Pannier rack if I don't have fixing points?

shortyman

Evening,
I have really enjoyed commuting this year and this weekend I did the inevitable and changed my hybrid for a racer. I love it!
Trouble is I have also become a big fan of panniers and having bought the bike second hand have realised that the new bike doesn't have the rack fixing points. Being a newbie I didn't even think of checking until I was stripping my hybrid. Is there a rack or set up out there that will enable me to use my altura panniers on a boardman team that doesn't have fixing points?
I would prefer to stay with panniers as I sometimes have to bring the laptop home.
Many thanks in advance,
Nicky

malstonbury

Have a look at the Topeak Beam Rack. It fixes on the seat post and you can get a variety of sized panniers to fix to it.

Have one on my hybrid and it works really well even though it may not have the same capacity as traditional panniers.

asprilla

Alternatively you can use p-clips on the seat and chain stays to mount your existing rack. In both cases though you'll be more restricted on weight.

g00se

If you want to use a regular rack rather than a seat-post mounted one:
Two options for the rear drop-out fixing:

Use a standard rack and use P-clips to fix the rack to the seat-stays just above the drop-out

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tortec/p-clips-ec006759

Find a rack that uses it's own custom wheel skewer to attach to:

http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=23511 Or adaptors that do the same: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tubus/adapter-set-for-quick-release-axle-mounting-ec007989

For the top mounting, you can replace your seat post clamp with one that includes mounting points for the rack stays: http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/ambrosio-seat-clamp-item160982.html

I also can across these - but I've no idea how they work and they look a bit agricultural: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tubus/clamp-set-for-seat-stay-mounting-ec007990#reviews

ride_whenever

Get a seatclamp mount for the top and p-clips for the bottom, a bit more secure than p-clips all round.

LBS is the best place for these little bits as they should have them in stock.

IPMoody

I was recommended p-clips for my rack and must admit it's not been a pleasant experience. One of the p-clips as a tendancy to rotate round the frame. There's a limit to how much you can tighten the p-clips without elongating the holes through which the bolts go through. I stumbled across this thread to try and find an alternative (which I've now found in earlier posts)

sc999cs

Admittedly a little bit of overkill, but you could buy yourself a fast tourer - you have a perfect excuse here to get another bike... :P

Alternatively you could try a beam rack but they can carry far less weight than normal racks. If you also buy the Topeak RX series rack the matching bags are absolutely tiny. You'll probably need the MX series ones for anything as large as a laptop.

The Rookie

Is there room on the dropouts to get them drilled and tapped to create rack mounts?

Simon

shortyman

Thanks for all your ideas, I shall investigate this weekend.
Failing that, it's just a great reason to refuse to bring work home with me!
Nicky

coffeecup

I've got the tubus adapters. Great for holding the rack but make it tricky to get the back wheel off for flats or cleaning. The rack is attached to the skewers so you need to take the skewers out and a few washer/spacer things to get the wheel off

iPete

M:part seat clamp = win.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mpart-single-bo ... rack-mount

The Rookie

The top mounts via a rack seatpost clmp are easy, its the lower mounts, if the dropouts have room my preferred option would be drilling and tapping them for the lower mount, after that is one of the less ideal solutions of skewer or p-clip.

Most the seatpost mounted racks will take 25Kg (assuming the seatpost will!) so shouldn't cause an issue.

Simon

rhext

You can get a seat collar with integral rack mounting points to replace the mounting points usually found at the top of the seatstays.

As above, Tubus do an adapter kit which will allow you to mount some of their racks onto the wheel skewer. They also do a rack called the Disco, which mounts directly on the wheel skewers - it's designed for bikes with disk brakes, so you might need to check it's not specific to 26" wheels.

Right pain getting the back wheel on and off if you've got one fitted though!