I've fitted one of those mini alloy front racks to the rear of my bike as a bit of an experiment. It came from China for all of £6 inc postage so if it doesn't work it's no big deal.
But why, I know you are asking. Well, I have one of the old Alpkit style seatpacks and not only can I never seem to do it up tight enough to stop it swaying I find it fiddly and time consuming to do up and filling the tapered end is a pain. I've also tried the Alpkit tapered drybag on its own after seeing Blair of this parish have success with one but again i can never get it to stop swaying and it's no less time consuming to fit than the seatpack proper. They also claim it to be 13 litres but I think it's quite a bit less than that. So a small rack on the back that I can put an 8 litre Alpkit drybag on with minimal fuss and easy packing. So what's people's thoughts? [/url]IMG_20190524_172812538 by Raymond Young, on Flickr IMG_20190524_172629016 by Raymond Young, on Flickr
I'm struggling to see any real negatives with this idea (other than the small additional weight). I too have a "swinging" Alpkit 1st gen seat pack and have been considering ways to improve it. The fact that Alpkit themselves have developed that sticky outy metal thing that clamps into your seat post is testament to the problem. I think this mini rack would be a better alternative for my usage. Nice one Ray.
Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Sat May 25, 2019 1:50 pm
The only thing that would put me off is the use of P clips ... and what looks like duct tape. Otherise, can't see an issue
I thought that the duct tape gave added character to the bike. Not keen on P clips either but neither do I fancy a big metal loop sticking out the back of my seat when I'm not using my seatpack.
what does the rack weigh?
A bag is about 4006 and a dry bag about 50-100
I am not sure there will be much weight penalty here tbh
Would also be a good fit for a dropper - if you could clamp under the stanchion obviously
Also interested in a link as an interesting solution
I used petrol pipe clips over some gorilla tape to protect the frame rather than p clips. The front is attached with a length of cut down inner tube then a small zip tie to hold it in place.
Sorry but I didn't weigh it or keep the emails about whom I bought it from but it came from Amazon. There's quite a few sellers including on ebay.
Regarding a dropper post, if you move the front of the rack down it hits the tyre. At first I had the front part of the rack in front of the seat post resting on the collar ( I had to cut a hole in the rack platform for the seat post to pass through) so it didn't hit the tyre but found the back of your legs hit the rack.
FLV wrote: ↑Sun May 26, 2019 11:06 am
Looks ok. Only issue i can see is if your legs touch it riding, i think mine would. But i am stout of thigh
No, legs don't touch. I use Alpkit drybags which are oval shaped so I can mount an 8 litre one fine but the 13 litre one can't be mounted flat as it does then touch my legs. Mounted the other way is ok but then I think it's more likely moove.
You are not alone, I've often thought a small rack and dry bag would be less faff...though I only have an old bikepack.eu saddlebag so I guess there are much better options out there now.
I was always waiting for Salsa to re release the minimalist rack but they never have.
I could not cope with jubilee clips and zip ties to mount a rack though!
restlessshawn wrote: ↑Mon May 27, 2019 8:18 am
You are not alone, I've often thought a small rack and dry bag would be less faff...though I only have an old bikepack.eu saddlebag so I guess there are much better options out there now.
I was always waiting for Salsa to re release the minimalist rack but they never have.
I could not cope with jubilee clips and zip ties to mount a rack though!
restlessshawn wrote: ↑Mon May 27, 2019 8:18 am
I could not cope with jubilee clips and zip ties to mount a rack though!
That your OCD Shawn?
I have successfully used p clips with rack and panniers off road in the days of old before we knew how to do it better. The only time I had a problem was when a rack strut broke. I splinted it with a v tent peg and it held till I got home. I'm not bothered about using the petrol pipe clips to hold the rack to the seat stay but I am looking for an alternative to the mount on the seat tube.
Good job Ray, reminds me of the rack that was attached to the back of the Trek 1120. As a (possible) better solution for fixing to the seatpost have you seen these?
Looks like a neat solution Ray, I had to retire my Alpkit dry bag as it had reached the end of it's life. I've "upgraded" to the Blackburn Outpost pack and I've found it can swing around a bit unless well packed.
[/url]IMG_20190524_172812538 by Raymond Young, on Flickr
IMG_20190524_172629016 by Raymond Young, on Flickr
Not keen on P clips either but neither do I fancy a big metal loop sticking out the back of my seat when I'm not using my seatpack.
