rear racks for long chainstays

[Patrick D Kelly]

I've pre-ordered a Joe Appaloosa and am trying to decide on a rear rack. There is of course the Nitto Big Rear Rack Longboy Longstay (http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/r31r.htm) but I'm fishing for experiences/opinions about other options, and/or experience with Riv's racks on their extra-long chainstay bikes (cheviot, clem, clementine, etc). I'm guessing that an advantage of long chainstays would be to have panniers weight more between the axles rather than behind the rear axle. Most rear rack designs try to shift the load further back to avoid heel strike, but I'd guess that's not much of a problem on these bikes. :)

Thoughts, experience, opinions, alternatives?

thanks

[Bill Lindsay]

I have a Pletscher Clem rack that will be going on my Joe Appaloosa.  Depending on how things go*, I may upgrade to a longboy.  Since there has never been a long chainstay bike before these Rivendell models, I suspect there aren't any other racks like the long boy, that are made specifically for long chainstay bikes.  There probably are many other racks like the Pletscher Clem that are adjustable enough to work on a long chainstay bike.  

*depending on how things go, for me, means that if I decide to carry actual full size rear panniers, I will likely upgrade to the Long Boy.  If I decide to carry only rear backabike bags and/or a saddlesack, then I will likely do fine with the Pletscher.  I have noticed that all the Staff Bikes with the Pletscher have upgraded the seatstay stays to Nitto hardware.  I might copy that upgrade as well.

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA 

[Eddie Flayer]

I don't know about the subtleties of long chainstay racks. I do know the Racktime Fold It is good fitted to the rear of my New Albion Privateer and is steady with two full Ortlieb grocery panniers. Well made, highly adjustable, priced right:

http://www.amazon.com/Racktime-bike-rack-Foldit-fix/dp/B009GIFDVI

On Friday, November 27, 2015 at 8:40:28 AM UTC-8, Patrick D Kelly wrote:

[iamkeith]

I have a pletscher clem rack coming too, for my large clem bike. My intention is to modify the mounting by eliminating the plate at the bottom of the struts. If it works, it should alter the triangulation and shift the platform forward and more centered over the rear wheel. Success should only depend on whether the mounting brazeon is high enough to let deck clear the top of the tire (and fender). Will let you know how it goes.

[BenG]

Brown mystery bike with pretty long chainstays, and a large Saddlesack. The large Nitto Big Rear Rack from my 60cm Hillborne didn't work because the front of the rack pushed up into the center of the large Saddlesack, even with setback of a Nitto quick-release handle. Rack was too far back from the saddle to fit nicely under the bag. My old R14 rack also didn't work because the fit of the tall tombstone hoop to the bag determines its position, and at that position the tail light tab interfered with the fender. The longstay rack solved everything above. No panniers yet, so no testimony.

[Lynne Cooney]

I have a Tubus Logo Evo on my Cheviot. I really like the lower pannier rails. I have actually ordered one to replace the custom rack that I have always hated on my Retrovelo.

On Friday, November 27, 2015 at 8:40:28 AM UTC-8, Patrick D Kelly wrote:

[Shawn Granton]

I know that Jandd is nowhere near as "sexy" as Nitto or Tubus, but I had an Expedition rear rack on my (what now can be called) moderately length'd chainstay Long Haul Trucker for years. It worked well. The length of the rack is 16.75 inches, 3 inches longer than their standard rack.

http://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FREXP

They now also make a taller version, designed for those bigger/wider tires we all love:

http://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FREXPTB

-Shawn

[Michael Hechmer]

Having gone through many racks and bags I have come to the conclusion that there is no one perfect combination; it depends as much on what you are carrying.

Given a choice I like to carry loads up to 15 lbs or so above the fenders.  If you live in the desert that may not be a big deal but here in Vermont, with lots of dirt roads & rain it is.  If your planning on riding this bike off pavement, know that bags above the fenders stay a lot cleaner.  My choice has been a Barley for light loads and a long flap for bulky loads, although I haven't used my long flap in a few years.   Last year I put the Nitto Campee with the removal pannier frames on the front of our touring tandem and like it a lot.  I can leave the rectangles off most of the time which reduces weight and simplifies mounting on car and bike racks.  If I didn't already have a custom rack on the back, that would be my choice - easy to live with every day and easy to ramp up for touring trips. 

Michael

[Patrick Kelly]

The Logo Evo looks good to me for a couple reasons. I like the lower
rail to hang panniers. Also I like that there is no guard rail at the
front. This would make it better if I were to put a saddle bag on the
bike.

On a slight tangent, I wonder about custom racks. I really doubt I
would do it, but it would be fun to have an extra long rack built that
would cover from the seatstay/seatpost all the way to almost the end
of the back tire. I'm guestimating it could be 24" long on top. (The
longboy from riv is only 14+".) Then have custom panniers made to take
advantage of the length (avoiding heel strike, of course). It would be
something almost like having a cargo bike, but not that extreme. I'd
imagine the carrying capacity could be very impressive.

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[Mark in Beacon]

When I was discussing with Rivendell whether to go with a 52 or 59, Keven mentioned the 700C Clem's wheelbase was only 6" shorter than the shop Big Dummy.

Now I'm a bit concerned that my Piccolo Moose rack won't play nice with the 52 Clementine coming Monday, especially since one of my main justifications for getting the bike was its starring role as the engine to the Piccolo's caboose. As seen in the photo here, the extension/attachment arms that came with the rack are maxed out on my Le Tour, which has longer than average chainstays but well shy of the Clementine. I could fabricate longer extensions, but at what length does that start to be dicey with the side to side torquing forces?

Maybe the best solution in the case of this specialize rack will be a semi-custom, by modifying the front end in some manner to get it up to the braze-on.

(FYI, the Big Dummy flight deck surface is about 24" after taking off a total of 3" for the "handles" on either end.)

On Saturday, November 28, 2015 at 8:31:00 PM UTC-5, Patrick Kelly wrote:

it would be fun to have an extra long rack built that
would cover from the seatstay/seatpost all the way to almost the end

of the back tire.It would be something almost like having a cargo bike, but not that extreme.

[Garth]

   Something like this , a custom it is but there are custom rack makers who can make anything you want .  With extra long stays why not use that extra legth for a longer platform for more "stuff" !  

[Shawn Granton]

Hmm, where have I seen that first photo Garth posted? 

OH yeah, I took it!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanadventureleaguepdx/6077657928/in/album-72157626947821176/

[Philip Williamson]

Thanks to both of you for bringing Arvon bikes to my attention! Those are really cool. I was intrigued by the description of the time trial bikes, but couldn't find a picture.

Philip
www. biketinker.com

[Liesl]

I posted this awhile back, but seems appropriate to repeat for this thread:

Regarding how racks fit on a long chainstayed bike, here's some helpful information I got from Mark Abele as I was trying to figure out rear racks for my custom with 55cm chainstays:

The Nitto Big Rear Rack Longboy Longstay rack has a vertical measurement of 36cm and extends forward from that vertical point 21cm. 
The Nitto Big Back Rack - Medium 32R rear rack measurements are 34cm tall and 15cm forward.
The Pletscher measures 37cm vertically from the dropout eyelet and the forward-most part of the rack is approximately 15cm forward of the vertical line from the dropout eyelet.

I set a few of the racks I already had for other bikes on the custom, including a Tubus Cargo and a Nitto Campee 33R. IMHO, I found that they just sat too far back and looked odd. The Longboy, which I purchased, physically and visually fits to a tee.  I've posted this photo before, but here you can see a big and a little long chainstayed bikes— the 46cm custom with Big Bens, a Longboy rack and Backabike Sacks; and the 60cm Cheviot with Compass Barlow Passes, a Nitto Campee rack and canvas bags that I can't remember the brand.