Bargain MTB rack and light kit

grldtnr

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
627
288
south east Essex
IMHO that tacl is going to give you grief, the fixinhs will forever becoming loose, bit enjoy!
did this on the smartphone , blooming predictive text !!!!!!!

About the only reason I would have for that rack would be if you had no way of fixing it to the rear drop outs,I never had a reason to replace any of the racks I had through fatigue, except one which was just not made square and true and flexed horribly , but it did come with the bike, which I bought for a winter hack, so it was disposable, swapped it for a better one off another bike and bought a Blackburn rack for that one, Its worth getting a decent rack if your going to lug kit.

And if you should be off on along trip like a world tour get a steel one , coz you can get it welded almost anywhere should it fail, ( those days are well gone,miss them terrible.)
 

Gdread

Pedelecer
Sep 9, 2012
91
1
Staffordshire
Yes, I should have said I haven't got drop outs. You also get a luggage strap and a light so for £20 it's good value. I may put an LED into the light and run it off the battery as per my front light
 

Jimod

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 9, 2010
1,065
634
Polmont
I've got a rack like that on my Kudos Typhoon. The Typhoon has no place to bolt a standard rack on. The rack works well and carries my stuff with no problem. I pack my rack bag with my spare battery, tools and a couple of bottles of IRN BRU. I had to change the quick release seat post clamp for an 'Acor seat post clamp with carrier bosses' the clamp cost about a tenner on Amazon. Make sure you get the correct size of clamp for your seat post.
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
Unless the main part is steel, it'll snap some time in the future due to metal fatigue. Also. you should mount it as low as possible for best handling. Ideally, you want it just above the tyre. You don't have to give up with it. You should lower it if you can, then support the back with a couple of struts. You can get very strong aluminium tube in Wickes. As you don't have disc brakes, you can fix the struts to the 5mm threaded holes by the drop-outs.

If anyone wants to mount a battery on a seatpost rack, ot has to be steel to avoid metal fatigue.

I've used these ones which turned out to be steel even though it says aluminium; however, the last one I ordered was identical with the same clamp, plastic part, label and red cord, but turned out to be aluminium. You should ask the supplier to confirm with a magnet to be sure.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROSWHEEL-MTB-Bike-Bicycle-Cycling-Rear-Cargo-Rack-Bag-Pannier-Seat-Post-Carrier-/291269001449?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item43d0fc40e9

This one doesn't say it's aluminium, so could be steel.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BIKE-BICYCLE-CYCLE-BMX-SEAT-POST-LUGGAGE-BACKPACK-BAG-PANNIER-RACK-CARRIER-MOUNT-/371117850508?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item566858ff8c
 
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grldtnr

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
627
288
south east Essex
Unless the main part is steel, it'll snap some time in the future due to metal fatigue. Also. you should mount it as low as possible for best handling. Ideally, you want it just above the tyre. You don't have to give up with it. You should lower it if you can, then support the back with a couple of struts. You can get very strong aluminium tube in Wickes. As you don't have disc brakes, you can fix the struts to the 5mm threaded holes by the drop-outs.

If anyone wants to mount a battery on a seatpost rack, ot has to be steel to avoid metal fatigue.

I've used these ones which turned out to be steel even though it says aluminium; however, the last one I ordered was identical with the same clamp, plastic part, label and red cord, but turned out to be aluminium. You should ask the supplier to confirm with a magnet to be sure.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROSWHEEL-MTB-Bike-Bicycle-Cycling-Rear-Cargo-Rack-Bag-Pannier-Seat-Post-Carrier-/291269001449?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item43d0fc40e9

This one doesn't say it's aluminium, so could be steel.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BIKE-BICYCLE-CYCLE-BMX-SEAT-POST-LUGGAGE-BACKPACK-BAG-PANNIER-RACK-CARRIER-MOUNT-/371117850508?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item566858ff8c
The other prpb with these style racks is that moment of CG may cause a failure pillar. seat pillar there is a bit of weight on a battery.
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
I've used the steel ones with a 20ah Ping battery that's very heavy without any problems. I've seen a seatpost snap at the crossbar, but that was because it had a long unsupported bit of frame above the crossbar and the seatpin didn't overlap the crossbar joint, so all the stress was on that joint. That Trek looks OK, but it would be a lot better if the battery were lower.
 

Alan Quay

Esteemed Pedelecer
Dec 4, 2012
2,351
1,076
Devon
TBH, it don't notice any handling problems with it high, possibly because the weight of the battery is insignificant compared to the human above it ;-)

The rack seems sturdy enough, but I will keep an eye on it for signs of fatigue. I may swap it for a steel one as suggested (thanks for the links)

The bike is certainly tough enough. My brother used to race these downhill without any problem.

This particular bike is designed to be partially disassembled, and transported in a small car. The battery on the seat post makes it very easy to remove the entire assembly in one go.

Thanks for the suggestions chaps.
 

cwah

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 3, 2011
3,048
179
www.whatonlondon.co.uk
So is the rack good or not for dual suspension disc bike without bolt holes?
 

cwah

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 3, 2011
3,048
179
www.whatonlondon.co.uk
initial one as seat tube only rack are not strong enough