5/7/14 7:11 AM

I'm foolishly contemplating a bike camping trip with kids. I don't have a touring bike and would be using my road bike that doesn't have eyelets for panniers. I'll be towing the 2 kids in a Chariot trailer, and I can pack some gear onto the trailer. But not everything will fit on the Chariot, so I need another option.

Does anyone have experience with any of the seatpost mounted luggage racks? Looks like this one can accomodate panniers:

https://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1023820_-1_400031__400031

I'll pull gear out this weekend to see how much could fit on the trailer and how much I'd actually need to get onto the luggage rack.

Any recommendations for a seatpost mounted rack? Bad idea?

5/7/14 8:37 AM

A seatpost rack will not carry too terribly much (and if you have a lightweight post (i.e., carbon), might not even be a good idea).

There are a number of inexpensive (and expensive) racks that will mount using the rear brake mount and the rear skewer. The Axiom Streamliner Road comes to mind.

With a rack like that, you could mount panniers. One of the nice features of the Axiom is that it sets the rack back far enough to avoid heel strikes (even for me, and I wear size 13 shoes).

5/7/14 10:26 AM

No MTN bike in your stash?

5/7/14 12:25 PM

I have a seatpost rack on my mountain bike and it will indeed take a good deal of weight. I sometimes have used a single sided pannier with some heavy stuff in it, and it's fine. Mine does not have the side guards to keep a pannier positioned, so the pannier I use has a piece of paneling to stiffen it. On mine you can also pull the plastic plug out of the main beam and stow a pump inside, but I don't know whether the one shown will allow that.

The one I have also uses a quick release clamp, and it must be very tight. I would guess that the clamp tightens better with less stress, but that's a guess.

However, my mountain bike is very hefty, including the seatpost. I'd want to make sure the road bike can handle it before going far. At first glance this looks like a pretty well designed rack.

5/7/14 1:22 PM

I have an old handlebar pack. Also good for hand resting positions. Used it on the Paramount when I first got it. It does get wonky with a steep front end when loaded to heavy I noticed. But on a MTB or other, like CX with 72^ or slower front end be better maybe. Has a clear map top too which is nice.

I could set it up behind the seat post with a tandem stem maybe. May look into that. Maybe I should have included the long range question.thread in your thread, but I did not want to hijack on ya. But perhaps similar questions as it pertains to hauling stuff.

5/7/14 3:38 PM

I like saddlebags. They don't affect the handling much if at all when properly mounted, and the large ones like a Carradice Camper Longflap can carry enough for light touring - ie not camping.

5/7/14 4:56 PM

I think it would be a lot more fun and less stressful to go from motel to motel instead.

Camping with TWO kids, you're talking about a pretty big tent that sleeps 3, two or three sleeping bags and mattresses! That's not even include change of clothes and such. Never mind stove and cookware. I don't see how all of that would fit, never mind the total weight!

Wouldn't the kids get really bored sitting in the trailer?

5/7/14 7:11 PM

quote:

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would be using my road bike that doesn't have eyelets for panniers

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5/8/14 2:43 AM

I have a Longflap on my commuter/errand bike (along with a Carradice Shopper Pannier). Both work great.

5/8/14 3:55 AM

I absolutely love the aesthetic of the saddlebag, and I've owned a number over the years. But they just don't work for me. They rub against my thighs, they stick out too far (years ago I caught one on a fence I was narrowly passing, and it ripped out a strap).

Dunno.

As I said, I love the way they look, but I just haven't been able to make one work for me.

Consequently, I have been using a handlebar bag more and more, sometimes supplemented with panniers. Ironweed makes a nice LARGE handlebar bag (the "Orpington") for not terribly much money, and I've had good luck with that.

http://www.ironweedbp.com/orpington-front-bag.html

5/8/14 6:20 AM

I've got a Berthoud handlebar bag on my rando bike, and the bike handles great even with the bag stuffed. It was designed for a handlebar bag though. More than one way to skin a cat. It's all good!

5/8/14 6:36 AM

Thanks for the input!

The Axiom Streamliner (mounts to rear break and skewer) looks like it could be a good option - thanks Andy!

As for April's question, the wisdom of doing this trip with kids is up for question. Will they be bored in the trailer? Maybe. But it will be a group of friends with similar aged kids - so the time out of the bike trailer will be fun for them. And we wouldn't be trying to cover very much distance. We'd be riding on a rail trail and only doing ~20 miles/day between campsites.

5/8/14 7:51 AM

The Axiom Streamliner looks like a good choice for mounting on a road bike without seatstay or dropout eyelets but be sure it won't interfere with the hitch attachment for your trailer. That may be a disqualifier.

I have some experience with seatpost mounted racks and they were adequate for light loads. As Andy M-S noted, I would never mount one on a carbon seatpost or a very light, thin wall aluminum one either.

Spend a few extra dollars and get a thick wall, cheap post like a Kalloy and dedicate it to the rack. You have to get the rack's mounting clamp very tight to keep it from swinging to either side.

Last edited by Dave B on 5/8/14 9:39 AM; edited 1 time in total

5/8/14 8:35 AM

I have toured twice on my Bianchi road bike - it has no eyelets. The first time I used a seat post rack for a 5 day credit card tour. I was carrying maybe 25 lbs in the panniers and found that it affected the handling in a negative way. Made the bike feel very top heavy with all the weight attached to a single point of contact just under the saddle. How that would combine with pulling a trailer is anyone's guess.

The second time I used a conventional rack mounted on p-clamps. That also had an issue - the Bianchi has tapered seat stays and I could not get the p-clamps to stay in the desired location an inch or two above the axle. They would slip down until the chain side clamp interfered with my ability to shift to the smallest cog. Not a fatal problem when touring as I seldom needed that gear. Maybe your stays and/or dropout design is such that it would not be a problem.

5/8/14 9:40 AM

quote:

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As for April's question, the wisdom of doing this trip with kids is up for question. Will they be bored in the trailer? Maybe. But it will be a group of friends with similar aged kids - so the time out of the bike trailer will be fun for them. And we wouldn't be trying to cover very much distance. We'd be riding on a rail trail and only doing ~20 miles/day between campsites.

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5/8/14 9:44 AM

Otherwise, they're just sitting inside "some vhecle".


Yelling out "are we there yet', what is different? ;)

5/8/14 12:02 PM

"...Dad? The right pannier fell off five miles back..."

5/8/14 7:04 PM

We did thousands of miles with our kids in a trailer. Sure we had to stop more often but we had a lot of great family trips, first with just one in the trailer, then that one graduated to a kid-back tandem and the second one in the trailer. It's a lot more entertaining for them to watch the world go by as you talk to them about what they are seeing than being strapped into a car seat and staring at the seatback in the station wagon.

5/8/14 7:30 PM

Though we didn't do any extended touring, most of my kids did some time in a trailer and they enjoyed it. Child No. 3 graduated to a trail-a-bike. I used to take him to preschool on it, then pick him up. He'd come running out from the playground, grab his helmet, and climb aboard. At 19, he bikes and shows no interest in earning a driver's license.

5/8/14 11:48 PM

quote:

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I absolutely love the aesthetic of the saddlebag, and I've owned a number over the years. But they just don't work for me. They rub against my thighs, they stick out too far (years ago I caught one on a fence I was narrowly passing, and it ripped out a strap).

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5/9/14 3:15 AM

I've tried adaptors, both commercial and homemade. But once you go to installing a rack, the minimalist aesthetic is gone, and I might as well load up panniers.

5/9/14 8:53 AM

I use Bagman with the Longflap, otherwise the bag tilts too much for my taste. Once the Bagman is on I don't even notice it.

"Minimalist Aesthetic" - Get over it, dude! :)

5/12/14 12:32 PM

quote:

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But it will be a group of friends with similar aged kids - so the time out of the bike trailer will be fun for them. And we wouldn't be trying to cover very much distance. We'd be riding on a rail trail and only doing ~20 miles/day between campsites.

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5/12/14 2:32 PM

Ummm, Dude, I saw those hammered fenders...

5/12/14 2:52 PM

The fenders:

$35/set, I swear. They replaced a set of SKS that were starting to have problems.

I no longer consider a bicycle without fenders to be adequate!