With a Hebridean trip in the works where we’ll need to carry three days food and sleeping gear, I may be needing added load carrying capacity if I’m not to overload the back wheel or my back. I just had a broken rear spoke repaired – as with the front wheel a month or two back. They’re snapping at the thread due to corrosion, so this time the LBS suggested replacing all the OEM spoke nipples with brass while cleaning up then thread-greasing the spokes, to stop corrosion in its tracks. Galvanic corrosion can occur when alloy contacts steel due to the electropotential difference – ask old Landrover owners. Brass is inert (less or no electropotential). When the front breaks another spoke, I’ll do the same on that wheel. In all my biking years I’ve never had a broken spoke, even with hardtails. Specialized pitches itself as a premium brand but they don’t make bikes like they used to. Have a read of this.

Specialized make a front tray rack, sorry: ‘adventure plate’ (pn: 98922-5600; above) for £110. It bolts securely onto the head tube behind a removable cover, but people complain the front lamp needs relocating which gets unnecessarily complicated. Anyway, it’s pretty much out of stock in the UK, though you can buy the adaptor plate (above left) and possibly MYO.

Looking for other front racks I spotted an Aeroe Spider going for 67 quid (left). It clamps to the fork tubes just like the Aeroe rear fitted to the geef’s OverVolt seat stays.
Once in, it took ten minutes to fit easily, with the clamps lining right up with the fork legs with no splaying needed. The Tero’s mudguard stay mounts and brake calliper limit positioning for the clamp straps a bit, but by sliding the tube right into the mounts, it’s as low and as back as it can be.
I have to say I’m impressed by the novel and universal Aeroe system and see Thule do something similar. No frame attachment fitting needed. As with the back rack, the top plate – sorry: ‘pannier receiver’ – easily rotates 90° across the bike, if you want it that way. And it all comes off in as long as it takes to undo 4 bolts.

I wouldn’t normally choose to mount a rack on the front, it’s not a great place for weight when off-roading, but it’s all got to go somewhere. Even with my recently revised headlamp mount now a bit higher, the beam will only clear whatever’s loaded on top of the rack as long as it’s no more than six inches high. The way round that would be small panniers on the sides. I shouldn’t have sold my old Lomos.