Big Lebowski

I'm thinking of picking up a Surly Pacer as a part time commuter. I see that I can use 28mm tires with fenders, but there are no braze-ons on the seat stays for a rack. Therefore, I am considering the Topeak Beamrack that attaches to the seatpost only. My lunch, clothes and whatever else I have comes in at no more than 10 lbs. Topeak claims that it can handle 20 lbs. Is there anyone here that uses this Beamrack? If so, what do you think of it?

Note: I currently use the Topeak Tubular rack that requires braze-ons to the seat stay, so I like the Topeak rack system, but I am open to other suggestions.

hsh101

I used to have one for my hybrid. I probably kept 10 lbs in it, max, but it likely could hold more weight than that. Do you have a carbon post? If so, check to make sure that it is compatible with that - I seem to recall (perhaps incorrectly) that it wasn't to be used with carbon posts. One other thing to point out - the one thing I did not like about it was that it swayed when I turned corners or rocked the bike when I was standing on the pedals.

Big Lebowski

I'd go with a metal post. Yeah, i've see a few comments on amazon about the swaying. That would be a deal-killer for me.

I love the feel of my steel Kona H-Tonk and it has the braze-ons for a rack, but the seat stay is really too narrow for a tire over 23mm. The Surly Pacer has a wider seat stay, but no braze-ons for a rack.

no1mad 

Use a regular rack. The fenders and rack can share the same eyelet down low and you could use p-clamps up top.

megalowmatt

I have a beam rack that I use in a pinch but I'd figure out a way to put a regular rack on the Pacer. It's a better look and will work better. You can cinch down the beam rack but it just never seemed lined up quite right for me.

krobinson103

Just got rid of that beam rack and replaced it with the super tourist DX. Honestly it doesn't hold much and won't really line up right. There are racks with p clamps or even just ones that use the seat tube eyelets which work much better.

Big Lebowski

After reading the replies, I see that my original statement is incorrect. Perhaps it is designed for braze-ons to the seat stay, but not required. I see that there are seatpost clamps that have eyelets for racks built into them.

Thanks all for the suggestions.

PatrickGSR94

I recommend the Problem Solvers seat post clamps with rack eyelets. I'm using that along with P-clamps down low to mount a Super Tourist Disc rack to my road bike (got the disc version as I'm hoping to build up a disc commuter in the future). It really works great, especially with the Topeak MTX bag with fold-out panniers. I ordered all that off of Amazon along with a cargo net tie-down thingy which I've actually only used once to carry one of my son's trailer wheels to the bike shop.

JohnJ80

I have several of the Toppeak beam racks. I hate them. No matter how tight you get them they still swivel on the seat post.

I also have some of the Arkel Randonneur racks and highly recommend them. This would be just about perfect for the application and these are very sturdy and stable. Arkel also has a Tailrider pack that would work perfectly for your application. The three point connection to your seat rails and your seat post make for a very stable rack. In addition, it is quickly removed (seconds) and/or reinstalled. The picture below shows the extenders that go from the seat to the rack. These can be removed as well, bringing the rack higher up.

We have replaced all our Topeak racks with these. Huge improvement.






J.

PatrickGSR94

No way to use panniers and keep them out of the wheels, though.

I still recommend an actual rack over a beam rack.

gregjones

Those work great. Axiom also makes one, it's bolt holes are higher than the Problem Solvers. I've got a 700 sized rack with little adjustment on a 26" bike. Using the Axiom clamp with it's higher bolt holes the rack deck is level.

The seatpost clamps are a great option to make the rack fit nice.

PaulRivers

I also have a Topeak Beam Rack, and I also think it kinda sucks. If your ride is real casual it's ok, but it likes to swivel around a bit. All racks that only attach to the seatpost without a secondary attachment point do.

Here's someone with a rack on their Surly Pacer -
yakbicycle: What I'm riding now...

There are a number of racks designed for bikes without rack mounts - they attach at the top under the rear brake bridge, and at the bottom through the quick release. Both these points are designed to handle heavy forces - the brake bridge handles the weight of the bike stopping including the rider (so 200lbs or more), the wheel quick release is designed to handle the entire weight of the rider. As people have said, you can probably attach at the bottom where the fenders mount as well.

If you want to put a bag on the top, the Axiom Streamliner Disc DLX is probably the cheapest -
Streamliner Disc DLX « Streamliner Series « Racks « Products « Axiom Performance Gear

The Bontrager Backrack Lightweight is one of the lightest -
Bontrager: BackRack Lightweight (Model #08214)

Here's it's on a Trek Domane full carbon race bike with no rack mounts whatsoever -
**********-ITEM-?Y's Road ???

There are other options as well, Tubus has an adapter kit for all it's racks to let you do the same thing. In my experience, all of these choices would be far better than the Topeak beam rack.

PatrickGSR94

I wanted to go Topeak specifically for the quick-release track interface design between their trunk bags and racks. I really love the design.

On my setup with the Problem Solvers seat post clamp, even though the mounts are below the clamping part, they're still slightly above the height of the rack deck. Topeak recommends a slight forward slope of the rack, which I did, and the rack front brackets are bent slightly upward to attach to the seat post clamp.

JohnJ80

Unless I'm missing something, nowhere did the OP say that panniers were required or even mentioned.

J.

fietsbob

There are 'Spaniel Ear' supports on some .. to stop Panniers from moving into the wheel, somewhat .. (nothing's perfect)

PatrickGSR94

And nowhere did I mention that I was responded directly, specifically to the OP's question. I was just throwing that fact out there for anyone who may be looking at beam racks.

10 Wheels

Used one for over 20,000 miles.

JohnJ80

That's where the Arkel rack has an advantage. It secures to the seat post and to the seat and it has a quick release (as quick as, or quicker than the Topeak). The three point attachment stops a lot of wobble, it eliminates any twisting, and it is quick to put on and take off (10 seconds or so with practice).

J.

JohnJ80

Understood. Extraneous off topic comment. I missed that.

J.

degnaw

I've got a Delta Post Porter on my road bike with carbon stays. It's got pannier supports and I've carried some pretty heavy loads (20-25lbs) some pretty long distances. I do use small pieces of inner tube between the seatpost and the rack, and haven't noticed any swaying or swiveling that people often associate with seatpost racks.

KenshiBiker

I've been using the Topeak beam rack for commuting for about a year. I've never had a problem with the rack twisting, as long as I tighten the clamp down. However, I'm considering going over to the Arkel beam rack and Tailrider trunk bag because the clamp on the Topeak has begun to bother the insides of my thighs when I ride. Not sure when it started (no, I haven't gained weight since I started using the Topeak), but it's started to annoy me.