Cycling UK Forum

Hello All,

Would it be silly to think that I could do an end2end on a road bike with a seatpost rack, considering the ride will be unsupported?
The load will need to include everything I need for the 2 weeks, and also half the weight of the tent/sleeping bags etc... As my friend will be carrying the other half.

It seems they can carry a maximum load of around 7kg - 10kg. I cant imagine i'll be carrying that much weight, can you?

Also, it says 'maximum weight 10kg' for eg. But will it cope with 900+ miles of 10kg.

Any help would be great

Kind Regards

Jason Dudley

jdudleyuk wrote:It seems they can carry a maximum load of around 7kg - 10kg. I cant imagine i'll be carrying that much weight, can you?

For a camping trip, even a shared camping trip, I expect you will be carrying that.

I have twice seen these seat post racks break off. Thus I wouldn't advise using it for anything other than very light loads on day-rides.

I can't imagine you are using a rear suspension bike for lejog, so why not get a proper rack with a 4-point fixing, it will have a much better strenght:weight ratio.

+1

I have a beam rack for the racer but it's just in case I need it. It sways around somewhat and I wouldn't put a heavy load on it or use it on tour.

Friend of mine did PBP with one of these:

http://www.klickfix.de/index.php?mod=1&lang=en

But then he wasn't hanging about in tents & things. If you did LeJog as an Audax it'd probably do, though.

Two racks to look at on this page, one is the Rando post rack, it has a two point
mounting to keep it from swaying. The other are the skewer mounted rear racks.
You can use p-clips for the upper mounts. Tubus makes a heavy duty p-clip for
rack mounting too.

http://www.arkel-od.com/us/all-categori ... -rack.html

I'd advise getting a proper rack, even if it means a little bit of improvisation to fit it to your bike. 12-15kg each is about right for a shared lightwieght-ish camping load.

cheers

There's two questions here, weight and rack. Re weight, if pick your gear well, and focusing on weight, and develop your superlight skills, you can get somewhere near to 8kg. Browse the ultralight tour guy's site for a few ideas, some of them tongue in cheek. Regarding the rack, what's the motivation for the seatpost rack? Iirc, they're heavier than the 400g full racks start at (again see the linked site above for rack pointers) - with racks beware spurious branding of "ultralite" or whatever.

Ok well I'm thinking I'm not going to need too much...

Second set of cycling clothes,
Evening clothes
Micro-fiber towel
Puncture repair bits an pieces.
A remarkably light two man tent.
Trusty chamois cream
Toiletries
Bike lock

Not a great deal more that's significantly weighty...

I've just purchased a bike which has no eyelets for pannier racks at all.

So I've purchased P-Clips for the top end and i'm considering a 'kit' for attaching a standard pannier rack on the quick-release??

I'm also going to be using a handlebar bag which will carry around 6 litres.

Thanks,

Jason

nmnm wrote:Browse the ultralight tour guy's site for a few ideas, some of them tongue in cheek.

That certainly inspires some confidence.

The reason for asking about a seatpost rack is that my bike has no eyelets for pannier attachment and was wondering what my options were.
So now the question is, do I buy a seatpost rack or attachment kit for standard rack?

Jason

jdudleyuk wrote:Ok well I'm thinking I'm not going to need too much...

Second set of cycling clothes,
Evening clothes
Micro-fiber towel
Puncture repair bits an pieces.
A remarkably light two man tent.
Trusty chamois cream
Toiletries
Bike lock

Not a great deal more that's significantly weighty...
I'm also going to be using a handlebar bag which will carry around 6 litres.

You'll need sleeping bags, mats, luggage - all big weight items. I think Brucey's maybe about right with his 12-15kg estimate given the 3 sets of clothes, handlebar bag etc. No bad thing, of course. I have a lightweight set-up at the moment but I'd not want to trade my memory of my handlebar bag/box and how great it was in France for carrying my patisserie safely, just magnificent!

Go with the full rear rack, that's my vote. You can buy variations on p-clips for the bottom attachments from sjsc etc., some of them quite secure looking. Or the solutions that use the wheel skewer.

One alternative,if you have not the panniers yet, would be a saddlebag(Carradice Nelson LongFlap) supported on a bagman,either quick release if your saddle doesn't have bag loops,or standard if it does. This will carry 10kg of kit. This is safer than a seat post rack!

nmnm wrote:

jdudleyuk wrote:Ok well I'm thinking I'm not going to need too much...

Second set of cycling clothes,
Evening clothes
Micro-fiber towel
Puncture repair bits an pieces.
A remarkably light two man tent.
Trusty chamois cream
Toiletries
Bike lock

Not a great deal more that's significantly weighty...
I'm also going to be using a handlebar bag which will carry around 6 litres.

You'll need sleeping bags, mats, luggage - all big weight items. I think Brucey's maybe about right with his 12-15kg estimate given the 3 sets of clothes, handlebar bag etc..

I definitely wont be taking three sets of clothes!! lol
I'm thinking as light as possible as the bike is quite light weight and obviously I don't want to treat it like a tank.
Also the weight of the tent is equivalent to the weight of our two sleeping bags, therefore one will carry the tent whilst the other carries the bags.
I'm confident that i can really keep the weight down, it's more about which rack is going to be most up to the job.

I'm swayed toward the standard rack with attachments so far

Daddig - Just checked the saddlebag out! Great idea but a tad expensive as i already have pannier racks... are there cheaper options which have a decent enough capacity to take most of my luggage?

Cheers for the reply

hey judy this is a great price carradice camper longflap http://www.pbase.com/leftpoole/cycleparts

..though that looks like a Nelson Longflap which is slightly smaller than the Camper. Compare them here.

LollyKat wrote:..though that looks like a Nelson Longflap which is slightly smaller than the Camper. Compare them here.

your right lollykat should have noticed as i have the camper longflap myself
(great gear to lasts for years)