Using P-clamps on bottom of seatstay

[kris5006]

Hi Guys.
Just a quick question. I'm thinking of buying a CX bike without rackpoints on neither the top of the seatstays nor the bottom. Can you install P-Clamps on the bottom of the seatstays, thereby enabling the bike to take a rack?

Thanks,

 

[daveornee]

Hi Guys.
Just a quick question. I'm thinking of buying a CX bike without rackpoints on neither the top of the seatstays nor the bottom. Can you install P-Clamps on the bottom of the seatstays, thereby enabling the bike to take a rack?

Thanks,

Yes, but use the "cushioned" ones like those from Blackburn.
Another alternative is the hardware from Old Man Mountain seen with his Cold Springs and Sherpa models at:
http://www.oldmanmountain.com/rear_rack_page.htm
The adpater hadware is a stronger/longer QR Skewer and brackets that are held by the skewer axle and bolted to the bottom part of the rack. They keep from scarring the frame and are easy to take off when you take off the rack for CX riding.
The thing I find with CX bicycles is the chain stays are usually not long enough to put on large panniers without hitting my heels on panniers when pedaling.

 

[alfeng]

Yes, but use the "cushioned" ones like those from Blackburn.

Also, in the era when bikes had "forged" dropouts with natural cut-outs, Blackburn sold a simple, plastic grommet which had an enlarged shoulder (for want of a better description) that you would fit inside the cut-out & you would use to subsequently bolt the rack's legs.

BTW. My recollection is that they were something like $5 for the pair!

 

[strummer_fan]

Also, in the era when bikes had "forged" dropouts with natural cut-outs, Blackburn sold a simple, plastic grommet which had an enlarged shoulder (for want of a better description) that you would fit inside the cut-out & you would use to subsequently bolt the rack's legs.

BTW. My recollection is that they were something like $5 for the pair!

Look at the other thread, Road Bike, Rack. There is a link that I posted there to the Nitto R-15. I use it on a Merckx Cross bike with no Rack Braze-Ons.

Cheers!