I bought a Tailfin rack & pannier setup some time ago. I was impressed with the beauty, simplicity and versatility of the system.
There were, however, some engineering issues that bothered me from the outset. Engineers being who they are though, were deaf (initially) to my questioning.
1. The system, as I bought it attached to the seat post with a tension clamp, then to a horizontal, wishbone shaped alloy rack via the black extension pictured above. Tailfin engineers and test riders must all be tall, because, as a more compact rider, I found that the extension attachment was so short that it forced the forward portion of my trunk bag under my seat, compromising storage space. I appealed to the company to offer various lengths & got no response. A friend who is an engineer with machinist connections made the longer gray one for me. Within a year, I noticed that Tailfin was offering longer extensions😏
2. The aforementioned wishbone shaped alloy rack component always looked potentially weak & poorly engineered where it connected to the above noted extension. While on a recent tour, it failed catastrophically at that point. This time, Tailfin was very responsive and accommodating, replacing the failed rack with a reengineered component.
I still love the system, but would like input from other Tailfin owners.
by AnkhRN