Originally Posted by
John E
My favored system is still the old Pletscher two-bolt seat stay clamp with vertical struts to the dropouts. I run a short length of metal, drilled at both ends, from one of the clamp blots to the caliper brake mounting bolt, to prevent paint-marring slippage. If you care about your frame's finish, protect it with a short length of slitted plastic tubing on each seat stay, at the clamp's point of contact.
This is the system I used on my UO-8 transportation beater, and I routinely carry up to 30 lbs of groceries in the panniers I hang over the rack.
Can you post a pic of that? That sounds like a really good idea.
However, I virulently hate the Pletscher racks. The last one I had slipped, it scuffed up the paint (I had rubber tubing on the stays, but it slid past the tubing) and it wobbled (with far less than 30 pounds in it). I don't think I'd ever trust one again to actively go out and get one, but if a bike came with one already on...