Friday, March 18, 2011

Dahon Arclite rack and Ortlieb Frontroller panniers

The Dahon Curve SL, outfitted with a pair of Ortlieb frontrollers

Plenty of room for extended excursions

My 'bare-bones' Dahon Curve SL was shipped to me without a luggage rack.
Since I replaced my black Arclite rear rack with a traveller's rack on my Dahon Speed P8, its virtually lying around gathering dust.
At first, I thought the size of the rack was unsuitable for the smaller 16" Curve SL.
But after reading a lable on a silver Arclite rack which stated that the rack was meant for 20" and 16" Dahon bicycles, I changed my mind.
The first thing I did, was to get a set of screws which was intended for my larger rear traveller's rack.
It takes a bit of fiddling on the rack's front mount to get a nice fit on the bike's frame.
Getting the entire rack fitted is quite tricky.
So, I started with the rear section and the stablizers for the SKS mudguard.
When this is done, I had to bend the front mount a bit and screw it onto the side threads on the left and right side of the frame.
And at the end, it was a perfect fit.
While I was tweaking with my Pedros saddle bag, I suddenly had an urge to install my Ortlieb front rollers onto the Arclite rack.
I made some adjustments on the bags and it was a perfect fit.
The panniers were solid as the Arclite rack was able to accommodate them on both sides.
In short, it was a perfect fit.
That said, I can look forward to some bikepacking adventures with the Curve SL when I am not using the Speed P8.

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