deku_nut

Alrighty-

So, i'm no professional bike rider and i'm also operating on a modest budget but here goes. The economy was bad blah blah blah i had to get rid of my car and now i'm using my bike for everything! Its actually pretty great, cheap and the exercise is fantastic. One problem- i would like to get a rear carrier + mesh net for it. This sounds like an easy task, but i've had some problem with it.

Aside from searching "bike rack" on the internet and getting tons of car racks i've ran into this problem when i've actually found what i'm looking for: The bike that i have is a mountain bike and it has a rear spring suspension. very similar to this

I'm having trouble finding one a rear carrier rack that works with that configuration. any ideas?

i would imagine as long as the connection between the support legs coming off of the rear wheel and the decking of the carrier were able to pivot it should be fine if i purchase a regular one. anyone have experience in this or recommend another manufacturer/solution?

thanks!

Cyclist01012

Thats because jsut about the only one that will work with that system woould be a seat post mounted rack.I personally have never seen a rack that was inteneded for use with a full suspension frame.

FBinNY 

What you want is a so-called beam rack which mounts on the seat post and cantilevers out over the rear wheel. I linked it to the Topeak offerings for reference, but there are a number of other brands offering similar items in a number of configurations.

These do well for light to medium loads, without legs to the frame are not suited for heavier loads. When mounting one be sure it's clamped sevurely to the post and the post in turn is secure in the frame, because with their long lever arms these racks are prone to getting pushed to either side.

Everhandy

You have the wrong bike for commuting.

One option is to sell the bike and get another, more versatile set of wheels.

coldfeet

I have seen a regular rack fitted to such a bike, can't remember exactly how he had made it "work" just remember that I walked away shaking my head....

To the OP, a "beam" or seat post rack is the only option. They are limited in weight capacity compared to a regular rack. Seriously, full suspension is only of use for actual off road riding, for everything else, they suck up pedaling energy and add weight. A rigid 80s or 90s bike is much better, some nice fat tires like Schwalbes Big Apple to give you some cushioning, much better all round utility bike.

operator

No, he just has the wrong bike for putting a rack on.

Even if he didn't have a rear suspension bike, he'd have loads of problems attaching anything that will result in carrying a higher load than a seatpost mount rack - the disc tabs are in the way. The only options the OP really has for a rack is

1) Seatpost mounted
2) Custom designed and mounted rack that solidly attaches to the rear triangle, only - while clearing the portion of the frame that pivots.

I can see how #2 might work but you'd have to have a metal working shop or quite a bit of ingenuity.

roadfix

Old Man Mountain makes racks for full suspension mtb's. Their struts attach to canti bosses, that's if your bike is equipped with them. If not, I guess you can use P-clips. The actual rack mounts mount on the skewer.

MichaelW

Bike racks for full sus MTBs weigh a lot, carry little load and are not very stiff and stable. They are not the most practical of bikes.
If you can switch to a non suspension frame you should do so.
Plenty of people get by with a full sus MTB as a utility bike but they are probably the worst style to use.

operator

Yep.

Except it costs more than his bike is worth. If not more.

joejack951

Unfortunately, one of those racks will likely cost more than his bike. The seat post rack is a much better option assuming he can deal with it's limited load carrying capacity. Another solution, though expensive, is a trailer though it's carrying capacity might be overkill, or not for a car-free person.

joejack951

I wanted to be the bearer of bad news

AdamDZ

Axiom makes one:

https://www.axiomgear.com/products/ge...ar-suspension/

And it's under $40 on eBay

Oh, and for the mesh search Amazon under Sports and Outdoors for "bicycle cargo net". They're like $10. The Sunlite one is good.

Adam

joejack951

Nice find, Adam.

AdamDZ

I knew about it from my previous searches and I like Axiom stuff so it was easy So there may be some good news after all! I'd just be careful with overloading as I'm sure the full susp stays are not meant to carry a lot of weight applied in this manner.

A.

Jeff Wills

Well, the OP didn't say exactly which bike he's got, only that he's got a full-suspension bike "like" the one he pictured. However, I've seen plenty of cheap FS bikes from department stores, so that may be true.

He also didn't say how much he wanted to haul- if it's just enough stuff to survive a quick ride to work, a seatpost rack and bag might be adequate. Something like this:
https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...7_10000_201501
For more than that (perhaps a change of clothes for work), that Axiom rack and a couple panniers would work fine.
For grocery shopping and light hauling, I'd step up to a trailer of some sort. This is about as cheap as they get.

operator

That's the problem with susp racks - the bottom mounting is not secure, *especially* the double whammy, QR skewer WITH setback to clear a disc tab. The OP will attempt to overload that rack at one point or another.

AdamDZ

I don't like the seatpost mounted racks and I never recommend them. No matter how tight you um... tighten the bolt(s), it'll move sideways eventually under load. I like things attached securely to my bikes

Adam

AdamDZ

Yup. That too. I probably wouldn't put more than 10lbs on it. Axiom's 110lbs rating is not realistic, it'll snap the stays! So a trailer may not be such bad idea after all if the OP needs some real weight carrying ability. Nashbar makes a basic trailer for $80.

A.

coldfeet

I stand corrected, they do make racks for such bikes, agree that it might not work all that well for heavy stuff though.

Wish i had a picture of that FS bike with a "conventional" rack err.. "fitted"
From what I remember there was some kind of mechano linkage to the seatpost, which, in theory, would have allowed the swing arm to move. Still wouldn't have wanted to ride it though.

possiblecrit

https://www.instructables.com/id/Full...ck-from-Scrap/

possiblecrit

https://www.instructables.com/id/Full...ck-from-Scrap/

not a ton of space in those ammo boxes but you could put anything on instead. not sure how much it could hold...

BCRider

If you're doing this for temporary and if you're carrying little enough that it would work with those cantilevered beam style seat post mounted racks, which are not all that great by the way, then what about just using a backpack? Since you had to sell your car for financial reasons wearing a backpack would be a lot cheaper than getting a rack and saddle bags for your bike. Unless you're wanting to carry an outlandish amount of clothing and shoes in to work or school then a medium size backpack is all you need.

The Axiom rack would very likely work but I've seen then and they are not all that light. And the seat post mounted racks are not that stable and like to pivot around the post if you try to put too much load onto them.