I got an S&S conversion for xmas! :D

[Coluber42]

For my holiday gift this year, my better half is having Peter Weigle put S&S couplers in my "touring" frame, and also put on some new braze-ons and so forth.
Peter says I should bring along whatever racks I plan on using so he can optimize their locations accordingly. Last summer I managed to break two aluminum Toba racks. I'm thinking I'll get a Tubus this time, either Cargo Evo or Logo Evo. And a front rack, so maybe I won't overload the rear quite as badly.

The reason I've been breaking racks is that I also load up the bike and use it for getting to summer workshops where I play and teach. That involves carrying stuff like my laptop and a big stack of photocopies and a week's worth of regular clothes and a whole bunch of instruments and so forth, and ends up weighing rather more than actual bike touring gear. Last summer, my various summer workshop commuting involved two ~55-mi days, one ~90-mi day, three ~110-mi days, a ~120-mi day, and a ~135-mi day, some of which had dirt roads and bad pavement and so on. And everything was on only a rear rack, hence the breakage.

So, anyone have any suggestions for really sturdy rear racks beyond the two I mentioned? I'm hoping to lighten the load by a few pounds this year by bringing a tablet instead of a computer and hopefully reading some of the music off of said tablet instead of carrying it (although I still need to bring photocopies to distribute). And I'll probably try and put some of it up front, too, if I get new fork braze-ons. But even still, maximum capacity is an issue.

But all that aside... WOOHOO! I'm getting S&S couplers! :D

[scooter]

Great Xmas present. For durable racks, I'd look at Bruce Gordon http://www.bgcycles.com/racks.html or Nitto racks http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/r4.htm.


Both are chro moly, so are more durable than the aluminum ones.

[donevwil]

We'll need pics of course. Is it a Weigle frame ?

I recently put a Tubus Logo Classic on my wife's commuter and am very happy with it. Not used for super heavy loads, but it appears to be very well built and my wife likes the low rider bag mounting.

[Coluber42]

Scooter - Do you know how either of those compares to the Tubus in terms of load capacity or stability? The Tubus and the Nitto have better upper stays than the Bruce Gordon, it looks like. In the photos, the Nitto looks like it bolts to two sets of eyelets instead of just one, which would be really nice so that there are more bolts supporting the weight (and I can have the second set of eyelets added in the correct position for that).

It's not a Weigle frame... technically, it's not actually a touring frame, but I use it as one. It's a 1972 Raleigh Pro that I bought for cheap on eBay because I like my 1974 Raleigh Pro (my brevet bike) so much. But it has enough clearance for reasonably wide tires and fenders, and it handles well enough fully loaded that I can put 80 lbs on the back and still ride no-hands. So it might seem a little weird to put that much into converting it, but I already know I like the way it rides both with and without a load, so that makes more sense than something like a Surly TravelersCheck or a Ritchey Breakaway because I already know that I don't like them as much.

My previous dealing with Weigle was when he repainted my brevet bike's frame, in the original colors, complete with seat tube panels, decals, pinstriping, etc. This one won't be a restoration like that, it will just be a solid color.

Here's a photo of it on the way to one of those workshops, to demonstrate the need for a sturdy rack. This was on one of the 110-mi days:

http://www.dillpicklegear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/red-bike.jpg

[scooter]

Based on your 80 lb carrying capacity (that’s a serious load!), I’d consider off-loading some of the weight to a front rack. Since your bike frame is not a heavy duty touring frame, per se, your bike may have enough sway to continuously stress the rear rack, and your experience with aluminum racks breaking may attest to this. The chrome moly offerings from Tubus, Nitto, and Bruce Gordon are a big upgrade in stability and durability. The Tubus Cargo Evo has a manufacturer’s load capacity of 88 lbs. Nitto rates their rack conservatively at 50lbs. I’d suggest contacting Bruce Gordon for his load specs, if you like his racks. I have seen his rear rack but haven’t used one. Bruce overbuilds his products, so I have to believe his rack compares favorably to the other two, the Tubus and Nitto. In addition, I’d expect he is more likely (along with a number of the frame builders that specialize in touring bikes) to customize a rack to handle a given load capacity. Eighty lbs is at the upper limit for a rear load.
The Nitto racks have always impressed me, and they supply enough connectors to accommodate most frames. The mtb specific Nitto R20 has fit well on my 26” mtb with Lone Peak panniers.
Cosmetically, the Nittos are nickel coated with a satin or dull silver finish. The Tubus cargo comes in powder-coated black. I think the Bruce Gordon is powder coated black, but if you went custom, I think BG would give any color you’d want. Also of note, Tubus has a stainless steel rear rack, the Cosmo, with the same load capacity as the cargo evo.

[Fishbike]

It is so cool to see a bike being used so well. Enjoy the couplers,