Pletscher Rear Rack Question
 

I have a vintage-ish NOS Pletscher rear rack but unfortunately it is missing the part that attaches it to the seat stays. While I don't really want to connect it that way anyways since my bike has rack mounts there on the frame I was wondering if anyone makes a "conversion" kit for that specific instance.

I suppose I could fabricate something but I wanted to see if there were any pre-made solutions out there or if anyone has done this themselves.

Pic I borrowed from the internet showing the OE piece I am missing and want to replace:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b885d0cc87.jpg

Edit: Pic of my actual bike and rack.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d9054f648e.jpg

Pletscher makes an adapter plate, but it it requires a specific spacing between the braze-ons and two bolts on the rack, also perfectly spaced. In other words, it's a picky eater. I cant remember if that rack you have has one or two bolts there.

You might do better just making your own out of a strip of stainless that is spaced correctly.

This is from their website:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...eb02576605.jpg

Or some basic angle brackets.

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/de...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

If you could post a few pictures of your bike with the rack mounted by its stays and the top-front in the correct position near the seat stays, that would be helpful. As Frkl infers, there is not one easy solution for all bikes and racks. There are just too many variations in both bikes and Pletcher racks. Let's see what you are working with.

Might I also suggest, unless you are really set on that particular rack, that you use another one designed for braze-ons? The rack you have here was designed either for the sandwich method of attachment or, ideally, for being bolted to a "Pletsher-Plate" brazed onto the frame, and it really relies on that for lateral stability.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pletscherplatte

Part of the charm and flair of this rack, to me at least, is the somewhat awkward, utilitarian mounting. Hacking a way to make it fit to braze-ons contradicts the reason that rack exists in the first place. I like Pletscher racks, don't get me wrong, and have used them on several bikes with good results, but have stuck with the ones that are designed for either brake bolt mounting or braze-ons

I also checked, the new version of your rack, the CS, only has a single bolt in the middle, so the new version isn't compatible with the adapter I mentioned. I would guess this means yours probably isn't either.

I had a frame once upon a time that had a second "brake bridge," with holes for a Pletscher rack. Kinda unique.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...XZYTwyRIf=w450

Do you remember the brand? I have only seen this on Albuch Kotter bikes, sort of as a cleaner, more aesthetic version of the Pletscher-Plate. Neat that it might have appeared on other bike brands too.

ESGE in Germany also made racks that were designed to bolt to either this or a plate

I made an adaptor for my son's college bike from a small bracket. I save all kinds of small parts from things I discard, so it was just a matter of digging through the box and tweaking it to fit. A couple of right-angle brackets from the hardware store would also work.

If you are using a clamp around the seat stays, be sure to use a support like this to keep the rack from slipping down and scraping the paint. The rack bolts go through the top two holes, and the brake bolt goes through one of the lower holes.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7c8e746323.jpg

Pletscher support

Pretty sure it was custom, maybe a hobbyist-built frame.

@tkm here’s a pic of the brackets from a complete rack in my stash. Note there are two plates that go on the backside: one flat and one curved. I don’t want to separate the bracket from the rack, but you’re welcome to have the whole thing for the cost of shipping.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d72d64fa4.jpeg

Here's what I'm dealing with. I can fabricate something but I was hoping someone made some type of adjustable adapter that matched the rack. I don't want it to look like a hardware store back there so I'll see how "OEM" like I can make it.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d9054f648e.jpg

have you tried using the top bracketing from a kick stand? Might be the same shape and just need some holes.

Was also kicking around 3D printing something but not sure I'd trust the structural integrity of a plastic part holding my rack to my bike. Make it thick enough though and maybe?

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have seen Pletschers mounted with what looks to be a piece of "factory" perforated strapping material (similar to "plumber's tape") but do not have a picture or know a stock number for it - designed to wrap around the seat stays

might not be of assistance in your situation...


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Have you considered resting the front of the rack on top of your two rack-mounting nubs and then securing the front of the rack to the stays using Pclamps?

Remember the most important thing, the top deck must be perfectly level. Do whatever it takes to ensure that, or else hang your head in shame. ;) <jk>

I rode across the continent in '76 with a couple friends. I had an artisanal-made (Tonard, England) steel rack, they both had Pletschers. We all had overloaded rear panniers with almost no weight on the front (don't do that!)
Guess whose rack broke? yep the steel one. The Pletschers with full camping load survived unscathed. Those guys rode back across the US that summer for a double-transcon. With side trips and other mileage they probably ended up with 10,000 miles of loaded touring that year. For all I know they still have their Pletscher racks. They are hard to kill.

I was able to get my Tonard welded at the next little town, at a place that does mufflers and trailer hitches. Cost us less than a half-day of riding, and it didn't break again, but still... Pletcsher FTW!

My frame has rack bosses and I'm going to use them! I don't want anything attached any other way to be honest.

Plus as one poster said, getting it level is of utmost importance and slammed against the stays wouldnt allow me to do that.

Yep, exactly what I was thinking if i have to DIY. Probably use steel stock vs aluminum though as once you bend aluminum its never as strong.

I needed to spool up the 3D printer for another project tonight so I decided to make a quick and dirty rack mount while I was at it. If anything, it'll give me a template to work from once I make it out of some metal. I also wanted to make sure I liked the rack on the bike before I went to all this trouble (which I did). I purposely made the "arms" too long and curved at the end so the rack could somewhat stay in place while I measured and drilled.

I think if I did a higher infill it'd be strong enough, but being plastic I'd never truly trust it.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...050087a971.jpg



And the more I look at this part the more I think it'd work, but the problem is that I don't know any of the spacing or measurements of it and Pletscher's website is not much help. I'll email them to see if they can assist.

https://www.pletscher.ch/images/cont...ts/p9_pic1.jpg

One issue is that the rack and the frame are from different decades. The Technium has a more-modern mounting system. I am not familiar (don't remember ever seeing) those rack mount bosses that you have, but what I would do is be patient and persistent by looking around for images (or real-life examples) of which rack these bosses are designed for. You're not going to be able to attach the Pletscher without making it look like a box of spare parts back there.
What I would do is go for a nice Blackburn, which is a much nicer, stronger and lighter rack, and is more period-correct. Some, like below, have horizontal mounts, which will enable you to take advantage of the neat and trim attachment system Raleigh USA has provided

Save your Pletscher for a 1970's bike.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...35b1d3ff4d.png

I know the rack is likely older than the bike, but the Pletscher is soooo cool looking with its polished aluminum (and very functional with the spring hinges to hold stuff down).

If I ever get a 70's bike I might swap it over but right now all my "vintage" frames are mid 1980's Italian "racing" geometry bikes with a 90's mountain bike sprinkled in. And this '87 Raleigh that might or might not come apart on the first bump.

I wasn't really a fan of Technium, but I do believe they are strong, on average. Not counting an occasional one where the worker was asleep during key points of manufacture (dunno if that happened), they withstood huge amounts of fatigue testing and did well on the crash-strength test too IIRC. I did tour the factory and saw their frame testing, which was automated and running while I was there. They also had an actual pro racing team (MTB-XC) and they really did race on stock Techniums; I know becaue I raced against them and examined their bikes close-up. If any Techniums (Technia?) broke at the races, I didn't see it.

I'm sure they were fine when new as Raleigh (supposedly) worked with Boeing and used the same aluminum/metal joining technique that they did on their airplanes.

As for how well that epoxy bonding aged...I'm not so sure. There's another recent there on here "Lipstick on a pig" or something that shows a lot of Technium carnage. So I'm just going to get this frame built with decent-but-not-top-end vintage components and flatbars until I'm confident that it'll still hold together. It's too nice of a frameset to not at least try.

Good point. I missed that other thread, I should look for it, thanks.