Thoughts on attaching a bike rack?

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croissante
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Joined: 15 Jul 2014, 10:20pm

Thoughts on attaching a bike rack?

Post by croissante »

Hi all,

I have an old Raleigh-era Gazelle frame that I am trying to attach a rear rack to. However, I'm running into a couple of stumbling blocks due to the fact that the frame has no rack mountpoints, and does not have a tube for holding a rear brake caliper, instead just having a large metal plate. So far I've tried attaching the rack on the same mounts as the mudguards, but ran into the problem that the attachment on the rack for the rear brake mount didn't play nicely with my mudguards. Having attempted that, I'm now thinking of trying out some P-clips to hold the rack at the bottom, but from what I can figure, this means that the rack will have to attach at the large central hole of the rear plate (pictured), which I'm fairly certain I won't be able to find a bolt big enough to fit unless I use a really big washer. Do you think this is an insurmountable challenge, or is there a way to get around this (apart from buying a new rack with side-mounts and getting a second set of p-clips, which I really don't want to do 'cause I already need to buy a rack for another bike...).

Rear plate:
Image

Dropouts:
Image

Cheers
Brucey
Posts: 44521
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Thoughts on attaching a bike rack?

Post by Brucey »

it sounds like your first scheme was nearly there; I'd persevere with that if I were you. Using P clips at the bottom is not a good scheme; making a small bracket adaptation at the top is fair game.

BTW it may interest you to know that if you buy the correct rack the top two holes in the seat stay bridge are meant to line up perfectly with similar holes in the rack.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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croissante
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Joined: 15 Jul 2014, 10:20pm

Re: Thoughts on attaching a bike rack?

Post by croissante »

I will give that another shot, then! Looking at it, I can easily squeeze an extra couple of mm if I rotate the mudguard bracket 180 degrees so it is facing backwards, and push comes to shove I could always rebend or otherwise modify the rack mount to get it to fit (would rather not do that, though!).

Any idea what sort of rack I'd be looking for to use those two top holes? Most racks I've seen with mounts for each seat stay seem to be set up for a sideways rather than vertical mount.
Brucey
Posts: 44521
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Thoughts on attaching a bike rack?

Post by Brucey »

this steco rack

http://www.dutchbikebits.com/luggage-racks-and-accessories/steco-sturdy-luggage-rack

has two top bracket holes in it with the correct spacing; brackets of the correct type to mate with this kind of carrier are fitted to most dutch bikes. However these racks only fit to the wheel axle, not the mudguard eyes, which you may or may not think is a good thing. Likewise the built-in stand.

SJS sell a (very cheap) Coyote carrier for about £5 which also has the correct top bracket on it, This rack is a straight copy of an older Pletscher design, but the original was a bit light and flimsy and the copy is flimsier still. 'Suitable for light loads only' I think.

Pretty much any rack with two flat steel stays at the top can be made to fit your bracket; you can either bend the two stays through a near-right angle (choose carefully) or make a simple bracket to couple the top stays to your bracket.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Edwards
Posts: 5982
Joined: 16 Mar 2007, 10:09pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Thoughts on attaching a bike rack?

Post by Edwards »

The Aldi/Lidl racks sold last year came with a U shaped adaptor that was about 50mm wide 10mm deep with holes for bolting to the plate on the bike. Both ends were bent outwards at 90deg with a bolt hole in both.
The rack arms bolted to them with the length adjustment at the rack end.

Most people seem to just use the one mounting hole at the drop out end. The ideal way is to put the bolt through from the inside (you may need to use a countersunk headed set screw to clear the rear sprocket). Then put the rack onto this with a nut and washer to clamp it tight.
Then put the Mudguard Stay on the bolt and clamp that with a not and washer.
Keith Edwards
I do not care about spelling and grammar
Brucey
Posts: 44521
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Thoughts on attaching a bike rack?

Post by Brucey »

this rack;

Image

is from a 1980's Raleigh courier. It has the correct top mount and mounts at the bottom to the rear axle. These racks are pretty strong but they are also quite heavy. The rails are made of solid steel IIRC. A good choice if you want a tough rack.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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531colin
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Joined: 4 Dec 2009, 6:56pm
Location: North Yorkshire

Re: Thoughts on attaching a bike rack?

Post by 531colin »

If you are fitting a rack, you can always attach the mudguard stays to the rack......some racks have a suitable hole.....

Image

or you can use "P" clips to attach the stays at an angle that just might discourage a wheel jam.....

Image
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croissante
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Joined: 15 Jul 2014, 10:20pm

Re: Thoughts on attaching a bike rack?

Post by croissante »

Thanks for the suggestions, folks- in the end the rack I had just wasn't workable so I bought a rack from Edinburgh Bikes in the sale and have attached it with P-clips. Seems to be working OK so far, but shall see how it goes!
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