The rack you have is rated on the ITTWW system. That聮s an acronym for the common industry expression, 聯I Think This Will Work.” Not to say that the 30-pound rating is completely fanciful, but I doubt that the engineering on that rack was tremendously rigorous (not to pick on Nashbar聴I聮ve owned a number of their house-brand products over the years and generally find them pretty good. Well, except for the chamois that always falls apart in their cycling knickers聟).
Jandd’s Expedition Rack
Expedition Rack
Add to that the inevitable metal fatigue from prolonged use, and it might be prudent to buy a new rack. Blackburn聮s EX-1 is an excellent choice, very beefy and built for touring. It has a 40-pound rating, and I expect that offers a pretty wide margin of safety. Retail is $45, but Nashbar (www.nashbar.com) currently has them for $35.
I also like Jandd聮s Expedition Rack ($65; www.jandd.com). In fact, that聮s what I have on my Bob Jackson Special Tourist. It聮s a really rugged rack, rated to 50 pounds, and can easily handle as much stuff as you can pile on top of it.
Dunno what you聮re after for panniers. Jandd makes excellent ones聴$140 for a pair of Mountain Panniers, the cast-iron skillet of Jandd聮s pannier line. Very rugged, with plenty of room for multi-day trips. But the Gold Standard for pack bags has to be the Ortlieb (www.ortliebusa.com) line of rugged, waterproof bags. The Bike Packer Plus is the flagship Ortlieb rear bag聴$200 for a pair. Excellent bags.
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