Is a 1986 Centurion Elite RS Rackable?
 

I can sure use a rear rack on my Centurion but the only bolt-on outlets she has are the two located near the rear wheels axles. How do you secure the top front of a rack when a bike is set up this way. Don't suggest a seat post style rack please. But any other suggestions and ideas are greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Dan. G

You can find racks that have a single center mount up front, which attaches behind the rear brake.

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...121358_478.jpg

Other than that, P-clamps on the seat stays work for the racks with two mounting points, but they might scuff up the paint(use plastic or rubber coated P clamps)

Thanks Roger. You gave me a idea what to look for. I hope you didnt go through all the trouble to dismount that just to show me.

Use 1/2" insulated wire clamps. I got mine in the electrical dept. of my local Ace store.

Try p-clamps. I have them on one of my bikes, work great.

V/O has them: P-Clamps for Fender Attachment

Your Welcome. That rack wasn't mounted on anything.

For reference, I bought these two Lemans RS' at a garage sale several years ago. They both had racks and were mounted with P-clamps. After 25 years, there's some noticeable scuffing/scrapes on the paint where the clamps were.

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...t/IMG_2891.jpg

Those look a lot like the plastic clamp wire things I bought to mount coaxial cable wire against our wall...
The cogs are turning....

That's pretty much what they are, except they are metal. I got the exact same thing at the hardware store in the electrical dept. 1/2" size worked on my bike.

I have one of the Blackburn racks that has the single stay that mounts to the back of the brake bolt. It's completely stable with a pretty unruly amount of weight.

I regularly use that bike to bring back 4 2L bottles of Diet Coke home.

While I believe P clamps on the stays would be just as stable, there's no damage to the paint with the single stayed rack.

I use the rubber strip that comes with cyclometers, etc to go between the P-clamp and the seat stays. P-clamps are also available at home improvement stores, etc.

Get a roll of Rubber splicing tape from the electrical dept as well. It works great for saving your frame underneath of thinigs. Can be tough to get off when you want to but at least the paint is still good in underneath. This is not electrical tape, it's more of a rubber compound.

Do you have a picture of your dropout, my 86 Centurion Eilte RS doesn't have rack or fender eyelet braze on's. I picked up a neat item that would let me mount a rack to the Campy style dropout diamond but no rack I had would work with my seat stays at the step angle they are at, like the frame is shorter in the back then most other bikes I install racks on. I put racks on every bike I own but my Centurion.

Glenn

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...pscd9e90a4.jpg
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...psf31ce2be.jpg
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps52be483b.jpg

^ P-clamps will work down low, too. Somewhat less than elegant looking, however.

OP is interested in how to secure the rack top mount. The single brake mount work but for light duty..... emphasizing very light duty. Mounting to the stays with the clamps have been mentioned and greatly improve sturdiness. OP also doesn't want the seat post mount but these versions work well. I've had the Axiom type and used their model rack with tubular rod (not the flat steel twisted stock like Blackburn). They take a serious load.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=385326 http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=385327

Remember that the load on the upper stay is pretty low, assuming the rack is near level. All it is doing is stabilizing the rack+load for and aft, not carrying the load itself.

...P clamps hold a lot of my racks on older bikes, and if you get the vinyl dipped or rubber insert ones,
I've noticed no paint damage. They do come in various sizes though, so you need to take a vernier caliper
and measure the diameter of your stays at the point of attachment (usually these stays are not tapered).

they seem to work better (for me, anyway) if you point the holes in them forward, and bolt through
the rack holes forward of your stays.......if the rack has one of those stupid clamp things on it that join
the two forward upper ends so you can use one of those horrible stay clamp things, I just drill out the rivets
so i can use those holes.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=385357

If you look closely at this one, you'll see what I mean. I don't have any close ups.

Bah, nonsense. There's nothing about attaching to the brake bridge that would make a rack any less sturdy.