Wieght/aero-weenie rear rack

Quoted message said:

"Rick Onanian" wrote

Quoted message said:

So, explanation now having been given for a seemingly silly request,
any suggestions on which rear racks are lightest?

mark wrote:
My suggestion would be no rack at all, but instead use a seat bag.

I wanted to keep my ti fixie light and lean so I used a messenger bag for
commuting and other times when I needed to carry something. It took a
little getting used to carrying weight on my body coming from a touring bike
with front and rear racks. That worked well until it started getting
warmer/more humid and it became apparent that I would drench my messenger
bag on each leg of the commute. Now I use a Carradice Nelson longflap. Of
course I won't sit on anything but a B17 so the saddle loops are taken care
of. The bag is nice because it holds a lot and doesn't affect handling when
it's on the bike. When I don't need it, it's easy to take off leaving no
trace on the bike. Of course it's so useful and so innocuous that it spends
a lot of time on the bike anyway... A good seat bag is definitely worth a
look.

Matt O'Toole said:

Every aluminum rack I've ever had has cracked from fatigue.

Really??

I had one very early edition Blackburn rack break from fatigue. It was
kind of classic - Blackburn stamped his name into the front support rod
(the one that goes to the rear brake bolt) and it snapped right at the
"B." Perfect example of fatigue at a stress raiser.

But since then, all have held up perfectly, despite overloading in some
cases. The Blackburn racks I'm now using are ancient.

Well, one exception to that "perfectly": on our coast-to-coast tour
last summer, a kind soul drove us to his home for an overnight stay, and
stacked our bikes, on their sides, in the back of his SUV. He managed
to crack the welds on my wife's front racks. But my identical racks,
with many more miles and much higher loads, still seem perfect. These
are Cannondale low rider racks, the type that fasten independently onto
each fork leg.

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Frank Krygowski [To reply, omit what's between "at" and "cc"]

Two other lightweight possibilities:
1. The Tubus Fly is a very minimalist stainless steel rack that weighs
less than one pound. It is very narrow and is not meant to support a
rack pack; you just lash your stuff onto it. Available from
Wallingford or Peter White.
2. The Vaude HighTail, a bag mounted on a very lightweight rack that
snaps on and off a seat post mount. When you don't need the bag, you
just detach it and only carry the seatpost mount. Available from
Adventure Cycling's website. Two very similar bags are available form
Detours.us.

Walt Nicholson

In article <[email hidden]>,

frkrygow' 'frkrygow'@omitcc.ysu.edu said:

Matt O'Toole said:

Every aluminum rack I've ever had has cracked from fatigue.

Really??

I had one very early edition Blackburn rack break from fatigue. It was
kind of classic - Blackburn stamped his name into the front support rod
(the one that goes to the rear brake bolt) and it snapped right at the
"B." Perfect example of fatigue at a stress raiser.

I've had numerous older style aluminum racks break.
I don't know if it's from fatigue, or just overloading or
overstressing (I assume fatigue is something different,
and applies over time, no matter how much loadbearing is
placed on the thing.) It almost always happens at the
tongue thing that extends to from the rack to the brake
bolt bridge between the seat stays. I theorize my cheapie
old racks break from having a milk crate full of stuff on
top of it, and whenever I brake or accelerate, the top-
heaviness levers the rack. I wouldn't be surprised if my
racks would last longer with lower-slung panniers instead
of milk crates on top of 'em. Maybe when loaded tourers'
racks fail, it's often because of the weight of the tents,
sleeping bags etc. that are piled on top of them?
But I'm just guessing.

I note Rivendell says their Nitto racks are less sway-y
because the struts form a wide-bottomed 'U' rather than
a pointy 'V'. Those really pretty, German Tubus racks
are similarly configured. I guess a Tubus rack and a
pair of Ortliebs would be the cat's meow.

cheers,
Tom

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Quoted message said:

I guess a Tubus rack and a pair of Ortliebs would be the cat's meow.

I use a Tubus Tara on the front and a Tubus Cargo on the rear of my
tourer. They're very nice, rigid racks.

These are brazed, powder coated CroMo racks, Tubus also makes similar
in stainless steel but they are rated at lesser poundage. Note
that the Cargo requires rack braze-ons on the seatstays.

The Fly is available I believe in either CroMo or stainless.

These are definitely among the best on the market, and priced to
match.

On the other hand I have a cheap aluminum Schwinn rack on my commuter,
it hasn't failed yet. The connection between the rack and the bike,
on the top, is not the sandwich plate assembly, nor the single strap
to the brake bridge, but instead is a rather heavy box section truss
mated to the seatpost clamp bolt.

I never saw this arrangement before this bike but it has performed
very well. I have never had a rack failure (although the rack will
sway in the wind when the panniers are loaded to the max, say forty
pounds).

With the Tubus racks there isn't any sway at sixty pounds of gear.

The Fly, well, it's only got one attachment point on the front, I'd
expect some sway.

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"Matt O'Toole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Every aluminum rack I've ever had has cracked from fatigue. Rivendell sells
some really nice, lightweight, steel racks by Nitto. They're expensive, but
will probably outlast several aluminum ones.

I give my racks fairly hard duty. Usually by using only one pannier
and loading it enough to shorten the lives of my rear wheels.
Note: Riding as a commuter, not a tourer!
My last welded aluminum rack lasted about ten years. Replaced it with
a comparable new one from MEC (Mtn Equipt Co-op) for $15 CAD. I
expect it to last another ten years.
Bernie