Rear pannier rack for rear suspension MTB

[Julian Fox]

I am going off road touring with panniers and my full sus bike. I bought a seat post mount Raleigh
pannier rack and rode it to test ( loaded up with only 7kg ). What a disaster, the rack waggled from
side to side (the rubber pads moved in the clamp ) and the panniers rack rails flexed so much on
hitting a big bump that the pannier mounting brackets touched the rear wheel. I did take great care
to fit it well and to tightly attach.

I cannot believe that a solid rack does not exist, after all think of the punishment a saddle gets
and it is mounted to the frame in a similar manner.

Has anyone had success with any design or is there any helpful advice?

Thanks, Julian

 

[Jsntg]

"Julian Fox" <[email protected]> wrote
> Has anyone had success with any design or is there any helpful advice?
>
> Thanks, Julian
>
>

http://wildernet.altrec.com/shop/detail/13720/HDL/photo

Hugh

 

[B. Sanders]

"Julian Fox" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am going off road touring with panniers and my full sus bike. I bought
a
> seat post mount Raleigh pannier rack and rode it to test ( loaded up with only 7kg ). What a
> disaster, the rack waggled from side to side (the
rubber
> pads moved in the clamp ) and the panniers rack rails flexed so much on hitting a big bump that
> the pannier mounting brackets touched the rear wheel. I did take great care to fit it well and to
> tightly attach.

There are better seatpost mounted racks out there (Delta, Performance, Headland); but even the good
ones are mounted too high, IMO. All of these have a beefy clamp and oversized aluminum boom. You'll
probably want to get a heavy-duty seatpost, too. I don't know if I'd trust an ultralight seatpost
with my weight, plus 30 lbs of cargo cantilevered out 2 ft, being bumped and yanked around for hours
and hours every day. That's a lot of stress on a seatpost.

> I cannot believe that a solid rack does not exist, after all think of the punishment a saddle gets
> and it is mounted to the frame in a similar
manner.

There are some excellent racks designed for full-suspension bikes and other bikes that lack
rack/fender eyelets (including road bikes and some recumbents). The Old Man Mountain Cold Springs
rear rack is the best design that I've seen:

http://www.oldmanmountain.com/cold_springs_rear_details.htm

> Has anyone had success with any design or is there any helpful advice?

I've never tried the OMM racks; but they appear to be just what the doctor ordered. They work with
disc, v-brakes or cantilever brakes. OMM sells a matching front cargo rack designed for use with
suspension forks. All of the Cold Springs and Sherpa models attach at the wheel dropouts, inline
with the axle ends, using an extra long skewer (supplied with the rack). The rack is stabilized with
adjustable stainless steel arms that attach to the V-brake or cantilever brake studs.

Let us know how you end up solving your problem, and post some photos of your touring rig to a
website somewhere so we can check it out.

-=Barry=-

 

[Pete Jones]

On Sun, 7 Sep 2003 17:19:24 +0000 (UTC), "Julian Fox" <[email protected]>
blathered:

>I am going off road touring with panniers and my full sus bike. I bought a seat post mount Raleigh
>pannier rack and rode it to test ( loaded up with only 7kg ). What a disaster, the rack waggled
>from side to side (the rubber pads moved in the clamp ) and the panniers rack rails flexed so much
>on hitting a big bump that the pannier mounting brackets touched the rear wheel. I did take great
>care to fit it well and to tightly attach.
>
>I cannot believe that a solid rack does not exist, after all think of the punishment a saddle gets
>and it is mounted to the frame in a similar manner.
>
>Has anyone had success with any design or is there any helpful advice?

http://www.oldmanmountain.com/

http://www.bobtrailers.com/

Pete
----
http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/

 

[Julian Fox]

Thanks for the links, I had already looked at the Old Man Mountain products and I am wary that it
may not be particularly suitable for the sort of riding I do which involves quite a lot of bouncing
over big stones. I don't like the idea that the panniers will be adding to the unsprung weight, it
will reduce the effectiveness of the suspension and shake the luggage a lot more but it does seem
that it might well work.

Julian "Pete Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 7 Sep 2003 17:19:24 +0000 (UTC), "Julian Fox" <[email protected]>
> blathered:
>
> >I am going off road touring with panniers and my full sus bike. I bought
a
> >seat post mount Raleigh pannier rack and rode it to test ( loaded up with only 7kg ). What a
> >disaster, the rack waggled from side to side (the
rubber
> >pads moved in the clamp ) and the panniers rack rails flexed so much on hitting a big bump that
> >the pannier mounting brackets touched the rear wheel. I did take great care to fit it well and to
> >tightly attach.
> >
> >I cannot believe that a solid rack does not exist, after all think of the punishment a saddle
> >gets and it is mounted to the frame in a similar
manner.
> >
> >Has anyone had success with any design or is there any helpful advice?
>
> http://www.oldmanmountain.com/
>
> http://www.bobtrailers.com/
>
>
>
> Pete
> ----
> http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/

 

[Pete Jones]

On Sun, 7 Sep 2003 19:56:29 +0000 (UTC), "Julian Fox" <[email protected]>
blathered:

>Thanks for the links, I had already looked at the Old Man Mountain products and I am wary that it
>may not be particularly suitable for the sort of riding I do which involves quite a lot of bouncing
>over big stones. I don't like the idea that the panniers will be adding to the unsprung weight

Under the circumstances I'd say it's the frame that's unsuitable rather than the rack. In your
position I'd be looking at getting a hardtail frame and a good steel pannier rack such as a
Tubus Cargo.

Pete
----
http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/

 

[Julian Fox]

Well I went and bought a Delta rack and binned the old one. A huge difference. It clamps directly to
the seat post with no rubber. Just did a 30 mile xc ride fully laden and no problems. The side
supports wag a bit and should be reinforced a little more in my view but it is acceptable with a
light pack load. The flex of the main rack beam and of the clamp is negligible. So this is the way I
will go on my tour. Lets hope it stands up to a prolonged hammer.

Julian "Pete Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 7 Sep 2003 19:56:29 +0000 (UTC), "Julian Fox" <[email protected]>
> blathered:
>
> >Thanks for the links, I had already looked at the Old Man Mountain
products
> >and I am wary that it may not be particularly suitable for the sort of riding I do which involves
> >quite a lot of bouncing over big stones. I
don't
> >like the idea that the panniers will be adding to the unsprung weight
>
> Under the circumstances I'd say it's the frame that's unsuitable rather than the rack. In your
> position I'd be looking at getting a hardtail frame and a good steel pannier rack such as a
> Tubus Cargo.
>
> Pete
> ----
> http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/