanks for all the input and ideas.

I marked Quinbus as the best answer because I was not aware what I was looking for was called panniers. That makes searching much much easier.
posted by damionbroadaway at 8:47 AM on April 7, 2010

It's worth noting that most panniers are designed to be hung from a rack, which may be somewhat difficult to mount to your frame...
posted by advicepig at 10:57 AM on April 7, 2010