Rack recommendation

[stuartwickes]

Just got a Burley Rock n Roll, set up with Avid disc brakes on rear and urgently need to fit a rear rack for impending tour.

I'm having trouble finding something that will clear disc brake which juts out right where the rack downstay wants to go to reach its lug. Anyone got any recommendations on racks or set-ups which can overcome this. I looked at Old Man Mountain but can't use them because I'll be pulling a Burley trailer too and OMM say their racks won't allow this.

Anyone with any suggestions?

Cheers

Stuart
www.familyonabike.org

[cyccommute]

Just got a Burley Rock n Roll, set up with Avid disc brakes on rear and urgently need to fit a rear rack for impending tour.

I'm having trouble finding something that will clear disc brake which juts out right where the rack downstay wants to go to reach its lug. Anyone got any recommendations on racks or set-ups which can overcome this. I looked at Old Man Mountain but can't use them because I'll be pulling a Burley trailer too and OMM say their racks won't allow this.

Anyone with any suggestions?

Cheers

Stuart
www.familyonabike.org


You might try a Delta Discrack (http://www.deltacycle.com/product.php?g=23). I have one on my mountain bike and it works well for commuting. The capacity is limited to around 30 lbs but you shouldn't be putting that much more on the back rack anyway ;)

By the way, us Stuarts have to stick together (he says while giving the secret Stuart handshake ;) )

[zonatandem]

There are seatpost attached racks galore; weight limit seems to be around 25 lbs. and maybe you can toss some of your stuff in the Burley trailer?

[metal_cowboy]

Rivendell makes a rack that should work for your touing needs.
http://www.rivbike.com/webalog/baggage_racks/20094.html

http://www.rivbike.com/images/catpics/mr/20-094.jpg

[bike-a-saurus]

I have a Burley Duet with an Avid disc brakes on the rear. I just bought an Axiom Journey rack that is made for bikes with disc brakes. The rack when on with no problems, but my Ortleib pannier pushes in on the disc brake caliper. So keep in mind that the rack and pannier need to clear the disc brake. I'm swapping out the disc for a Tektro mini v brake that matches the front brake since I will eventually add an Arai drum brake.

[dubbelop]

Alternative: on the brake side, mount the rack with an extra-long bolt and slightly bend the stay outward to clear the brake caliper. This is possible with CroMo racks like the Tubus ones.

[Richbiker]

When are the bicycle manufacturer's going to figure this one out?!!! There are a few "half-bike" models out there where the disc brake is positioned between the seatstay & chainstay. There's no issue mounting any rack. The Trek Portland, and I believe a couple of the high-end specialized sequoia or sirrus models come built this way. Make's sense, but everyone else is still putting the disc mounts on the chain stay, where your rack choices are limited, expensive, and/or clunky.

If you are just hauling light loads, the options mentioned above will work. If you want to do some serious long distance touring, the seatpost racks, and racks that attach to the middle of the chainstays won't work. Also, if you have a wide body disc brake caliper, like the Avid mechanicals, the axiom journey won't work without using spacers to move the left leg of the rack away from the disc caliper. The other issue I found with doing a loaded tour using disc brakes, was that my frame had enough flex in it, that the rear disc rotor was always rubbing a little, caused by slight torquing forces of a loaded rack mounted near the disc calper. There are disc touring bikes out their, like the Giant, so maybe these resist the disc rubbing and other kinds of problems better than mine.

Rich

[cyccommute]

When are the bicycle manufacturer's going to figure this one out?!!! There are a few "half-bike" models out there where the disc brake is positioned between the seatstay & chainstay. There's no issue mounting any rack. The Trek Portland, and I believe a couple of the high-end specialized sequoia or sirrus models come built this way. Make's sense, but everyone else is still putting the disc mounts on the chain stay, where your rack choices are limited, expensive, and/or clunky.

If you are just hauling light loads, the options mentioned above will work. If you want to do some serious long distance touring, the seatpost racks, and racks that attach to the middle of the chainstays won't work. Also, if you have a wide body disc brake caliper, like the Avid mechanicals, the axiom journey won't work without using spacers to move the left leg of the rack away from the disc caliper. The other issue I found with doing a loaded tour using disc brakes, was that my frame had enough flex in it, that the rear disc rotor was always rubbing a little, caused by slight torquing forces of a loaded rack mounted near the disc calper. There are disc touring bikes out their, like the Giant, so maybe these resist the disc rubbing and other kinds of problems better than mine.

Rich

The bike manufacturers will never figure this out. That's because they make bikes as 'toys' not as serious transportation machines! The bikes are made for people who race them in controlled environments and would never be more than a few minutes from a mechanic. If you actually ride your bike away from civilization (or further than 5 miles from your house or LBS), the manufacturers just aren't interested in you.

A disc brake mounted at the axle of the bike makes about as much sense as the U-brakes of the mid-90s! A rim brake is already a disc brake, it just has a larger rotor. The current 'disc' brake is put on bikes because it is popular and sexy and it address a problem that a few people have of riding in wet conditions. For the rest of us, the current batch of discs just make for problems, such as mounting racks and dragging brakes as well as weaken front wheels. For touring bikes, or any bike that you want to use a rack for carrying stuff on, disc brakes make no sense.

I've had two bikes with discs and they are both have problems. I could never stop one from dragging, no matter what I did. If I removed a wheel, I had to realign the brake every single time which got old real fast. The other, a hydralic brake equiped mountain bike, has brakes that are on an on/off switch. I have never experienced the vaulted 'modulation' that everyone talks about. If you tap the brakes on that one you had better be ready for the rear wheel to come off the ground, no matter how lightly you squeeze them.

Disc brakes- I hate 'em! Okay, rant off. I'll go take my meds now. ;)

[Old Hammer Boy]

A disc brake mounted at the axle of the bike makes about as much sense as the U-brakes of the mid-90s! A rim brake is already a disc brake, it just has a larger rotor. The current 'disc' brake is put on bikes because it is popular and sexy and it address a problem that a few people have of riding in wet conditions. For the rest of us, the current batch of discs just make for problems, such as mounting racks and dragging brakes as well as weaken front wheels. For touring bikes, or any bike that you want to use a rack for carrying stuff on, disc brakes make no sense.

Sorry, but I have to respectifully disagree (somewhat). Yes, they can be fussier that rim brakes, but they do stop better, especially in wet conditions. Also, out here in mountain country it happens that rim brakes heat the rim and can blow the tube--not a good thing at all! I've talked to more than one tandem team that has experienced this. Also, there is rim wear, and a good tandem quality rim ain't cheap. I do prefer mechanicals and haven't experienced the problems you related with my Avid BB-7s.

[stuartwickes]

Well thanks for all the advice. I've just spent a long day with brackets, files, long bolts, short bolts and all the assorted rack mountings spares I could muster but think I have got it sussed. :eek: I've put on a tubus logo expedition (http://www.tubus.net/eng/produkte/hinterradtraeger/logo_expedition.php) rack. I need the high load bearing capacity (up to 40kg) for expedition touring en-famille.

I found some extra wide spacers (aka Old Man Mountain fixing kits) and with a little adaption used them to make sure the rack clears the disc brake. Then I mounted the rack onto a couple of extension brackets fitted to the mounting lug to move the whole rack slightly further back and avoid any interference from the panniers when loaded. Finally had to shape the brackets to accomodate the Burley alternative hitch so I can pull the kids in the trailer. It was all very fussy to do but end result seems rock solid but I've yet to load it up and try and move!

Should I be concerned that the load is obviously now higher up (higher c of g) and further back. Usually these things would be directly over the fixing lug and rear wheel. Is this arrangement going to put a lot of extra stresses on the wheels and frame?

Stuart
www.familyonabike.org

[Retro Grouch]

How about an Old Man Mountain rack and a Burley alternative hitch (replaces the skewer) for the trailer?

[cyccommute]

Sorry, but I have to respectifully disagree (somewhat). Yes, they can be fussier that rim brakes, but they do stop better, especially in wet conditions. Also, out here in mountain country it happens that rim brakes heat the rim and can blow the tube--not a good thing at all! I've talked to more than one tandem team that has experienced this. Also, there is rim wear, and a good tandem quality rim ain't cheap. I do prefer mechanicals and haven't experienced the problems you related with my Avid BB-7s.

Sorry but I don't buy the stopping better argument. I've never had a problem stopping a bike under any conditions using regular rim brakes. I'm not a little guy either. Mountain bikes, tandems, loaded touring bikes, mountain bikes pulling trailers, tandems pulling trailers, all of them have stopped when and where I wanted. I never have said to myself that I wish I could stop 4" shorter. They do stop marginally quicker but it's not worth the cost and complexity to me.

Rim heat up is more a function of brake application than anything else. I'm from Colorado (I see that you are from Utah) and I've done lots of mountain riding both on tandems, mountain bikes and road bikes. I've never gotten the rims so hot that the tire will blow off...even after removing the drum brake that was on my tandem. But I don't drag my brakes either.

A lot of people start dragging their brakes at the top of the hill and then keep them on all the way to the bottom (people do this in cars too). I let the bike run up to a speed where I start to get uncomfortable...which if you've been following other threads here is pretty fast :rolleyes: Then I apply the brake in a firm manner and scrub speed off. This way the brakes are only on for short periods with lots of cooling time in between. If the descent is particularly long, I might stop to check the rims but I seldom do that. YMMV

I seldom ride in wet weather either. But even here the pulsing of the brakes will help in stopping the bike. It helps clear the rims of water.

The BB-7s were the ones that gave me so many fits. It may have been the bike but I wanted to throw the whole thing in the dumpster before I was through with the bike. As I said before, I'm less than impressed with the hydralic ones on my mountain bike also. Sure they will stop you on a dime and give back 9 cents change but that's about the only way they will stop.

When you add in the problems that everyone seems to be having with rack fit, I, personally, just don't see them as that great an improvement. Not until the bike makers come up with someway of fixing the rack issues anyway...and preferably one that doesn't look like a band-aid

[cyccommute]

Well thanks for all the advice. I've just spent a long day with brackets, files, long bolts, short bolts and all the assorted rack mountings spares I could muster but think I have got it sussed. :eek: I've put on a tubus logo expedition (http://www.tubus.net/eng/produkte/hinterradtraeger/logo_expedition.php) rack. I need the high load bearing capacity (up to 40kg) for expedition touring en-famille.

I found some extra wide spacers (aka Old Man Mountain fixing kits) and with a little adaption used them to make sure the rack clears the disc brake. Then I mounted the rack onto a couple of extension brackets fitted to the mounting lug to move the whole rack slightly further back and avoid any interference from the panniers when loaded. Finally had to shape the brackets to accomodate the Burley alternative hitch so I can pull the kids in the trailer. It was all very fussy to do but end result seems rock solid but I've yet to load it up and try and move!

Should I be concerned that the load is obviously now higher up (higher c of g) and further back. Usually these things would be directly over the fixing lug and rear wheel. Is this arrangement going to put a lot of extra stresses on the wheels and frame?

Stuart
www.familyonabike.org

Further back and higher may have a tendency for the tail to wag the dog some, but you already get that from the trailer and the stoker anyway. It just may be a little more 'wiggly'. I can't tell from your website if you use front bags, but those might help if you don't.