leicanthrope

Off hand, does anyone know what the official load capacity for the old style Jim Blackburn rear racks might be? Barring that, anyone have a reasonable guess?

Hydrated

I still have the Blackburn rack that I bought new in 1983, and I called Blackburn a while back to ask this very question.

They had no data on any of their products older than 1998, but they said that the load for their similar aluminum rod racks in 1998 was 40 pounds. I know that I've had 40 pounds or more on mine several times and it gets pretty wiggly.

The vintage Blackburn racks are good for carrying some groceries or commuting panniers, but if you need one for carrying touring loads it is not stout enough.

LeicaLad 

Tell that to the thousands who have covered more than thousands of miles with loaded Blackburn racks.


The bigger question is the bike geometry and build, and exactly what you "need" to carry for your purposes. The "wiggly" part is a combination of factors, with the Blackburn only one.

I have found that the longer I was on the road, the less I felt like schlepping along. Planning is a major contributor to weight reduction.

Over on the CR list, there has been an extended discussion of what constitutes an excellent touring frame. In addition to the builders chiming in with specific details, there have been no shortage of stories by those who traveled thousands of miles in Europe, US and other parts of the world with even the lowly Pletcher rack. I think there is a consensus that one of Jim Merz's customized touring bikes with integrated racks still stands out as a first choice.

But I think you should be looking at just how much you MUST carry, and then sort out the weight distribution in relation to the frame to which you intend to tie it all.

Photos would help.

leicanthrope

I haven't really got any plans to do any real touring any time soon, and I have a couple of more modern racks that I can dust off should the need arise. For the time being, I just went with something that will work for groceries and commuting (which is 99.9% of the time that I carry anything on my bike other than yours truly) that's appropriate to the vintage of the bike.

I asked more out of curiosity, than necessity. Anyhoooo, here's the bike, since you asked. (Can't very well pass up an opportunity to show off a smidge, now can I?)

LeicaLad 

Hmm. Long legs, eh? Looks like a pleasant rider.

That Blackburn will carry as much or more than you should ever require for general purposes.

I'll admit to be partial to the Blackburn racks. They are on most of my bikes.

Cheers!

leicanthrope

I'm pretty tall, but with somewhat short legs for someone my height. It's a 61 cm, and according to the sizing charts, I should have something closer to a 59 cm. It works for me though, perhaps only because I'm new enough to road bikes not to know the difference...

Excellent taste in user names, BTW ;-)

Hydrated

And Fred Birchmore rode his 40+ pound single speed bicycle around the world in the 1930's too. But that doesn't mean that there aren't better choices available to us now.

I didn't say that the Blackburn rack was crap... you do understand that I've owned mine for 30 years, right? So I have more than a few thousand miles of experience with mine too.

And you can say what you want, but that rack is not as solid and stable as some of the racks available now. That was what I was getting at... the rack is good for the routine loads that most riders carry 99% of the time. But there are better choices for what most folks consider touring loads.

old's'cool

There is probably a graduated scale of what constitutes a limiting load.
There is, in order of highest to lowest:

1. the static load that will cause the rack to bend (bike not moving)
2. the range of loads that will cause the rack to bend on the first big bump in the road
3. the range of loads that will cause the rack to sag incrementally over a series of typical bumps in the road
4. the range of loads that will cause the rack to fail by cracking due to cumulative fatigue damage and the history of its use
5. the range of loads that are so small that the rack will have practically an infinite life

clubman 

The overall rigidity of the bike would be important as well as load distribution and capacity. A stiff frame like a C-dale T-1000 would resist twisting forces and allow more weight.