After much consternation, and never actually coming to a solution for transporting my bag in this thread, I’m leaning towards fitting a Wald 137 basket (with the standard mounts) to my Pompino SS.
Can anybody help with my questions?
I’ve seen some pics of the basket fitted on bikes with drop bars. Are people fitting wide drops to be able to achieve this? The basket is 15" wide at the top and the gap between my bars (42cm) is basically exactly the same.
Do the handlebar clamps fit over the 31.8mm diameter of the bar near the stem? I can’t seem to find a clear answer to this on the net.
Anybody got a better idea for a front load setup? I don’t have a hole in the front of my fork crown, and don’t have mid fork braze-ons either. The stock Pompino fork isn’t low trail, but i think it should be ok for the loads i will carry (laptop plus lunch).
They won’t fit over 31.8’s! There is a pizza version that has a 31.8 clamp. Additionally, most bikes with a wald up front will have SS levers, which is fine, but they normally wont allow brifters that need sideways clearance.
I eventually got one of the new soma front racks and I am very happy with this. https://omafiets.com.au/collections/accessories/products/somaminifrontrack
It gives me lots of options - bag on top, panniers / bag on side and side eyelets that I could use to attach things such as a small tray. However, my bike had hole at crown and eyelets near wheel hub.
Not much help if you don’t have the holes for connecting. However, I think you will find more options if you carry the laptop vertically on side of rack, rather than horizontally across the top.
The world would be my oyster if only I had a hole on the front of my crown, or some eyelets. The alternatives I have are the Wald plus p-clamps to replace the too-small factory clamps, or a Soma rack with p-clamps.
Just drill the crown. Use the threaded rear hole as a guide to get a pilot hole through (without ruining the threads) then enlarge from the front (put a small bit of wood in the steerer so you don’t drill into the threads)
Thanks for the input! I read that the little cheapo Ebay racks break at the tabs where they mount on the cantilever posts, and it would still require a hole in the fork crown.
I think I will look into the Soma Porteur with some P-clamps on the fork, or maybe just get the Wald and replace its clamps with some bigger diameter p-clamps that fit over my bars. That seems to be the least invasive solution. They sell the Walds at Tokyobike in Melbourne, so I can always go there and check for fitment.
