Nam

I've had my bike for 2 years now, it's Giant OCR3. I went to a bike shop in Bay Ridge Brooklyn and was told that it was impossible to add another rack that can carry a person (less than 130lbs).

It is true? Is there any recommendation of something that I can buy? Even online? Why it is so hard to add a back seat? I just want to let my gf, and my sister seat in the back and rode around the Shoreroad for fun. I'm sure the wheels of my bike can handle about 250lbs (I'm currently 156lbs)

DCCommuter

one word:
xtracycle

google it.

Bikepacker67

Xtracycle an OCR???!
That's like installing a flatbed on a 'vette.

mayukawa

I have a rack (rated for I think somewhere in the 40lb range) on my MTB. I've sat on the rack several times before (while going over smooth roads (at slow speeds <15mph) and it was okay. I was about 175lbs then. People in China and other parts of Asia sit on racks all the time...even though those weren't design for people. Of course it's hard to say how much margin was designed into a certain rack w/o asking the person who designed it. You can get an approximate idea based on the material and the size of the material. If you still want to do it, I would get a rack with three support bars on each side.

lotek 

Sitting on a rack is not a good thing, I have a nice scar on my chin to prove it.

marty

atman

don't put an xtracycle on your sporty road bike. spend a hundred bucks on a used mountain bike from the mid-nineties, hardtail, or a hybrid (my choice) and put an Xtracycle on that. Your road frame isn't going to do a very good job of transporting passengers no matter what you do to it, and I've gone 20 miles on my xtra with my wife on board.

Also, if you get an xtracycle, living in new york, you will have the LIFE, bro. You will pity the rest of the city, for your haul is mighty.

Nam

Xtracycle costs more than a hundred bucks itself, I live in NY, brooklyn (not mahattan) to be exact, and I hate subway, they are slow, time wasting and costly. Imagine if you don't use subway a lot, it costs you at least $4 just to make a short trip 10 blocks away.

My Giant OCR3 I bought is my main transportation, so I'm not sure if I should buy another mountain bike to handle the weight. I'm 160lbs, and my gf is 100, so the max is only about 270 total. Like mayukawa has said, I'm originally from Vietnam, and all bikes there are support 2 persons, totally safe, and they cost less only about 50 bucks. I don't know why it's so hard to find such thing in the U.S.

My local bike shop has a rack that support children up to 60 lbs. I think I will give it a try. God bless me if something bad happens.

atman

Well you're not going to get Vietnam prices in Brooklyn but then you knew that

You should be fine with the strongest rear rack you can find. As I think about the space in a typical Brookyln crib you probably don't want an extra bicycle crowding up the place let alone an xtra-long one. The xtracycle is so dope for city transport it'd almost be worth selling your existing bike to kit out a fresh one, but I doubt you're going to do that...I know I wouldn't have. I've had my xtra for two months and can't imagine life without it: I was reliant on public transportation and bummed rides for way too much of my existence.

Drop a rear rack on your Giant and give your girl a ride. Worst scenario, it cracks, more likely it'll hold and you'll have the back seat you want...

geo8rge

"I'm originally from Vietnam, and all bikes there are support 2 persons"

Do 2 Vietnamese weigh 270? Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha
BTW I suspect Vietnamese bikes are very thick steel.

1) Put pegs on it and let her stand
2) Banana Saddle
3) In Nicaragua it was common to see a dude with his lady seated across the top tube (head on one side, both legs on the other, no seat what so ever), leaning back on the guys arm for support. Team work is key here. BTW, 2 Nicaraguans do not weigh 270 lbs.