Does anyone have a favorite rear seatpost rack that they use? I am going to be doing a simple 2-day down and back and was hoping to give my Touring bike a breather. I've been looking at a rear seat post rack that can clamp on an aluminum seat post with a small platform jutting out behind that can hold a rear trunk bag, which would be enough for me to carry an extra set of riding and dress clothes. Just curious if anybody has used one with success that doesn't seem to want to rotate back and forth. As always thank you for your input

How about a saddle bag. The larger ones hold as much as a trunk bag and you don't even need a rack. I personally use a Carradice Camper Longflap.

https://bikepacking.com/index/saddlebags/
https://carradice.co.uk/products/ori...03eca6e6&_ss=c

I have one and have had no problems with it. Not sure what you mean by "rotate back and forth". If it's clamped properly it should not move. It has a weight capacity of 10 kg, I certainly would not go over.

There are racks that have arms that clamp to the seat stays, these have a 25kg limit

Any decent rack of that type should be very secure on the seat post, as long as you pay attention to the instructions to adjust it properly. But it is just like a seat binder, and your seat doesn't move easily, either. All of the ones I've seen seem more similar than not on the platform.

I would see if I could find a used one for cheap, and just figure it out. Maybe use a cheap seatpost with it instead of marring your nice post (if it is). But it sounds like a decent way to take advantage of the rack bag you already own.

I had a cheap Nashbar rack that I occasionally clamped onto my seatpost. It had a rubber spacer, thus there was rubber between the seatpost and the clamp. It worked ok with a rack top bag, but not so good with panniers.

If it was not balanced, meaning the same amount of weight on each side of the rack, it would turn on the seatpost so that the heavier side moved towards the center. I have a small pannier I often use as a gym bag, once I put that on it and I think I went less than 100 yards when the pannier support started rubbing on the tire because it rotated on the seapost.

Actually I had two of those racks, one with the lower pannier supports like on your rack, one without the pannier supports. The one without pannier supports could only be used for a racktop bag , but that worked ok because if it rotated on the seatpost, nothing rubbed. Photo below shows the one without the pannier supports on my road bike.



I agree with Yan, a Carradice bag would be ideal. But the US Dollar has lost a lot of value over the past several months, a Carradice Camper would be pretty pricey right now. Same with the Nelson Long Flap. I have a Carradice Pendle on my rando bike, photo below, I used a stem with appropriate shim to push the bag further aft so my legs do not hit it as I pedal. A couple years ago I bought a Camper to have for credit card touring, but have not gotten around to using it yet, at the time I got it the USD was much stronger so I took advantage of that and got it when it was much cheaper.

I used one for a decade and a half, for tools and spares, windbreaker/rain top, etc. Only reason not now is that I need full panniers on my townie for food shopping. Between the trunk bag, small seat bag, front handlebar bag, and small bag between aero bars, that was plenty for a roadie. Theres also storage inside the beam rack for long stuff like spare spokes.



If you want quick on and off, get a Topeak trunk bag and beam rack with matching dovetail engagement and latch.

That is just bizarre that your rack had rubber under the clamp. Of course that isn't going to work well.

It was a Nashbar, you pay for what you get and it was pretty cheap.

It came with a couple pieces of rubber so you could use the combination of pieces that fit your seatpost diameter best, that way it was close to a one size fits all. My folding bike has a really big diameter seatpost, it fit that nearly perfect without any of the rubber pieces.

I don't know if there are any chain bike stores left that sell their own 'in-house' products for cheap, but I bought a few of these seatpost racks from the old Performance Bike shop near me, about $15/ea. They're great for day rides where you just want space for an extra water bottle, maybe some snacks, or to store a jacket after a cold morning start. I'd typically put stuff in a stuff sack (typically used for sleeping bags) and lash it to the rack with a bungee cord. It mounts firmly (no rubber gasket like mentioned above), never had a problem with it coming loose or wiggling around, All my 'daily riders' have some type of rack on them for this purpose. I don't see why it wouldn't work for an overnighter, especially if its a 'credit-card' type trip.

Here's a Blackburn that is one size fits all and uses no shims:
https://www.blackburndesign.com/p/ce...200000024.html

Arkel makes an excellent version.

https://arkel.ca/collections/racks/p...seat-post-rack

The upside of this design is that it will clamp to non-round carbon seatposts due to its plastic clamps.

The downside is that it is $99 with plastic clamps, limiting it to only 13 lbs of load.

I see what you're saying. It seems the quick release was not very secure. With mine, using 4 hex bolts on the clamp it was quite solid.

My Topeak beam rack (post #6 above) used a rubber shim, I can't recall if that was to make the seatpost match the clamp diameter, or the clamp was V-block style and the rubber gave good grip without scratching the seatpost. I think my clamp was round and they later went to V. Been a couple decades since seeing it. It stayed in place fine, plus I think it looked good, and kept the bags aero-sheltered behind my torso. It had a very small amount of forward tilt, due to the steep seat tube angle on that racer, I think 74 degrees.

Yup.

It worked ok with just a rack top bag like in my photo above, but the version with the side supports for panniers, that was problematic if it shifted.

certainly various options out there nowadays.
To me I guess it comes down to personal preference and costs involved. Do you already own a trunk bag or a dry bag you could attach to a rack, or do you have to buy those also?
I have a 10 L seat bag that I've used in these sort of trips, and the sway that it must have doesnt bother me at all because I don't feel it and I don't see it. Combined with a frame bag to hold all the heavier things, repair stuff, pump, spare tube or whatever, I can keep the weight down in the seat bag just with clothes. Some sort of handlebar bag and or tank bag can hold stuff too, phone or things handy to have close to hand.

Topeak makes good quality, well designed bags that are often quite a bit less cost wise than some other good brands.
For potential rain riding, a dry bag with voile straps or whatever would make things nicer for not worrying about a non waterproof trunk bag.

lots of options anyway to have a nice narrow setup, which is nice when riding a lighter bike that its a lot easier and likely to be riding at faster speeds--where we really notice not having stuff sticking out to the side of the bike.

oh, and then there could be weight concerns you might want to compare also, along with costs

Saddle Bags are very light and efficient. come in many different sizes. why add extra weight....

I see what you mean and agree, but when you said saddlebags I thought you meant in the traditional sense, i.e., panniers. Your pic clarified. For my needs, a structured box trunk bag offers me much faster access to the myriad things I have in it, versus unclipping and unrolling an XL seat bag. But no question, bikepacking gear is lighter.

a ""box"" is nice for easy access, cool. for easy access also just strap something onto your handle bar open the flap and all on hand. also very light.

I much prefer a rack that has struts that attach to the frame at some point. A cheap version can be had for minimal outlay on Amazon:

Rear Bike Rack,Bike Cargo Rack w/Fender & Large Size Reflective,Quick Release Mountain Road Bicycle Rear Racks,Universal Bike Luggage Rack,Large Capacity Bike Pannier Rack,YONTUO, $34.

I also agree EXCEPT... I can't mount a handlebar bag in front of the bar due to 4 crossing cables from brakes and shifters, and clip-on aero bar blocking access. I tried mounting a bag aft of the bar (folder so tall handlepost), but my knees would hit it when climbing standing. I did mount a front bag on my old road bike for additional space for lunch or rain jacket, etc, but it was not easy to access (zipper top, near back of bag):

Ok, so this is what I came up with. It was cheap, only about $18 Amazon, same rack sold under countless different names. It weighs in at under 17 ounces and is actually quite light. I didn't want a rack that attached to the seat stays even though that would be more stable, as this is a carbon frame and I don't like the idea of clamping things on those small tubes. I wanted to use the expandable trunk bag that I already own and so was not easily tempted by a large bike packing seat pack. I should be able to carry enough stuff for 2 or 3 days while hotel hopping. Hopefully should work out and will let you know if it fails.

There you go, 20 bucks and you're all set.

That expandable trunk bag looks to be a dead ringer for the Jandd Rear Rack Pack II (I have an old one found cheap in Goodwill, from fading where patches used to be sewn, I can tell it's an ex-police bag). I just looked for that brand on Amazon, no luck. Did you buy off Amazon?