Randonneur Front Rack with Integrated Decaleur
$120.00
This is a stainless steel front rack that is perfect for a handlebar bag. The decaleur (bag mount receiver) is integrated into the rack platform. The advantage to this system is: your bag-decaleur-rack combination is more solid, lighter, and less likely to rattle. Integration is the Holy Grail of Constucteur-style bikes, and we feel that these racks are a big step in that direction.
All Velo Orange racks are made from polished tubular stainless steel, so they will never rust, flake, and can be re-polished to a mirror shine even after years of use. As with our other racks, there are mounts for lights. The platform is 20.7 cm long and 10.2 cm wide.
Most traditional style handlebar bags work perfectly with this rack (any bag around 20cm tall), but very tall bags may need a longer bag mount. If you plan on getting into offroad exploration, we suggest using a toe strap on the bottom of the bag to ensure it says put over the rough stuff.
This rack requires eyelets (not low riders) on the fork blades or the use of p-clamps (included). If you are getting a custom frame made, we suggest sending the rack to the builder beforehand and let them know that the eyelets should be about 100mm below the bottom of the fork crown.
12lbs (5.4kg) max weight capacity.
All mounting hardware is included. Installation instructions found here.
If your fork has cantilever brakes, use our Randonneur Front Rack with Integrated Decaleur, Cantilever.
Compatibility note: Your fork's eyelets need to be 100mm from the fork crown bolt. Anything larger than that and this rack probably won't work. In that case, we suggest the VO Flat Pack Rack for greater adjustability.
The rack does not fit my Soma Grand Randonneur. I really don’t know if there is an industry standard for the placement of the upper fork mounts, but the rack does not reach them on my bike. I would have to say that the Soma GR is probably as close to a Randonneur standard as they come, so I really don’t see how this rack can be called a Randonneur rack.
I have 2 other VO racks which I like a lot.
This rack is designed for bikes with mounting eyelets 100 mm below the underside of the fork crown. In the case of older model Soma Grand Randonneur frames using cantilever brakes, we recommend the cantilever version of this rack (https://velo-orange.com/collections/racks/products/rando-front-rack-with-integrated-decaleur-cantilever).
The term randonneur references the type of riding and the style most commonly associated with randonneuring, but does not encompass a set of universal standards for bikes of this type.
I run big bikes and, usually, the head tube is too long to work with a stem-mounted decaleur for my rando bag unless I get one custom-brazed. In building up my new Pass Hunter I ran into this problem and it occurred to me that this was the perfect situation for a rack with an integrated decaleur. I was initially concerned about the weight and whether or not it would work with the rack mounts on my carbon fork. The rack itself, however, only comes in at 20g heavier than running my existing Nitto rack with a stem mounted decaleur. Some short work on the rack stays with a small vise also helped the rack fit my fork (something I've had to do with every rack on every bike I've had, regardless of the make of either). The height of the integrated decaleur exactly matches the mounting grommets on the VO / Roadrunner rando bag— the whole thing being integrated and seamless! Installation was the easiest I've done on any rack, and I'm super happy with the result! Super secure and looks fabulous!
I’m very happy with this rack. It is well-constructed with a clean finish. I did add some metal spacers onto the decaleur to provide a little more clearance for accessing bag pouches and space for cables.
The rack is just as described and very well made. It does the job and holds my handlebar bag securely. I would have given it a 3 but for the weight - far heavier than the Nitto or Rene Hearse racks and the arms designed to attach the rack to the fork eyelets need a couple of pieces of hardware to reach - I had to make a couple myself. BTW, the threaded light eyelets are a plus.
This is a simple, nice looking rack that does exactly what it is supposed to do. I attached it to my bike with P clamps, put the decaleur on the back of my Ostrich handlebar bag and set it in place - it now takes me 3 seconds to install and remove the bag (no exaggeration). I’ve never had the bag come loose (even on rough roads), but for gravel rides or singletrack I’d recommend strapping the bag to the rack as Velo Orange suggests doing. The quality, price and overall finish of the rack are great. If you can live with P clamps, or if you have the proper eyelets on your fork you won’t regret this one.
