Rear Rack for S30 for a trunk bag

BikeGary

BikeGary

Well-Known Member
Flollowing a photo I found here on the forum of a S30 with a bike rack for a trunk bag, I bought the parts,
a Nitto R-14 Top Rack from a Japanese supplier, Blue Lug. (Rivendale was out and it was cheaper even with international shipping.) The 2 of largest Nitto P-clamps that Rivendale carries, and a 6 ft piece of 7mm AL rod from Orange Aluminum a supplier of AL rod.

I used a 3lb maul, and an old vise anvil to beat the ends flat, then a drill to put mounting holes in the ends, Then I cut to fit the rods once I had the rack basically in place. (I used two Nitto P-clamps on the head rest and a couple of zip ties for insurance if / when the p-clamps break. I've used P-clamps from my local hardware store for years and they always break after a long while.)

Seems to flex with the rear suspension and the weight limits of the rack, 14lbs is appropriate for the trunk bag at 7lbs with lunch, tools, parts etc.

Hope this helps anyone else looking for a rear rack solution for their S30
 
BikeGary

BikeGary

Well-Known Member
Here's two images. Time spent, an afternoon, as I tend to fiddle around before I cut things just to make sure it fits. I did use a hacksaw to cut the rod, and a file to smooth the edges once I was done. I have enough rod left to make one more long support rod. I suppose if I cared about weight I could trim the two forward rods as well. But seriously I could eat one less doughnut and that would amount to the same weight loss.
 

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T

tiltmaniac

Zen MBB Master
BikeGary said:
Here's two images. Time spent, an afternoon, as I tend to fiddle around before I cut things just to make sure it fits. I did use a hacksaw to cut the rod, and a file to smooth the edges once I was done. I have enough rod left to make one more long support rod. I suppose if I cared about weight I could trim the two forward rods as well. But seriously I could eat one less doughnut and that would amount to the same weight loss.
Click to expand...
Another option you should try: take out the headrest rails, turn them upside down, and reinsert.
You end up with a slightly not-flat mounting platform for a bag.
 
BikeGary

BikeGary

Well-Known Member
tiltmaniac said:
Another option you should try: take out the headrest rails, turn them upside down, and reinsert.
You end up with a slightly not-flat mounting platform for a bag.
Click to expand...
I am using the headrest rails to hold the adjustable headrest and a dual water bottle rack, and two rear lights....
 
benphyr

benphyr

Guru-me-not
:cruzbike: Lesson in Black and White!

@ak-tux, WOW! (I provided a caption for your photo above!)

Whose is that? Is there a build thread? I'm curious about how the handlebar configuration worked for the rider and what stand is holding it up (The rest are all options I am much to aesthetically challenged to be able to do myself!)
 
ak-tux

ak-tux

Zen MBB Master
benphyr said:
:cruzbike: Lesson in Black and White!

@ak-tux, WOW! (I provided a caption for your photo above!)

Whose is that? Is there a build thread? I'm curious about how the handlebar configuration worked for the rider and what stand is holding it up (The rest are all options I am much to aesthetically challenged to be able to do myself!)
Click to expand...

The bike belongs to Paweł Szpryngiel from Poland, (I think, apologies if I got it wrong). He suffered an accident which resulted in full right hand and partial leg paralysis. Yet he overcame odds to learn to ride a Cruzbike Silvio S30 with one hand to raise funds and awareness for disabled children!

The bike is actually setup to shift both the front and rear derailleur with one hand! I don't have the exact details but it's amazing modification!

His facebook page is here : https://www.facebook.com/tourdefundacja/
17015975_1648313702144814_4257334892851531174_o.jpg

 
BikeGary

BikeGary

Well-Known Member
BikeGary said:
Here's two images. Time spent, an afternoon, as I tend to fiddle around before I cut things just to make sure it fits. I did use a hacksaw to cut the rod, and a file to smooth the edges once I was done. I have enough rod left to make one more long support rod. I suppose if I cared about weight I could trim the two forward rods as well. But seriously I could eat one less doughnut and that would amount to the same weight loss.
Click to expand...

Followup on the rack. At the moment I have it off the bike. I found that if I put 15lbs of stuff on it, along with the two waterbottles up high, I got a bit of an instability set up where my pedalling and the weight at the other end of the bike would cause the whole rig to oscillate. This was unnerving at speed... (25mph +) So I bought the scarab underseat bag and moved everything there, lowered the water bottle rack and the wobble went away!. But I'm still a little short on space...so I'm still looking at alternatives. But in general, weight high and back far, bad... weight low and centered good...
 
BikeGary

BikeGary

Well-Known Member
So after a few months of riding with my rack and a trunk bag, I was noticing that the bike had a weird wobble at speed. Specifically over 25 mph I could set up this shimmy that was not at all comfortable, ie it made me afraid to open it up any faster on a downhill. So after playing around I realized that I had too much weight high and behind me. So I bought the Scarab bag and moved everything in my trunk bag to that. It works, but the Scarab is at max capacity with lunch, tools, change of clothes ... etc. So I went back to the drawing board. Then I realized that I could lower and bring my rack forward by a couple of inches and regain my trunk bag for larger bulky and light items.

I had left over 7mm rod from the initial install. So I made some "L" rod hammered out the end, drilled, heated the bend, bent it, and quenched it in water. We'll see if I over stressed the AL rod, (I zip tied it in place in case it breaks while riding.) but so far it looks good. This new placement also allows me to keep the water bottles lower. (at the expense of not being able to fully expand the trunk bag.

I rode into work today, (23 miles) and it seems ok. It's not as smooth as without the rack/bag but it's way better than before.
Anyway for anyone starting from scratch, I'd investigate the front pannier rack/mount that is pictured above before setting off on a trunk rack rig. Also the Scarab bag is well made, seems to be pretty aero dynamic. It's one downfall is that when you fully open the zippers, it can dump it's contents onto the road. (hinged at the back) But if you slide the zippers around together you can open up the sides without that problem. I'd also say that the bag weight limit is about 10lbs. Good for tools, small pump, spare tube, and a light rain coat, snack bar etc. For commuting it's other drawback it that you need to empty the contents when you lock up your bike. It's not a "grab and go" bag. Bag of bags helps a lot here. (I have a small roll top dry bag that I use that fits inside the Scarab.)

rack1-small.jpg rack2-small.jpg rack3-small.jpg
 
BikeGary

BikeGary

Well-Known Member
telephd said:
Great idea and engineering from the looks of it!! Anyone have an idea on make and model of the front/rear rack?
Click to expand...
I was looking around and this rack looks close.
https://www.arkel-od.com/en/ac-lowrider.html And it looks very adjustable, so "it should work"... But mind you, I have not tried to install one. However it may be my next rack if this trunk rack rig doesn't work out in the long run.

Oh and those white panniers look like Ortlieb front rolltop's to me. I have a set of the rear roll tops for my DF and they are excellent bags. Great for commuting with the "grab and go" mount system. Kept my gear dry, survived a number of falls without destructing. The only cut I ever got was from a sharp fender on a parked rusty old pickup truck that I passed way too close to.

NOTE:
If you need "P-clamps" to mount stuff, get the Nitto version. The AL one's from the electrical section of your local hardware store work, for a short time, and then they break from stress fractures.

And due to the possibility of fractured P-clamp, zip tie it in place as a backup. That way it won't fall into your wheel/spokes and cause you to crash.
 
benphyr

benphyr

Guru-me-not
I don't know the brand but Front Low Rider is the type of rack. They are the ones that are centered around the axle not hanging around at or above the top of the wheel. We would need one with lots of adjustability or customized ourselves because the "seat stay" we are using for support instead of the front fork is way further from vertical (maybe 45o compared to 70o).
 
BikeGary

BikeGary

Well-Known Member
Ok, the report from the ride home going downhill at speed (25 mph+ gps measured) is that moving the rack helped but did not eliminate the wobble. Ugh.. (I had only the trunk bag, a change of clothes and my cell phone & keys in it.) Looks like I will be investigating the front rack mounted in the back solution. Dang!
 
super slim

super slim

Zen MBB Master
I use an Arkel Randonneur Rack clamped to the headrest rails! And added two support struts from the frame rear suspension connection to keep the panniers out from the wheel.
I cannot post any photos!
 
BikeGary

BikeGary

Well-Known Member
super slim said:
I use an Arkel Randonneur Rack clamped to the headrest rails! And added two support struts from the frame rear suspension connection to keep the panniers out from the wheel.
I cannot post any photos!
Click to expand...
Hmm, I have one of those Arkel racks that I use on my Mt Bike.
How did you attach the support rails to the Arkel rack? P-clamps? And any special trick for the Arkel clamps to the head rest bars....
 
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