I’ve been looking at weight saving areas on my bike and I think one of these might be a good replacement for the heavy fat bike rack on my Longitude.

Anyone use one? Is it up to off road riding? The s3 rack with eyelets looks interesting.

Hi Supernova... Most on here will have more informed opinions but from what I saw of the Tailfin...

Really doubt its made for anything more than lightweight lugging on smooth roads....

Not for off road riding certainly.

Cass Gilbert is using one in Mexico, must have taken a fair bit of abuse there

edit - there are carbon and alloy versions of those support legs

Cass' bike



Never used one, so can't comment!

As a Genesis Longitude owner I am not sure weight saving and this bike should be in the same sentence
I would start with a new frame and wheels if i wanted to reduce it weight

I think I have carbon bars and post,thomson stem and an XTR crankset on mine and its unlikely to be sub 30 lb [ does have suspension forks to mind].

Not used that rack but again not sure why you want to both add a rack and save weight Easiest way is dont fit a rack

It was the Cass Gilbert thing on bikepacking.com that made me think of it.

I like the indestructibleness of my Longitude, so weight savings need to come from elsewhere, hence the rack replacement. Sometimes you need a rack for big trips with lots of kit. I’m planning to do the Iceland Divide so my normal bikepacking bags aren’t going to be big enough.

Andy Cox (@doubletrackfanatic & @europeandividetrail on IG) has been using one for 1 year (I know because he sent it to my house to install it) and is very happy with it. Thousands and thousands of km's on various terrain, still going strong. I'm not sure, but think he's using the alloy version.

He raved about the ease of packing.
It seems well thought through.

Supernova wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:57 pm I’m planning to do the Iceland Divide

Send me a DM if you fancy some detailed info on Iceland. E.g. for more interesting route choices just after Nyidalur ;-).
I've done 5 traverses of the interior and call myself an expert

Jay Petervary, Cass Gilbert and Andy Cox won't be easy on kit, all use them. Amazes me that people question this rack but happily use carbon forks :) (not you Supernova, but some online)
(edit, just read Alpinum's post that it may be the Al version Andy uses. Edit 2, Cass Gilbert's is the Al version. But Jay Petervary does use the carbon version)

Alpinum wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 9:38 pm Send me a DM if you fancy some detailed info on Iceland. E.g. for more interesting route choices just after Nyidalur ;-).
I've done 5 traverses of the interior and call myself an expert

I haven’t done much route planning yet (this is a project for next summer, Covid permitting), but it’s definitely good to know someone who’s done this before and is willing to answer my stupid questions!

Supernova wrote: ↑Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:43 am is a project for next summer

Suggestion:
For a say three weeks trip, it's best to go mid August to beginning of September.
Less snowmelt, chances for northern lights, lower river fords and amazing colours of the dwarf birches and polar willows.

With a minimalist approach and a compact, lightweight 20 L rucksack you can get away with soft bags only, should you fancy to throw in some single tracks.
Last time I went (2019) my girlfriend and I followed double tracks, went rucksack free, had a large tent and some other luxury items and used Tubus Vega racks (since we have them on our everyday/offroad touring bikes anyways).

Depending on speed and route choices, food for 3 - 6 days is a must when traversing the highlands (except if you stick strictly to the Kjolur, which I wouldn't recommend).

Good advice.

I was also think late August / early September for just those reasons. I have been several times before, from June to Sept. but not on a bike.

I’m super cautious about having a bomb proof tent in places that can have severe weather, having learnt that lesson the hard way over the years. I definitely don’t want a rucksack so dry bags or very small panniers on a lightweight rack is the way I think I’ll go. I was planning for 8 or 9 days self supported north to south (or vice versa) because it’ll be a work trip as well taking pictures and that inevitably takes time.

Would be interested to hear if anyone has any tips or experience with practical arrangements like flying to Akureyri with bikes, storing bike boxes or bags, arranging buses etc.

I have the carbon one fitted to my Tripster, I only have limited mileage with it so far but I have overfilled it and gone at speed over as much rough stuff as you can on 42mm tyres and so far,so good. I used it on the recent WRT and it was wonderful, I intend to get a lot more miles in and will update this thread in due course.

Thread resurrection....

How have you got on with the Tailfin?
Does anyone else have one now?
There are quite a few reasons building that are making me think that one would be a good idea.
I’m pondering the S3 - alu version with separate trunk bag which could do me for commuting and bikepacking and I could go back to using a suspension seat post - not a popular item but I really like them.

I've had a Tailfin rack from the very beginning and have added the trunkpack. It's been abused, battered, used off road and overloaded on mixed terrain tours to Italy and Spain on several bikes (one of its strengths) I like how I can ride to a race or site and then fully remove it quickly if I want to. With just the trunkpack on you just forget it's there and it has been 100% waterproof. The closure straps are very annoying requiring you to open 4 buckles to get in so I tend to stash overnight stuff in there. When you do open it it's easy to rummage around in though. Adding a cargo net round it is useful for stuffing in clothes and big food for quick access though.

I got treated a bit crap by Tailfin and wanted to hate this at times, but i can't. It's my go to luggage and I've used for about 15k miles and if it broke I'd get another.

Interesting how any mention of the Tailfin brings up that photo from GBduro where it looks seriously overloaded with panniers off road, which most wouldn't use, and no doubt took a big heavy side hit on falling over. Not sure you would buy this just to save weight, it's strength is it's convenience and top waterproofing. An alternative is a Tubus TI rack and the excellent cheap Lomo rack pack but it won't be as convenient in use.

One other thing is that you can't just remove it to use as a bag as the metal/carbon work comes with it. As you just chuck stuff into it loose because it's so fully waterproof it may be an issue to some of you had to gather it all up. Mine with the original rack clips off in seconds to take away but you just have to be careful not to damage the mounting hardware as you thrown it around.

Wowsers they aren't cheap

The ones I've seen have been bombproof. I've considered one for when I get the child seat off the back of my commuter and I can finally stop riding to work with a bag and bike seat sans child.

Dunno how much a Tailfin weighs but my Topeak QR Beam rack is 600g and cost me a tenner 2nd hand.

So long as you don't actually want to put panniers on it, it's very sturdy for a big old drybag with a couple of straps.

Edit: Just checked and bloody hell they're light!