Bicycle Mechanics - pannier rack on rear axle (frame with no eyelits).

A while back I asked for some advice on putting a rack on a frame with no eyelits. Accordingly, some of you nice folks posted a website which sell racks for bikes with no eyelits. Unfortunately, they cost big dollars ($225 cdn) and as a student they are beyond my price range. These racks that require no eyelits attach via the quick release pin/axle. I was concerned that the weight would bend the axle or at least put it in harms way. I asked the vendor about this and he said that after years of use and testing, using this setup, they have not had a report of a bent axle. So today I though hey, I can just put my old rack on using the rear axle. I inserted the rack piece b/n two wahsers on each side of the wheel and slid the pin/axle thru and it seems to work fine. I still think it might bend under weight. What do you think? Is this solution going to work or am I going to have problems?

:rolleyes: :confused: :D

Well, I can bet that it's going to ruin the threads.....

I think that's quite a high stress area.

I've seen randonneur frames (Audax bikes) with mudguards and racks fitted to the rear triangles by using "P" clips which are plasticoated and fit over the tubing, with the rack then bolted to them, pinching the "P" clip up. Could you maybe try that?

You should be able to go to a bike shop and get the clips chewa is talking about. We have hundreds of them in different sizes. They are intended to bolt a rack onto the frame of a bike. For that matter you should be able to buy a brandnew Blackburn rack that will come with this hardware for $50 US so that would be about 70? Canadian. There are also racks that clamp to the seat post for similar prices.

Not something I'd do, here's why:

When you attach your rack to your bike via the quick release skewer, you are putting the quick release in "shear" which is a kind of stress that probably wasn't anticipated by it's designer.

Now consider Murphy's law. When is it most likely to break? Why when you are carrying the heaviest load and in the most inconvenient location. There is no quick and dirty substitute for a broken rear quick release, and it's not a part you can buy in a small town Walmart.

If you use "P" clips, even if the clip breaks, it probably won't affect the rideability of your bicycle and you can gerry rig something with bailing wire until you get to where you can buy the appropriate replacement part.

SpokeWrench is correct IF your bike has rear skewers the axle is not appropriate for rear axle mount carriers.

If your rear wheel has the old style axle bolt, then you can put the rear rack directly onto the bolt - the load ends up exactly there anyway.

I have used rear carriers attached directly to rear axle bolts, carried heavy loads, and covered thousands of miles with not problems.

Thanks for your posts. I bought these things called Blackburn Custom Eyelets. Apparently, they are designed for my situation.

Does anybody know how much weight these Blackburn Custom Eyelets will carry??