Rack

[MailSeanBell]

Hey,

I know we talked about this a long time ago but i just wanted to confirm,

The old man mountain racks do indeed work on the cruzbike freerider?

Thanks,
sean

 

[Gromit]

Sean

After spending some considerable time fitting a rack to my Sofrider (See my posts in this thread), I'm starting to wonder if seat back mounted bags such as the Radical Design Solo Aero are a better option.

BTW Whilst searching back through posts on racks, I came across the picture (below) of your Freerider's seat base. It looks to me like the seat base bracket is back to front? Did you deliberately fit it that way for comfort reasons to give a downward, forward slope to the seat base?
I prefer the more usual position with the front higher than the back on my Sofrider. I find that it helps to keep my backside firmly planted on the seat and my back pressed against the backrest.

http://www.cruzbike.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=405

 

[MailSeanBell]

I've thought about the seatpost thing too. I'm 160 pounds (on a good day) and so adding more weight onto the suspension was something I thought to avoid... Do you think that the race weight would add much of a difference? Mostly I'm looking to haul my macbook and papers from home to office. I was hoping to get something water proof too and look at being an all season rider but... I'm living in Edson Alberta now and the winters here are quiet extreme and I don't know how well the streets are kept.

As to the seat it was already pointed out and fixed. And yes... it makes a world of difference!

 

[JonB]

SeanBell wrote: Hey,

I know we talked about this a long time ago but i just wanted to confirm,

The old man mountain racks do indeed work on the cruzbike freerider?

Thanks,
sean

If you use the same extensions like me and gromit then i think you can fit virtually any rack to the cruzbike. If you pick the old man mountain rack model that uses the quickrelease, then it may be too wide, because the cruzbike rear wheel is a normal front wheel.

 

[Gromit]

As you are needing to carry a laptop and papers then maybe you should look at constructing one of Jon B's midracks under the seat. Having the laptop on the suspended part of the Freerider will give your Macbook a much easier ride. A rear swinging arm mounted rack would transfer all of the road vibration into a bag's contents. Alternatively if you only have a few papers that would go in with the Macbook then Radical Design make a laptop bag, [URL='http://www.radicaldesign.nl/img/productfotos/10004blauw_big.jpg class="bb-url">the Solo Laptop[/URL], that slips over the top of the seat back.

I'm pleased that you got the seat bracket sorted out.

 

[Gromit]

JonB wrote:

SeanBell wrote: Hey,

I know we talked about this a long time ago but i just wanted to confirm,

The old man mountain racks do indeed work on the cruzbike freerider?

Thanks,
sean

If you use the same extensions like me and gromit then i think you can fit virtually any rack to the cruzbike. If you pick the old man mountain rack model that uses the quickrelease, then it may be too wide, because the cruzbike rear wheel is a normal front wheel.

I think that Sean may be thinking about the Old Man Mountain front racks Jon?

 

[Gromit]

Regarding fitting a conventional width, rear rack onto the back of a Cruzbike. I had to bend in the bottom of my rack to take up the difference in dropout widths. A reduction from 135 mm to 100 mm. I wonder if that puts the rack legs under strain? A proper front rack like one of the OMM ones wouldn't be under any strain. I seem to recall that one leg of Jon B's rack broke?

 

[JonB]

Gromit wrote: Regarding fitting a conventional width, rear rack onto the back of a Cruzbike. I had to bend in the bottom of my rack to take up the difference in dropout widths. A reduction from 135 mm to 100 mm. I wonder if that puts the rack legs under strain? A proper front rack like one of the OMM ones wouldn't be under any strain. I seem to recall that one leg of Jon B's rack broke?

Yes it will put the rack legs under strain. But depending on the rack design and material, the bend will be permanent or not. If it is permanent, then the strain will only be during the bending process?

And yes, some part of my rack did break, but it may be totally unrelated, or a combination of OVERLOADING the basket ontop of the rack.

The part of my rack that did break was not the actual legs, but something else. The part that did break was a 10 cm height adjustment spacer. The spacer is bolted to the existing holes in the frame, and then also to the legs of the rack. The spacer can be bolted at different heights, and thus my rack can be adjusted to both 28" and 26" wheels.

 

[JonB]

Gromit wrote:

JonB wrote: If you use the same extensions like me and gromit then i think you can fit virtually any rack to the cruzbike. If you pick the old man mountain rack model that uses the quickrelease, then it may be too wide, because the cruzbike rear wheel is a normal front wheel.

I think that Sean may be thinking about the Old Man Mountain front racks Jon?

but they are so small.