Thoughts on Rad Power Bikes Front Baskets

[Ryan]

As I've been staring at my bike in our family room (it's winter here in Wisconsin) I've been thinking about what I might want to add as far as accessories next year. The front baskets come to mind but they come at a steep price. Typically we use a rear basket when we need to haul things. Curious what those who have the front baskets think.

[Psuggmog Volbenz]

I have two different carriers for the front of my Radwagon. I made an aluminium front rack which attaches to the factory threaded inserts. I have a flat bottomed oval shaped basket made from elephant grass and goat leather. This was purchased new at a street fair for twenty dollars. It was made in Ghana. I use this basket during dry weather. In the rainy weather, I use a pack cloth, Yamaha brand, motorcycle saddlebag. I bought this new at a thriftstore for three dollars, but the list price in $125. Both containers fit on my front rack. I repositioned the front headlight to mount on the handlebar stem(gooseneck). This puts the headlamp in an improved location and allows it to move with the front wheel. The Rad solution is to mount the headlamp on the rack which is too low in my opinion, and the lamp beam no longer follows the wheel travel, so during the intial part of a turn, the area in front of the bike is not illuminated.

[Ryan]

Wow, sounds like quite the setup!

[RadBiker]

I have two different carriers for the front of my Radwagon. I made an aluminium front rack which attaches to the factory threaded inserts. I have a flat bottomed oval shaped basket made from elephant grass and goat leather. This was purchased new at a street fair for twenty dollars. It was made in Ghana. I use this basket during dry weather. In the rainy weather, I use a pack cloth, Yamaha brand, motorcycle saddlebag. I bought this new at a thriftstore for three dollars, but the list price in $125. Both containers fit on my front rack. I repositioned the front headlight to mount on the handlebar stem(gooseneck). This puts the headlamp in an improved location and allows it to move with the front wheel. The Rad solution is to mount the headlamp on the rack which is too low in my opinion, and the lamp beam no longer follows the wheel travel, so during the intial part of a turn, the area in front of the bike is not illuminated.

Do you notice any difficulty in steering or control of the bike with the basket and/or weight in the front basket? I have a Radwagon as well.

[Psuggmog Volbenz]

Because the front rack is mounted to the headtube rather than the fork, the steering effort is not noticeably effected. It is somewhat strange to see the handlebars and frontwheel turning without the rack turning.