I bought the Jack Rack based on this review and I’m very happy with it. I bought it with bike camping on my Bike Friday in mind and It worked perfectly. Best of all it is easy to put on and take off. It also came beautifully boxed with straps and accessories.
The design is ancient. I have a 10 dollar cruiser bike basket with almost the same mount . Been around for decades. Kudos to these guys for modernizing it into a rack
Cannondale made handlebar bags in the late 70s thru the 80's with a similar rack. It just came out from the bar and hooked through the top of their bags.
THIS IS IT!! Been looking for a rack for my Ritchey Outback. The issue is the fork crown. And the easiness of taking it away so quickly is a game changer. THX!!
This rack really caught my eye a few weeks ago,so glad for the review!As usaul very well done!Russ plz.don't ever change your style or lo-key highly informative content!🤗
I also have an Outback, and got the Swood twisted rack this spring. 100 grams, so a whole lot lighter. It supports a bag, but no shelf so can't strap misc stuff to it. I think PLP reviewed that already.
This checks so many boxes for me. Front load, check. Easily moved from bike to bike, check. Support a small startup, check. I will be looking at this for my bikes that don't already have a front rack or basket.
In my opinion, Brompton came up with the best idea for carrying a bag on the front with its slot on bracket that attaches to the front of the bike. Therefore it doesn’t impede the steering as it glides with the frame rather than the handlebars. I appreciate that to clear a lot of cables and stuff you would have to have a higher, or should I say longer bracket, which would approach leverage on the frame, but it really is a good system
On this review, just received mine in the post, and it’s fitted! I have also setup my Restrap Rando (small) bag on there, and so far this looks to be the perfect fit and combo for my level of luggage needs. Nice and minimalist whilst flexible enough to my needs. Thanks for highlighting this one Russ!
I have drop bars on my bike for the specific reason, that with several straps and some paracord, I suspend my quilt and sleeping pad between those drops. This looks like it could save me lots of time in loading my rig on camping trips. Thanks for sharing. As always, good stuff.
Carradice used to make a simpler version of this 45 years ago, for fitting a handlebar bag to, without cluttering your bars up with straps. It held the bag about an inch forward of the bars, so you could still use the full width of the tops of drop handlebars, for your hands. It was steel coated with white plastic. I still have one in the garage somewhere along with its cotton duck handlebar bag.
Looks promising. Some similarities to the method that Rhode Gear used for their handlebar bags. I really liked their stuff. Im surprised nobody has adopted that system for modern use on 31.8 bars .
Cannondale, Rhode Gear... Etc. I loved my cannondale bag. Got one and it didn't fit my new 31mm bars, so I modified it with clamps and JB weld to work. Works great. Cost $25 total. No bag on my cables or hands, very stable (actually totally immobile, like a salsa front bag mount) and easy to access. I tried to bend it first, then considered welding one, but ultimately, JB weld was sufficient and it still allows me to use bike lights on my Trek 9600 drop bar gravel grinder (one on the fork, one on a drop down vs rise up bar extension). the drop drop down is to secure my front roll bag for bike packing. I'm a cheap SOB. I rigged it so I wouldn't have a bouncy bag on my cables. Works great. 6lbs of gear move an inch with a compression burrito and some voile straps.
I have been trying to figure out how to carry my lunch box on my commuter cyclocross bike without wearing a back pack. This is it! I saw it on your Insta and I'm already signed up. Early bird here I come!
Okay, on second thought it is a pretty ingenious design. If I had the mounts on my fork, I would still prefer a dedicated front mini rack. If not, it is a cool minimalist design and has less straps flopping around than a cradle system. My one concern is the longevity of the soft parts with day to day use. That is, the whole thing is held in tension by the elastic band and the stem strap. Sure, when brand new the rack can meet the load specs but eventually fabric frays and elastic deteriorates. How often would these items need refurbishing and the cost? (more of a rhetorical question that depends on how much you use/abuse your gear, I guess)
So.....you do know Jack! But seriously, that is a good design and so practical for moving from bike-to-bike when necessary. Looks well made too. Personally I like to see the welds and such.
A very easy & light weight bike front rack to be fixed on the steering handlebar. For more weight should be put on the front rack I recommend putting a larger typical dutch style bike front racks to be attached below the steering handlebar at the vertical front frame shaft so that the front rack does move sidewards when you are steering left/right.
Still waiting for an email saying that it's available. Now awaiting , arriving in a few days, an etsy offering that mounts like the T rack which is also not so available.
I have an old, 70's front bag with a similar attachment points. The Front bag is great for holding snacks, and/or camera/phone etc. Not a lot of weight on the front wheel, I prefer to load the back when carrying a lot of stuff, but if you already have a rear bag full of cr*p, this will be a nice addition.
Wonder if it would fit on the condor bar . Running a salsa (clamp on) sausage roll type right now which just fits the only straight part of the bars nearest the stem .
This is too perfect. I can tie down the bulky camp stuff with their bungee straps and put a basket net on top for quicker access stuff. AND take everything off when I don't need it.
Glad its back in a modern form, great job! I've already recommended your stem rack to several riders who do the new long distance riding where they pack everything in line with the bike to be more aerodynamic, instead of the old side bag paniers.. I will highly suggest to make some kind of universal light bracket attachment at the very front, as many of these riders have hub generator lights like SON, as Paris-Brest-Paris randonneur type riding is becoming very popular.
Looks like someone has made a bracket I thought of about this summer. I tied backpack in front of handlebars and wanted something to support it. My idea was to buy a piece of thick wire and bend it. Of course, this is more elegant and refined product.
This is super similar to the bagman by carradice and I think that's no coincidence. The bagman is a no brainer for randonneuring, it supports your saddlebag and makes it feel like it's not even there under light load. I'm not sure why carradice never made a bagman for the front because they would literally just have to make the bar a little longer and bend it a bit more. In any case, when I get my version of this I will be doing double saddlebag touring pretty sharpish. 24 litres in solid, good locations, aero compared to panniers, and keep my frame clear for big boi bottles? Yes please.
Thinking this will be great for my situation. My commuter is also my weekend gravel bike. I’d like to ditch the rear rack in favor of something more detachable.
@@PathLessPedaledTV Oh for sure! It's a super great design and if I wasn't already using my Ortleib I'd be looking at this in a heartbeat. I really like the idea of slappin' a basket on it!
I just bought my first gravel the other day. And I’ve not been much into cycling in the last several years, so I don’t know exactly what equipment I want to add. But this seems kinda cool… I’m even thinking that I could mount my GoPro to it connected by a pole or something to get backward facing shots..
looks great! I like the minimalism and the welds. But I carry a lot of weight so I prefer some kind of nitto style front rack that mounts to the crown and fork.
Did this product ever launch? Wholegrain Cycles website still says they are fulfilling kickstarter orders, but I have no idea how long ago they posted that message.
I wish there was more flexibility in the bar hooks. If it could encompass larger diameters or unique shapes like aero bars it would be great for electric scooters too. There are many options for bicycles due to the bosses that are brazed on the down tube, front forks, etc. but electric scooters have no options. My escooter has a folding handlebar (ubiquitous in electric scooters) which has two ends that fold down from a center ovalish center bar which the stem is attached to. That ovalish center piece is 42mm wide x 33mm tall (measuring the cross section) x 120mm long. While this particular folding handlebar is used by many escooter manufacturers, there are also other handlebar designs and also there are cross bars that attaches to the stem to put things like headlights and other accessories. Escooters is a growing PEV market, and strangely no racks are available. The most obvious attach point would be the stem or the handlebar that sits atop the stem. Now if a Jack the Scooter Rack was made, it only have to differ with larger hooks on the top and the lengths of the webbing. Escooters don’t have a gooseneck where the handlebar attaches to the stem, the scooter handlebar actually sit atop the stem. So the hook webbing could do a figure 8 around the stem, the drop down from the hooks would be shorter as it wouldn’t have to reach a stem that is setback. I would buy it. For now, all escooter riders use backpacks.
I had something like the f16, think I chucked it, for some strange reason. Have turned the place upside-down TWICE now looking for it 😕. So this new job might be a much better replacement 😁 Mind you, $275 is a hell of a price!!!
Thanks for showing us all these racks and do-dads, Russ, a lot of fun to have a lot of options. Signed, a party pacer by age, not choice. And O how I grin, just thankful to still be in the game. And maybe you could do a vid on how to upgrade a Free Spirit. I know there's more speed in that bike, somewhere.
@@frakafrocka It actually does! I've used it with my jones bars (no rise) and the other creator of the rack has used it with his Jones (with rise). And it actually works really nicely as the bars and rack clamp your load together! It may even work with the Jones Fork! But we've not tried, only speculated
One of my favorite accesories of all time is a pair of Lynze Femto F/R lights. they are durable, work, look good, and every single part of that light is pure fuction.......the best part?, the rubber "straps" lock of to one side much tighter, that way the strap never falls off or becomes detached. I cannot stand procucts that dont have time for this simple idea.
I'm definitely going to get on this, I have a front-sus ebike that i use for getting to the supermarket, and have been hunting for an affordable solution for getting stuff on the front. My only concern is that someone might pinch the rack when I'm locked up outside, so I might have to try to figure out how to run a lock through some part of this without adding too much weight. Anyone have any ideas on how to avoid something like this getting nicked?
I think this is a great product. Especially for the price. My only concern is that on some of my bikes I don't have enough space for the steerer tube strap. Is there a skinnier one included? Oh and will it work for bull moose bars?! Ha!
I must've blinked when this got released - just caught up with it. Good review and the Jack makes sense. ( I wonder how many Aussies have The Jack? - ackerdacker joke)
I bought the Jack Rack based on this review and I’m very happy with it. I bought it with bike camping on my Bike Friday in mind and It worked perfectly. Best of all it is easy to put on and take off. It also came beautifully boxed with straps and accessories.
The design is ancient. I have a 10 dollar cruiser bike basket with almost the same mount . Been around for decades. Kudos to these guys for modernizing it into a rack
you have any link or a photo? maybe even a paintin? :)
The only images are etched in stone deep inside caves unfortunately :)
Yep back, tithe 70's. It was good then and still is.
Cannondale made handlebar bags in the late 70s thru the 80's with a similar rack. It just came out from the bar and hooked through the top of their bags.
I’m sure your milk crate looks very stylish
THIS IS IT!! Been looking for a rack for my Ritchey Outback. The issue is the fork crown. And the easiness of taking it away so quickly is a game changer. THX!!
This rack really caught my eye a few weeks ago,so glad for the review!As usaul very well done!Russ plz.don't ever change your style or lo-key highly informative content!🤗
I also have an Outback, and got the Swood twisted rack this spring. 100 grams, so a whole lot lighter. It supports a bag, but no shelf so can't strap misc stuff to it. I think PLP reviewed that already.
Love that we've come back around to front racks. Turns out Jan and Grant are right a lot
Stopped the video and went to back it immediately. Thanks for putting it on our radar!
This checks so many boxes for me. Front load, check. Easily moved from bike to bike, check. Support a small startup, check. I will be looking at this for my bikes that don't already have a front rack or basket.
In my opinion, Brompton came up with the best idea for carrying a bag on the front with its slot on bracket that attaches to the front of the bike. Therefore it doesn’t impede the steering as it glides with the frame rather than the handlebars.
I appreciate that to clear a lot of cables and stuff you would have to have a higher, or should I say longer bracket, which would approach leverage on the frame, but it really is a good system
Great design. I wouldn’t ever put a permanent rack on my gravel bike but this changes things.
Sometimes old designs just works well in whatever timeline they are in
Just received my rack today. Excited to set it up. Thanks for your review.
THIS IS THE NEWS THAT MATTERS. Great job, PLP!
You said it in the title-genius! 🙏
Sold! 👌
What a cool invention !
Your channel has become my go to for product reviews.
Absolutely love the design and the looks of this rack!
On this review, just received mine in the post, and it’s fitted! I have also setup my Restrap Rando (small) bag on there, and so far this looks to be the perfect fit and combo for my level of luggage needs. Nice and minimalist whilst flexible enough to my needs. Thanks for highlighting this one Russ!
How did you order? I cant seem to figure it out.
I have drop bars on my bike for the specific reason, that with several straps and some paracord, I suspend my quilt and sleeping pad between those drops. This looks like it could save me lots of time in loading my rig on camping trips. Thanks for sharing. As always, good stuff.
Ordered one each for my wife and me. Thanks for a well-thought product review.
I had one of those in the 1970's. I still use it.
Show me this magical thing from the past that is exactly the same.
Carradice used to make a simpler version of this 45 years ago, for fitting a handlebar bag to, without cluttering your bars up with straps. It held the bag about an inch forward of the bars, so you could still use the full width of the tops of drop handlebars, for your hands. It was steel coated with white plastic. I still have one in the garage somewhere along with its cotton duck handlebar bag.
Very sort after especially if you have the saddle bag too
@@martinmalloy5997 sought after.
Looks promising. Some similarities to the method that Rhode Gear used for their handlebar bags. I really liked their stuff. Im surprised nobody has adopted that system for modern use on 31.8 bars .
Cannondale, Rhode Gear... Etc. I loved my cannondale bag. Got one and it didn't fit my new 31mm bars, so I modified it with clamps and JB weld to work. Works great. Cost $25 total. No bag on my cables or hands, very stable (actually totally immobile, like a salsa front bag mount) and easy to access. I tried to bend it first, then considered welding one, but ultimately, JB weld was sufficient and it still allows me to use bike lights on my Trek 9600 drop bar gravel grinder (one on the fork, one on a drop down vs rise up bar extension). the drop drop down is to secure my front roll bag for bike packing. I'm a cheap SOB. I rigged it so I wouldn't have a bouncy bag on my cables. Works great. 6lbs of gear move an inch with a compression burrito and some voile straps.
Really appreciated the direct comparisons with the Nitto F16. Great review.
Wow! I didn't realize I didn't know Jack until this! 😁
This is just what I’ve always wanted for my carradice bag 😁
At this stage. What I can say is that they have demonstrated an absolute master class in how to launch a product.
I have been trying to figure out how to carry my lunch box on my commuter cyclocross bike without wearing a back pack. This is it! I saw it on your Insta and I'm already signed up. Early bird here I come!
Super cool product! Thanks, Russ!
This is just what I’ve been looking for to sometimes turn a hardtail into a commuter with a basket.
I want this but for side panniers. Would be pretty useful for carrying coolers
Man this is exactly what I've been looking for!
What a review! Im sold
I totally agree with you. It's an excellent design.
Okay, on second thought it is a pretty ingenious design. If I had the mounts on my fork, I would still prefer a dedicated front mini rack. If not, it is a cool minimalist design and has less straps flopping around than a cradle system. My one concern is the longevity of the soft parts with day to day use. That is, the whole thing is held in tension by the elastic band and the stem strap. Sure, when brand new the rack can meet the load specs but eventually fabric frays and elastic deteriorates. How often would these items need refurbishing and the cost? (more of a rhetorical question that depends on how much you use/abuse your gear, I guess)
Looks rock solid and very sharp! 90 Euros shipped from China just doesn't work for me though
So.....you do know Jack! But seriously, that is a good design and so practical for moving from bike-to-bike when necessary. Looks well made too. Personally I like to see the welds and such.
A very easy & light weight bike front rack to be fixed on the steering handlebar. For more weight should be put on the front rack I recommend putting a larger typical dutch style bike front racks to be attached below the steering handlebar at the vertical front frame shaft so that the front rack does move sidewards when you are steering left/right.
Anyone who tends to over complicate things needs to see this to learn that the simplest things in life truly are often the best.
Such a brilliant video, just about to pick up one of these so wanted some more info. Your video nailed it. Thank you 🙏🙏
Still waiting for an email saying that it's available. Now awaiting , arriving in a few days, an etsy offering that mounts like the T rack which is also not so available.
I have an old, 70's front bag with a similar attachment points. The Front bag is great for holding snacks, and/or camera/phone etc. Not a lot of weight on the front wheel, I prefer to load the back when carrying a lot of stuff, but if you already have a rear bag full of cr*p, this will be a nice addition.
Sweet, my gravel bike has a carbon fork and I've been looking for a stable front-load system for ages, this looks just the ticket
Great. Looks solid and well made. Simple is best!
Wonder if it would fit on the condor bar .
Running a salsa (clamp on) sausage roll type right now which just fits the only straight part of the bars nearest the stem .
This is too perfect. I can tie down the bulky camp stuff with their bungee straps and put a basket net on top for quicker access stuff. AND take everything off when I don't need it.
Awesome - as a multiple bike guy with two Zeitgeists and no mid-fork mounts I think I’m gonna spring for this.
Glad its back in a modern form, great job! I've already recommended your stem rack to several riders who do the new long distance riding where they pack everything in line with the bike to be more aerodynamic, instead of the old side bag paniers.. I will highly suggest to make some kind of universal light bracket attachment at the very front, as many of these riders have hub generator lights like SON, as Paris-Brest-Paris randonneur type riding is becoming very popular.
Missed the preorder for this one but I’ll be on the look out for when they officially drop
Not a bad design for light loads. It could really benefit from a proprietary (tiny) ratchet strapping system.
Excited for this to go live. Price is good too 👍
Super design!!
Some of the touring handlebar bags in the 1970/80s had a very similar frame.
I was like all "take my money!" then I remembered I'm using Bullmoose bars lol
Looks like someone has made a bracket I thought of about this summer. I tied backpack in front of handlebars and wanted something to support it. My idea was to buy a piece of thick wire and bend it. Of course, this is more elegant and refined product.
This is super similar to the bagman by carradice and I think that's no coincidence. The bagman is a no brainer for randonneuring, it supports your saddlebag and makes it feel like it's not even there under light load. I'm not sure why carradice never made a bagman for the front because they would literally just have to make the bar a little longer and bend it a bit more.
In any case, when I get my version of this I will be doing double saddlebag touring pretty sharpish. 24 litres in solid, good locations, aero compared to panniers, and keep my frame clear for big boi bottles? Yes please.
Thank for your review. I love it so much anf i want to buy it. Plz tell me how to do?
Had one of these on my 10-speed 40+ years ago.
Oh yeah 😎. Obviously using the "Latest in Bungee-Cord Technology"!!
Thinking this will be great for my situation. My commuter is also my weekend gravel bike. I’d like to ditch the rear rack in favor of something more detachable.
I wish they would have kept tha stainless steel look when the went to consumer market as opposed to the black.
I joined the Kickstarter campaign yesterday and they reached at this time a 1000% of their goal. The rack hit the nerve of the community!
I need to run some measurements. But this might be a bit too low for my bike. What's that other rack mentioned at 5:48? Something like F15 or S16?
Nitto F-16
Basically a simplified version of the Ortlieb handlebar mounting bracket. Same general concept at least. This is a pretty slick design!
I guess. Except that it doesn’t require tools and can be moved from bike to bike and can be used as a rack.
@@PathLessPedaledTV Oh for sure! It's a super great design and if I wasn't already using my Ortleib I'd be looking at this in a heartbeat. I really like the idea of slappin' a basket on it!
I just bought my first gravel the other day. And I’ve not been much into cycling in the last several years, so I don’t know exactly what equipment I want to add. But this seems kinda cool… I’m even thinking that I could mount my GoPro to it connected by a pole or something to get backward facing shots..
Really cool design! I can already think of some improvements and modificaitons. Love it and solve some problems for me.
does it seem like there is enough clearance if you have cantilever brakes?
I have centre pull cantilever frames that route through the stem. Will probably be an issue but I backed them anyway.
looks great! I like the minimalism and the welds. But I carry a lot of weight so I prefer some kind of nitto style front rack that mounts to the crown and fork.
Very cool - rooting for this company
Did this product ever launch? Wholegrain Cycles website still says they are fulfilling kickstarter orders, but I have no idea how long ago they posted that message.
To my knowledge they shipped.
I wish there was more flexibility in the bar hooks. If it could encompass larger diameters or unique shapes like aero bars it would be great for electric scooters too. There are many options for bicycles due to the bosses that are brazed on the down tube, front forks, etc. but electric scooters have no options. My escooter has a folding handlebar (ubiquitous in electric scooters) which has two ends that fold down from a center ovalish center bar which the stem is attached to. That ovalish center piece is 42mm wide x 33mm tall (measuring the cross section) x 120mm long. While this particular folding handlebar is used by many escooter manufacturers, there are also other handlebar designs and also there are cross bars that attaches to the stem to put things like headlights and other accessories. Escooters is a growing PEV market, and strangely no racks are available. The most obvious attach point would be the stem or the handlebar that sits atop the stem. Now if a Jack the Scooter Rack was made, it only have to differ with larger hooks on the top and the lengths of the webbing. Escooters don’t have a gooseneck where the handlebar attaches to the stem, the scooter handlebar actually sit atop the stem. So the hook webbing could do a figure 8 around the stem, the drop down from the hooks would be shorter as it wouldn’t have to reach a stem that is setback. I would buy it. For now, all escooter riders use backpacks.
I had something like the f16, think I chucked it, for some strange reason. Have turned the place upside-down TWICE now looking for it 😕. So this new job might be a much better replacement 😁
Mind you, $275 is a hell of a price!!!
A home run of a rack, agree.
Looks great! Not at all sure it would work with cantis, but very nifty otherwise.
Might work. Depends on the angle you set the rack.
Thanks for showing us all these racks and do-dads, Russ, a lot of fun to have a lot of options. Signed, a party pacer by age, not choice. And O how I grin, just thankful to still be in the game. And maybe you could do a vid on how to upgrade a Free Spirit. I know there's more speed in that bike, somewhere.
will this wear out your handlebars at attachment points, and make them break? ty for review and info.
There is plastic in between. If ever then the plastic will break before the plastic destroys your metal handlebar.
@@LevinBe will this work on Jones bar
No.
No.
@@frakafrocka It actually does! I've used it with my jones bars (no rise) and the other creator of the rack has used it with his Jones (with rise). And it actually works really nicely as the bars and rack clamp your load together! It may even work with the Jones Fork! But we've not tried, only speculated
So just over a year later mine has arrived and it's looking great. Any advice on what bag would be best to fit on it?
I need it , now !!
This going to be perfect for my Masi Brunello that is getting a Rockshox XLPR
very very cool product and video. will def get
I wonder if it would interfere with the Redshift stem... The Jack strap around the steer tube would have to be slack
Yes. Prob not the best with the RS stem.
classic design. the NITTO one is beautiful.
Beautifully simple. Although it's hard to see if it would fit a XXS frame...
Regardless of where or when designed, I like this better than a frame bag.
One of my favorite accesories of all time is a pair of Lynze Femto F/R lights. they are durable, work, look good, and every single part of that light is pure fuction.......the best part?, the rubber "straps" lock of to one side much tighter, that way the strap never falls off or becomes detached. I cannot stand procucts that dont have time for this simple idea.
Any idea if this is ever going to be made available?
I´d like to know what brand the titanium demo bike in the video is?
Almost a year later, and I finally got my racks.
I'm definitely going to get on this, I have a front-sus ebike that i use for getting to the supermarket, and have been hunting for an affordable solution for getting stuff on the front. My only concern is that someone might pinch the rack when I'm locked up outside, so I might have to try to figure out how to run a lock through some part of this without adding too much weight. Anyone have any ideas on how to avoid something like this getting nicked?
You can get metal zip tie locks. Have a look at hiplock and you see what i mean.
Looks great! I’ve wanted something like this for a long time. Hope they add a strap to accommodate slacker mtb head angles.
Cool thanks Russ 😊
I think this is a great product. Especially for the price. My only concern is that on some of my bikes I don't have enough space for the steerer tube strap. Is there a skinnier one included? Oh and will it work for bull moose bars?! Ha!
I had a rack like that back in the early 1980s😀
I just bought it. It looks good but is quite heavy.
I must've blinked when this got released - just caught up with it. Good review and the Jack makes sense. ( I wonder how many Aussies have The Jack? - ackerdacker joke)
Nice find
Lol poping out your Eye ball
Neat indeed I wonder if it will fit my pedego Boomerang?????
Sweet review
I am afraid it will intervene with space for the handlebar bag. Should be mounted in the same spot
It doesn’t.
is it okay to put on carbon handlebar?
This rack may very well be a game changer, Agreed great bungee cords! Although would I invest in this? Most certainly…
Cool, but I would have to remove the Garmin outfront mount...
Hi Roberto, you may still be able to sit it alongside JACK, depending on your bars, it would just be slightly off centre!
You could switch over to a stemcap mount
Will this work on mustache or Albastache style handlebars? Also will it work for 26.0 diameter bar?