Cargo Rack on MTB - Considerations?

[Michael J . Kle]

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 10:53:01 +0100, "Just zis Guy, you know?"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 15:12:56 +0800, Michael J. Klein
><[email protected]> wrote in message
><[email protected]>:
>
>>On the left side are eyelets for the disc brake option
>>(which I do not have) and then underneath that is both an
>>eyelet (threaded boss, really) and an actual slotted
>>eyelet beneath that on either side). The seat stays have
>>capped threades bosses. It looks like a rack should just
>>bolt right on.
>
>Sounds like it. Good Welcome to Dorkland :-D

A very belated welcome since I have a Dorkland passport. lol

>>Its a very practical accessory if you use your bike for
>>anything other than just riding a course.
>
>Sure is. And you can always pull the rack off if you do
>want to use the bike for somethign more spirited - see
><url:http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk>

Thanks Guy. Michael J. Klein [email protected] Dasi
Jen, Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato
with asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

 

[Michael J . Kle]

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 10:53:23 +0100, "Just zis Guy, you know?"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 15:15:03 +0800, Michael J. Klein
><[email protected]> wrote in message
><[email protected]>:
>
>>I was thinking about the fenders becoming necessary at
>>some point.
>
>The point being, around here, September

Most of our rain storms are the tropical shower type. You
smell the rain, then you're wet. 30 to 45 mins later you
can't tell if it has rained. Ever.

Michael J. Klein [email protected] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

 

[Michael J . Kle]

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 01:02:08 -0700, LioNiNoiL_a t_N e t s c a p E_D 0
T_N e T <[email protected]> wrote:

>> I asked my LBS about putting a rear cargo rack on my new
>> Yukon MTB. He said that nobody does that, and it would
>> limit my use of the bike for off-roading.
>
>He's wrong on both counts. Here's a photo of my MTB with a
>rear rack:
>
>http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/7403/montagu1.jpg
>
>> are there any other considerations about mounting a rear
>> cargo rack on my MTB, other than it looking retarded?
>
>Does my bike look retarded to you, Cowboy?

Does it matter what I think?

btw, that's "bushman" thank you.

Michael J. Klein [email protected] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

 

[Per LöWdin]

> The trials here aren't exactly easy. We were talking in
> Chinese and the implication was more of what I might be
> carrying on the rack, rather than the rack itself.
>
> http://www.formosanfattire.com/trails/

Seems like you have some nice trails.

Right, the rack itself is insignificant. Makes no
difference, though some might stare and wonder, "why is that
guy going off road with a rack"? Going with a loaded bike on
singletrack is a different story. I would not even consider
it. Singletrack is all about balance and technical stuff.
Riding with luggage would simply not be any fun. That goes
for BOBs too.

> Others have mentioned tubus to me also.

They are excellent, made in chromobdylen, weigh half a kg or
so and easily carry some 70 pounds, have used ours in India,
in the Alps and SE-Asia, never had a problem.

> What it comes down to is what is available in this
> country. I also have the option of designing my own here
> in the manufacturing Mecca of the world.

Yes, the Taiwanese are world leading in welding, so why not.
Might spur a new industry even.

Per http://lowdin.nu

 

[Michael J . Kle]

On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 16:24:25 GMT, "Per Löwdin" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>> The trials here aren't exactly easy. We were talking in
>> Chinese and the implication was more of what I might be
>> carrying on the rack, rather than the rack itself.
>>
>> http://www.formosanfattire.com/trails/
>
>Seems like you have some nice trails.

Yes, but its going to be awhile before I can do things like
that - maybe never.

>Right, the rack itself is insignificant. Makes no
>difference, though some might stare and wonder, "why is
>that guy going off road with a rack"? Going with a loaded
>bike on singletrack is a different story. I would not even
>consider it. Singletrack is all about balance and technical
>stuff. Riding with luggage would simply not be any fun.
>That goes for BOBs too.

That is what I believe he was trying to say.

>> Others have mentioned tubus to me also.
>
>They are excellent, made in chromobdylen, weigh half a kg
>or so and easily carry some 70 pounds, have used ours in
>India, in the Alps and SE-Asia, never had a problem.

Wow, sounds like a good product! I hope you gave them that
information too.

>> What it comes down to is what is available in this
>> country. I also have the option of designing my own here
>> in the manufacturing Mecca of the world.
>
>Yes, the Taiwanese are world leading in welding, so why
>not. Might spur a new industry even.

If I find anything really interesting I'll post some shots
and info about it.

Michael J. Klein [email protected] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

 

[Michael J . Kle]

On 27 Jun 2004 11:51:23 EDT, [email protected] wrote:

>Nashbar is having a sale on some of their lower end racks
>with mud guards. I paid a little extra for the Delta rack
>since the load capacity was higher and it had lots of tie
>down points. The built in fender works great and prevents
>striping with my 32 mm road tires.
>
>http://tinyurl.com/2qbvh

Thanks for the info!

Michael J. Klein [email protected] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

 

[Per LöWdin]

> >They are excellent, made in chromobdylen, weigh half a kg
> >or so and
easily
> >carry some 70 pounds, have used ours in India, in the
> >Alps and SE-Asia, never had a problem.
>
> Wow, sounds like a good product! I hope you gave them that
> information too.

No, I have not, I could they deserve it, but on the other
hand tubus racks are kind of standard issue for people who
travel in rough conditions, especially in third world
countries. They know they are darn good. Mainly because they
are light, durable and repairable, almost any village black
smith can repair them.

Per http://lowdin.nu

 

[Bruce Graham]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Michael J. Klein <[email protected]> writes:
>
> >Yeah I'll bet. Prevention of that "racing stripe" up your
> >back sounds like a pretty high priority after that.
>
> When the "racing stripe" was made of icy cold water it
> certainly was.
>
> >You touched on something else. I was going to ask about
> >front racks too, but I was going to wait until I read
> >about rear rack opinions first, lol.
>
> There are front racks for front suspened bikes. I would
> expect that there are more and more as front suspension
> has become pretty standard on many lines.
>
> >>Put the rack on it. If you are thinking of heavy use
> >>touring in the future consider a premium rack like a
> >>Bruce Gordon or a Tubus. If it just banging around town
> >>on poor roads with light loads a Blackburn would serve
> >>well for many years.
> >
> >As of yet, I have no idea what is available here. I'm
> >just going to have to take a look around.
>
> The attraction of the two racks I mentioned is that they
> are made of hollow chromolly steel. They are very light
> and strong. They have a reputation for taking abuse that
> would cause Aluminum racks to fail. In Iceland in
> particular the locals strongly confirm that hollow
> chromolly racks are the only way to go when crossing the
> interior of the island by bicycle. There are racks made up
> that that conform to those specs and I've seen one that
> was made for a C-dale front suspension (which was a
> "headshock" thing so the rules would be different).
>
>
> Tom Gibb <[email protected]>
>
"Tubus" is a brand of expensive but durable and nicely made
and designed tubular chromoly racks. Probably an overkill
unless you are trekking or at least long distance touring.

I have an old Minoura chromoly tubular rear rack which I
suspect will last my lifetime. I don't think they are
made anymore.

 

[Peter Cole]

"Per Löwdin" <[email protected]> wrote

> Going with a loaded bike on singletrack is a different
> story. I would not even consider it. Singletrack is all
> about balance and technical stuff. Riding with luggage
> would simply not be any fun. That goes for BOBs too.

I've spent the last few years pulling my daughter around
singletrack on a trailer-bike. Yesterday was my first time
(now that she's outgrown the t-b) pulling a BOB. It was
quite a bit of fun. I rode some of the same trails that I
rode last week with no load, and did about as well. The BOB
is looking a little worse for the wear, it got smashed a bit
on rocks and trees.

 

[Per LöWdin]

> Yesterday was my first time (now that she's outgrown the
> t-b) pulling a BOB. It was quite a bit of fun. I rode some
> of the same trails
that
> I rode last week with no load, and did about as well. The
> BOB is looking a little worse for the wear, it got smashed
> a bit on rocks and trees.

Last year we toured in Colorado, looking for singletrack
http://www.lowdin.nu/MTB/Colorado/Singletrack.htm, using
BOBs, a lot of the Americans adviced us to go off-road, or
going back roads with them, but we never did that seriously,
as we felt it would not be any fun with a fully loaded BOB
with tent, stove, and all the rest. Feel that on 4WD or dirt
roads it may be OK, but off road would be far too strenuous,
at least with all the gear we had, simply not any fun. We
met some guys who were touring backroads with BOBs in Frisco
and they had a good time, however they had much less luggage
to pull than us and did not do singletrack. For serious
singletrack I don´t think it would work. Come to a step or a
drop or a rock garden and you would have to unhinge the BOB,
lift, carry, push, pull, etc. Why bother: better camp, take
the BOB off and ride without it.

Per http://lowdin.nu

 

[Peter Cole]

"Per Löwdin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > Yesterday was my first time (now that she's outgrown the
> > t-b) pulling a BOB. It was quite a bit of fun. I rode
> > some of the same trails
> that
> > I rode last week with no load, and did about as well.
> > The BOB is looking a little worse for the wear, it got
> > smashed a bit on rocks and trees.
>
> For serious singletrack I don´t think it would work. Come
> to a step or a drop or a rock garden and you would have to
> unhinge the BOB, lift, carry, push, pull, etc. Why bother:
> better camp, take the BOB off and ride without it.

If you ever try it, you might be surprised at what you can
ride a BOB over. Having pulled a trailer bike through fairly
"serious" singletrack for several years may have prepared me
better for it. A trailer even helps a lot on steep
downhills, it prevents endo's by keeping the rear end down.
For drops, the trailer just catches a little air, no big
deal unless the cargo is fragile, I reduced a tin of cookies
to powder... For rocks, just like a back wheel, it will
pretty much roll over anything you get the front wheel over,
up to the limit of where you snag the front, a crash plate
might be handy, although the frame tube takes most of the
abuse, and it has a sort of plastic skid plate on
it. Otherwise, weight is just weight, I didn't find towing a
BOB affected my ability to hold a line.

 

[Per LöWdin]

> If you ever try it, you might be surprised at what you can
> ride a BOB
over.
> Having pulled a trailer bike through fairly "serious"
> singletrack for
several
> years may have prepared me better for it. A trailer even
> helps a lot on
steep
> downhills, it prevents endo's by keeping the rear end
> down. For drops, the trailer just catches a little air, no
> big deal unless the cargo is
fragile, I
> reduced a tin of cookies to powder... For rocks, just like
> a back wheel,
it
> will pretty much roll over anything you get the front
> wheel over, up to
the
> limit of where you snag the front, a crash plate might be
> handy, although
the
> frame tube takes most of the abuse, and it has a sort of
> plastic skid
plate on
> it. Otherwise, weight is just weight, I didn't find towing
> a BOB affected
my
> ability to hold a line.

Possibly, we could carry enough for a picknick but in the
areas where we ride
http://www.lowdin.nu/Mtbruntuppsala/English.html it would
not work well, yes, we could possibly get BOBs through but
at a risk of damaging the rear forks on the bikes,
particularly at the wooden planks http://www.lowdin.nu/Mtbruntuppsala/LUNSEN-
filer/lunsenl2i.jpg that are all over. On fine winding
singletrack it would be different. Now, if you enjoy riding
technical stuff with a BOB it is fine with me. We just have
different preferences.

Per http://lowdin.nu

 

[Peter Cole]

"Per Löwdin" <[email protected]> wrote

> well, yes, we could possibly get BOBs through but at a
> risk of damaging the rear forks on the bikes, particularly
> at the wooden planks http://www.lowdin.nu/Mtbruntuppsala/LUNSEN-
> filer/lunsenl2i.jpg that are all over.

Yes, that kind of plank bridge is tough with any trailer.
Fortunately, the one park around here which uses them has
phased them out in favor of a much wider design with
sideways planks. I did drop my daughter off one of the old-
style bridges once.

 

[Michael J . Kle]

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 12:56:54 GMT, "Per Löwdin" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>> Yesterday was my first time (now that she's outgrown the
>> t-b) pulling a BOB. It was quite a bit of fun. I rode
>> some of the same trails
>that
>> I rode last week with no load, and did about as well. The
>> BOB is looking a little worse for the wear, it got
>> smashed a bit on rocks and trees.
>
>Last year we toured in Colorado, looking for singletrack
>http://www.lowdin.nu/MTB/Colorado/Singletrack.htm, using
>BOBs, a lot of the Americans adviced us to go off-road, or
>going back roads with them, but we never did that
>seriously, as we felt it would not be any fun with a fully
>loaded BOB with tent, stove, and all the rest. Feel that on
>4WD or dirt roads it may be OK, but off road would be far
>too strenuous, at least with all the gear we had, simply
>not any fun. We met some guys who were touring backroads
>with BOBs in Frisco and they had a good time, however they
>had much less luggage to pull than us and did not do
>singletrack. For serious singletrack I don´t think it would
>work. Come to a step or a drop or a rock garden and you
>would have to unhinge the BOB, lift, carry, push, pull,
>etc. Why bother: better camp, take the BOB off and ride
>without it.
>
>Per http://lowdin.nu

Great report Per - thanks for sharing! My sister lives in CO
so I don't need an excuse to check it out!

Michael J. Klein [email protected] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

 

[Michael J . Kle]

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 12:56:54 GMT, "Per Löwdin" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>> Yesterday was my first time (now that she's outgrown the
>> t-b) pulling a BOB. It was quite a bit of fun. I rode
>> some of the same trails
>that
>> I rode last week with no load, and did about as well. The
>> BOB is looking a little worse for the wear, it got
>> smashed a bit on rocks and trees.
>
>Last year we toured in Colorado, looking for singletrack
>http://www.lowdin.nu/MTB/Colorado/Singletrack.htm, using
>BOBs, a lot of the Americans adviced us to go off-road, or
>going back roads with them, but we never did that
>seriously, as we felt it would not be any fun with a fully
>loaded BOB with tent, stove, and all the rest. Feel that on
>4WD or dirt roads it may be OK, but off road would be far
>too strenuous, at least with all the gear we had, simply
>not any fun. We met some guys who were touring backroads
>with BOBs in Frisco and they had a good time, however they
>had much less luggage to pull than us and did not do
>singletrack. For serious singletrack I don´t think it would
>work. Come to a step or a drop or a rock garden and you
>would have to unhinge the BOB, lift, carry, push, pull,
>etc. Why bother: better camp, take the BOB off and ride
>without it.
>
>Per http://lowdin.nu

Per, if you decide to come to Taiwan to ride, be sure and
give me a call. My wife and I will show you around.

Michael J. Klein [email protected] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

 

[Per LöWdin]

"Michael J. Klein" <[email protected]> skrev i
meddelandet

> Per, if you decide to come to Taiwan to ride, be sure and
> give me a call. My wife and I will show you around.

Thanks, we might do just that. This year we are going to
California for our holidays. Second summer in the US. But is
kind of a break. Usually, we go to Asia, and Elisabeth my
wife is complaining now that it is soon two years since we
were in Bangkok. So, we are likely to go to Asia next year.

Per http://lowdin.nu

 

[Rick Onanian]

On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 12:07:51 +0800, Michael J. Klein
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Normally, I don't resent such statements when asked by
>professional people who know more than I do about a
>particular subject. However, after I introduce myself and
>appraise them of my expertise in a particular area (if
>appliciable), I then get miffed if they insist upon not
>selling me what I want.

All day, every day they get people claiming expertise, most
of which are wrong. They grow reflexes to deal with that
issue, which is why the folks who actually know what they're
talking about sometimes feel condescended.

I try to be aware of this effect, regardless of which end of
the transaction I occupy.
--
Rick Onanian

 

[Michael J . Kle]

On Tue, 29 Jun 2004 07:59:32 -0400, Rick Onanian <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 12:07:51 +0800, Michael J. Klein
><[email protected]> wrote:
>>Normally, I don't resent such statements when asked by
>>professional people who know more than I do about a
>>particular subject. However, after I introduce myself and
>>appraise them of my expertise in a particular area (if
>>appliciable), I then get miffed if they insist upon not
>>selling me what I want.
>
>All day, every day they get people claiming expertise, most
>of which are wrong. They grow reflexes to deal with that
>issue, which is why the folks who actually know what
>they're talking about sometimes feel condescended.

True

>I try to be aware of this effect, regardless of which end
>of the transaction I occupy.

That's a good position to take. Michael J. Klein
[email protected] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan, ROC
Please replace mousepotato with asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

 

[Michael J . Kle]

On Tue, 29 Jun 2004 06:49:21 GMT, "Per Löwdin" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>"Michael J. Klein" <[email protected]> skrev i
>meddelandet
>
>> Per, if you decide to come to Taiwan to ride, be sure and
>> give me a call. My wife and I will show you around.
>
>Thanks, we might do just that. This year we are going to
>California for our holidays. Second summer in the US. But
>is kind of a break. Usually, we go to Asia, and Elisabeth
>my wife is complaining now that it is soon two years
>since we were in Bangkok. So, we are likely to go to Asia
>next year.
>
>Per http://lowdin.nu

Sweet! Well, you did see the Formosa Fat Tire Assocation's
excellent site about the trails here! Michael J. Klein
[email protected] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan, ROC
Please replace mousepotato with asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

 

[Michael J . Kle]

I went looking for racks at the same LBS where I got my
Yukon. I also bought my wife a Raleigh M-10 (for about $106
USD too, but that is another story). The owner told me that
he only had 2 racks in stock and they were both seat-post
racks - not what I originally had in mind. The best one of
the 2 has a weight rating of 20KG, and also includes
pannier racks. The price was less than $15.00 USD, so I
bought that rack.

Maybe I should get several of these for export? I'll post
some pics in a few days after the final effects of typhoon
Mindulle have gone.

Michael J. Klein [email protected] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------