I have a (new to me, but old) bike that has a Pletscher mousetrap-style rear rack. Is the "trap" just for small cushy things? A hoodie, for example stays put, but I'm not sure a briefcase or a book would. Is it supposed to hook onto other components like certain styles of baskets?

What's the story behind these racks? They're obviously solid and good quality, since so many are still around. But I gather that some don't like them -- what gives?

I hate them because they tear up seat stays. The spring clamp is pretty useless. There are very few things that they will carry securely. Books will end up on the ground. That has happened to me. A jacket sleeve can end up in the spokes. That has also happened to me. Blackburn came out with a much better rack in the '70's that attached to the brake bolt. I own four of them.

Use an adjustable bungee cord with it.

every old order menonite bike rider in lancaster has one. the local shop in farmersville has a large stock of them. Most of the riders use them with bungie cords and cardboard boxes. Most amish dont ride bikes but the ones that do have them also and some even put them on scooters.

They hold a 12 pack on it's side absolutely perfectly, no bungee needed.

They hold whatever they will hold...

Seriously, they're not meant to hook onto or into anything specific. I thought that might be the case at first too, they just sort of look like they ought to.

I like to use it on my library runs. Flip up the front bar and wedge the bag of books between the bar and mousetrap. Everything stays put unless you ride off some sweet jumps.

I had one of these years ago. It was a Pletcher as well. It holds a basketball well. Everything else pretty much ended scattered all over the road for me. I replaced it with a Blackburn after over-loading it and twisting the stays on the rack into an interesting modern sculture while bike camping and I have never looked back.

The one on my Schwinn Varsity held my baseball glove quite securely. We didn't have bungee cords back then, or backpacks for that matter.

A box of misc. hardware that I bought from a gone out of business bike shop had some "T" shaped brackets that are made to keep the rack from sliding down the seat stays. They are about 1" wide at the top, and 2" long. The top holes line up with the Pletscher rack, and the brake bolt goes in one of the bottom holes. With the bracket, you don't have to overtighten the clamp bolts, just enough to not wobble side-to-side.

See, now that's a bit of practical info!

Car and Driver magazine started that a few years ago for trunk capacity. They list how many cases of beer, largest sheet of plywood, and longest 2x4. Cubic Feet doesn't mean much if you can't fit real stuff in all the odd shaped nooks and crannies.

They were designed to hold a bottle of wine. Lift the big mouse trap up, flip up the little piece, insert bottle with neck facing the rear and lower mouse trap. No joke.

I thought it was designed to hold the center section of a set of panniers.
Back in the dark ages I used to keep 25 feet of 550 cord wound around the rack.
FWIW, my early issue Blackburn rack uses a 'T' bracket like that.
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Things successfully carried on a Pletscher with spring trap:
Baseball glove, pair of track shoes, daily paper, rain gear, 3 pound trout, Colt Combat Commander, carburetor, diesel injector pump.

Failed attempts:
Books, dozen eggs!

P.S. None of my current bikes have a Pletscher rack

Thanks to all -- So far it's handled a change of clothes well (I also wrapped some wrenches and a leatherman in the sleeve of a button down and rolled it up). Glad to know about ollo_ollo's failed attempts and miamijim, I can imagine a bottle of wine fitting quite nicely.

It holds a large pizza quite nicely up against the bottom of the saddle on our shop 3 speed, but I think that has to do more with the particular positioning of the saddle than the rack itself. A pair of folding Wald baskets on either side does wonders for versatility, just make sure not to flex the outer portion out enough to lose the bottom on a big bump. I call it the "rattlebike" behind its back.

I'll definitely give the wine bottle a try.

I think liberal use of bungie cords is the key as that is how I carried the pistol case & engine parts. Don

The Pletscher mousetrap is still my all-time favorite rack, although I do admit that I prefer the Blackburn Mtn. Rack's method of attachment to the seat binder bolt over the Pletscher's stay clamps. However, when I use other racks, I really miss the mousetrap, which helps stabilize the load, and which can always be left in its down position for crushable loads.

One stay-saving trick with the Pletscher is to run a flat piece of aluminum or steel (a flattened-out reflector mount works well) from one of the Pletscher clamp bolts to the rear brake mounting bolt, to keep the rack from sliding down the stays.

i telt it was good for making you shaped sandwiches.

I want to see some pictures of these feats! Like Grand Bois I've only ever found them to be a source of frustration... and I imagined that the mousetrap was for a set of saddlebags that were joined across the top by a piece of canvas that was clamped under the mousetrap so they'd hang down like panniers.

A small pizza box fits in mine perfectly

When I used one (don't now, but still have it), I simply put two layers of fabric electrical tape on the two pieces that contact the seat stays. Never slipped, and didn't mar the stays either. Used bungee cords whenever I wanted to hold anything down -- I found the mousetrap essentially useless for the stuff I wanted to carry on a daily commute.

Carton of milk...

This was a Canadian style 3L carton of milk, in the 70's. My mom had sent me to get it on my 10-speed. I was able to salvage about 1/2 the milk in the remains of the carton after it fell off!

A six of bottled beer fits mightily well.