The evolving mammoth.

You can always pursue the ever present mantra of American consumerism expressed by the cycling equation N+1, and buy a new one.  The other option is to keep revising the one you have.  

I like that, it makes me feel better.   I had this Long Haul Trucker. 

 I wanted a Rivendell, but the Atlantis didn't do it for me.

When they introduced the Hunqapillar, they had me for good. 

 It's a Bombadil with 700c wheels rather than 650b. 

 That was the thing, so the frame was cheaper than the Atlantis or the Bombadil, .

I plugged in the LHT components, sold the LHT frame on craigslist for a decent price, 

cut my costs and had me one hellova bike.   It was a real change, not only in appearance, but the handling was much better as well.  That attempt at frugality led to another fit of N+1 and I bought a Hillborne.  The Hillborne was being delivered at the same time the Bosco Bars were being delivered.
                                         

After a year comparing the Bosco's on the Hillborne to the drop bars on the Hunq, I switched the Hunq as well and the Bosco's have proven to be the most versatile and comfortable handle bars I have used. Then I became uncomfortable that the metal fenders didn't have  a safety release so I switched fenders and the stylish little Constructeur rack for the more practical SKS fenders 

and the more substantial Pletscher Athlete rear rack.

Life was coasting along the bike lane when I got sick of the tiny front bag and repairing the paint on the forks after using the old Blackburn Lowriders

So, I bought a full sized Surly Rack for the front, that did make things easier, but, if you look closely, you will notice the rear rack, well the damn thing won't stay level, soooo...

I replaced that with a new design from Pletscher.  It has the classic mousetrap retainer, but is a much longer rack with some interesting features.  Having two legs and better seat stay braces, it's more stable.  It also has pegs to hang a mini pump underneath, attachment holes for their interchangeable quick release accessories; baby seats, baskets and trunks, but also optional pannier railing which I assume should be used with those snap in accessories. 

Although a pragmatic design you would expect from Pletscher, they dressed it up a bit by adding a sparkly clear coat like they did to the Zoom kickstand. 

Th feature I really like is the pre-threaded mount for a light bracket   It is set just deep enough from the end that the rear rail of the rack protects the light from getting banged around.

Pletscher calls it the Inova, Riv calls it the Clem rack, it ain't cheap at $72, but I don't think there is a more useful or versatile rack on the market.  It's not as elegant as a Nitto, but the Hunq is a work mammoth not a circus elephant.  It will evolve in the future.