Originally Posted by
Darth Lefty
Thanks for your thoughts, everyone.
I don't resent the FS bike for not having rack mounts. How would that work? It is what it's supposed to be. I wouldn't call it a racing bike by any means but it's definitely made for mountain biking as a drive-to-trailhead activity. That's valid, it certainly seems a lot more fun to me than driving to the trailhead with a horse trailer or a rifle. I have a lot of trails between home and work where I can really enjoy it. It's so, SO much better to ride than the 2002-vintage cheapie I used to own. I don't want to lose that by swinging too far in the other direction.
I resent mountain bikes...especially hardtails...not having rack mounts for a number of reasons. Yes, the bikes are often driven to trailheads but that doesn't mean that you are just going to go for a loop around the bike park. These are...or were originally...bicycles for adventuring. Doing 3 or 4 loops around a trail system is a waste of the bicycle's abilities.
I once heard a guy talking about how he went for a long ride that just beat him up. It was 12 miles. I've done 50 mile rides over two 11,000 foot passes here in Colorado, 65 mile out and backs over the same pass and even centuries on mountain bikes. I've done 300 mile off-road tours with a mountain bike on jeep roads. These aren't rides that are that easy to do with a bike that can't carry stuff. The single day rides usually involve needing clothing for warm weather, cool weather, cold weather and rain (or possibly snow) as well as some rudimentary survival gear in case something goes sideways. A Camelbak just don't cut it.
Originally Posted by
Darth Lefty
The Tubus P-clamps seem to be intended for the upper stays and not the dropouts. Kiddo is 40lb and growing, his 1yo brother is going to be even bigger when he reaches that age. So I definitely want to bolt the lower strut of the rack right to the frame.
The Tubus clamps are way stronger than p-clamps. They are beefy bits of steel that don't bend easily. They may not be capable of carrying the load a Tubus Cargo can (that's 40 kg or 88 lb for the metrically challenged) but it will certainly carry 20 to 40 lb in an off-road setting.
From your statement, I'm assuming that you are carrying the kid on in a child seat. I wouldn't feel safe with suggesting the Tubus clamps for a child seat...I think they would work but still...but any mountain bike without mounts isn't going to work for that anyway. Personally, I'd carry them in a trailer and then leave the trailer at daycare.