A few weeks ago a spur of the moment idea sent me into the attic, pulling aside cobwebs and arm-wrestling spiders until finally emerging, victorious, with my prize: the Tubus Fly rack that I'd stashed there many months back.
It was the eve of the Tour de France arrivée, and my plan was a simple one: catch the midnight ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe, and ride down to Paris in time to intercept Froome & Co on their victory lap. Just an overnight trip; I could have done it without a rack of course. But it seems a waste to travel to France without at least the option of carrying home enough patisserie to sink a ship...
After a quick once-over with a babywipe the Fly looked good as new. Setting to work mounting it to the bike reminded me just what an excellent and simple design this lightweight rack is.
My bike's an old steel racer, it isn't fitted with mounts for racks or mudguards. That's no problem for the Fly. A couple of P-clips round the seat stays secure its legs, while an arm at the top of the rack fixes to the brake bridge to complete the strongest shape in nature: a triangle (don't believe the hexagon hype).
10 minutes later I was done - Fly fitted, Ortlieb panniers clipped on and ready to roll.
Tubus, like Ortlieb, are a venerable German company who have been around forever and know a thing or two about making high quality cycling equipment. They produce a rack for every occasion but the Fly is their minimalist option, designed especially for the sort of cycle tourist who likes to travel light and fast.
Made of stainless steel tubing, it weighs less than a decent sandwich at just 341g. (They also make an even lighter CroMo version in black.) Weniger ist mehr, stimmt?
As for mounting the Fly, it's as simple as described above. The first time you tear open the packaging to be confronted with a few dozen little nuts and bolts can be a bit daunting - but once you've selected the hardware you need for your particular bike, the only aspect that requires any head scratching is putting a bend in the mounting arm to get it to meet the rear brake bolt.
My approach to this challenge lacked finesse, but if you have the patience it's best done with a vice or clamp to prevent the arm rolling when you bend it, ensuring a straight bend. I didn't do that, because it would have meant going outside to the shed; the penalty for my laziness was a crooked mount. It's barely noticeable and doesn't seem to affect the function, but jars a bit against the fastidious lines of the Tubus design.
Anyway, the mounting arm can be bent by hand easily enough. Once that's done you can rest easy knowing that next time, the rack will be ready to fit at a moment's notice. And for those averse to the P-clip bodge, Tubus also sell a QR adaptor kit that lets you mount the rack on the axle of your rear wheel.
Rack and roll?
Bikepacking is big news these days, and would-be cyclotourists are spoiled for choice when it comes to kit. But I wonder if rear racks aren't becoming a little passé?
A quick survey of the riders' bikes for this year's Transcontinental suggests so, with seatpost-mounted bags ubiquitous and only a single rear rack to be seen. Panniers not very aero for racing, maybe?
But you don't have to burden a slimline rack like the Fly with panniers; if you really want to fly, it will equally accommodate a sizeable bag - even a tent - mounted lengthwise out of the breeze.
The Tubus Fly is a versatile friend, then: perfectly capable of heavy duty haulage up to 18kg, but light enough in itself to justify a place on even the most weight-conscious audax or credit card touring rig.
So, what of my trip? Well the Fly and I made it to Paris in time to catch Froome cruising through the suburbs on his way to the Champs Elysees. And home again, panniers packed to the gunwhales with tartes aux fraises and pulp fiction from the book dealing dude of Dieppe.
But is the Fly still on my bike?
Well... I've memorised the ferry timetable, and Newhaven's just a 45-minute ride away. Let's just say I haven't been up to the attic again lately.
Tubus Fly, from £46.80 (RRP £70) - www.tubus.com. The UK distributor is Lyon Outdoor: www.lyon.co.uk.
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