# Rear Pannier Rack on a mountain bike



## jlt199 (Jun 4, 2017)

Hi, I'm trying to fit a rear pannier rack to my hard tail mountain bike. It doesn't have any rack fittings. Has anyone overcome this issue? I know I can get a fitting to attach the rack to my seat post, but how can I fit it at the bottom? Is there a fitting that clamps to the diagonal part of the frame?

I should mention that the bike doesn't have disk brakes. I found a picture online https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTk3WDgwMA==/z/OWEAAOSw8RJXClIi/$_86.JPG

Thanks


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

https://www.blackburndesign.com/racks/ex-1-disc-rack.html


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## jlt199 (Jun 4, 2017)

Love it! 

But, is there a cheaper option? The cheapest I can find it for is on Amazon.com and including shipping is over 80USD which is probably over 100CAD, plus I forgot to mention that I need it for next Thursday


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## dh024 (Dec 11, 2010)

jlt199 said:


> Love it!
> 
> But, is there a cheaper option? The cheapest I can find it for is on Amazon.com and including shipping is over 80USD which is probably over 100CAD, plus I forgot to mention that I need it for next Thursday


You won't find anything cheaper that you will want to take on the trail. The more popular options (e.g., racks from Old Man Mountain) will be almost twice the cost of the Blackburn rack, which is a real bargain.

Have you looked at bikepacking bags instead? They have some real advantages over bags and panniers. Check out a company like Revelate Designs to get an idea of what's possible, if you aren't familiar with bikepacking bags.


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## jlt199 (Jun 4, 2017)

dh024 said:


> Have you looked at bikepacking bags instead? .


I've never been bikepacking before and we're only planning a one or two night trip to see how it goes. I have looked at some frame, handlebar and seat bags. But these were really expensive and I don't think I could replace panniers and a rack with them as my sleeping bag and stove/cooking stuff wouldn't fit in any other options. I would however like to invest in some if this becomes more than a one off trip. I've also looked at these The Best Bike Trailer Designed and Built for any Terrain and wondered if that would be a good investment. Especially as I could then ride my new full suspension bike as opposed to my ancient cheap bike. I'd appreciate your thoughts on trailer vs. packing on the bike.

Thanks


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## Spec44 (Aug 17, 2013)

Sounds like you're leaning toward going a different direction than 90% of the other people that have gone through and tweaked their storage systems.

As stated above, there are rack options that have been developed for mountain bikes, and from all I've read they work to some degree. I don't like adding too much weight to the rear on my mountain bike.

From reading many blogs, it seems like most people that start with trailers do so for different reasons, but I've seen a LOT of them that a) realize they've settled for it so they could carry lots of stuff (weight) they don't need, or b) they abandon it mid-trip (on extended tours) in favor of bikepacking bags because it is unwieldy when going off-road. Depends on the terrain, though, dirt roads probably aren't too bad, but what do you do when your next trip has lots of tight singletrack? Spend more money on bags?


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## jlt199 (Jun 4, 2017)

Spec44 said:


> Sounds like you're leaning toward going a different direction than 90% of the other people that have gone through and tweaked their storage systems.


That's why I brought it up, to get your opinion. Ok, trailer is out!

I went to MEC to try and get my rear rack fitted, but they didn't have one that would fit my, apparently there's a local store that sells them, but they're not open until Tuesday. In the meantime I bought a seatbag, incase the rack can't be fitted and some frame and handlebar bags. I'm going to have to work extremely hard to get everything to fit without panniers.

Thanks for the advice


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

Check out old man mountain racks. And you can use p clips to put racks on bikes without fittings.


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## jlt199 (Jun 4, 2017)

I thought there must be a way, but everyone I've spoken to says there won't be enough strength in doing that. Do you think it would be strong enough?


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

I use a rear rack on my hard tail, 2 small bags. Not much weight carried there. Big, but light closed cell foam pad, some clothes and other stuff. Beer and food at the end of day as well, nice to have some extra space when needed. How much weight? Doing chunky single track? I also use a handle bar bag and a frame bag too.


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## jlt199 (Jun 4, 2017)

I'm not sure on route yet, but hoping for single track. I bought a handlebar bag yesterday and a small frame bag (which I not sure is worth the money, so may take that one back - it's capacity is tiny). I'm thinking of attaching tent poles to the frame somehow, maybe just tape.

I also bought a seat bag - https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5039-775/Sonoma-Seat-Pack, but I don't think the seat bag and handlebar bag will be anywhere near big enough. I doubt even my sleeping bag would fit in the seat bag, so would prefer to get rear rack fitted.

So the rack/panniers would hopefully carry bulk and not too much weight. Less than 10kg; Tent fly, sleeping bag, thermorest, stove and spare clothes.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

OK, so budget. Almost any bag will " work " for a handle bar bag. last year I used just a small duffle bag that had lots of places to tie it down. I use bar ends and had some place to tie it to. To some finesse but it worked ok.


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## jlt199 (Jun 4, 2017)

Is it worth the extra hassle, and money, of getting a rack to fit on my full suspension bike instead of my old (no suspension) bike?

Would the rack be strong and stable enough on a full suspension?

Thanks


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## bikeny (Feb 26, 2004)

Have a look at the Thule Pack N Pedal, which should fit many bike styles. I wouldn't load it down with lots of stuff though.

You really need to decide what terrain you will be riding as that will influence your decisions on what bike and how to carry stuff. It's pretty accepted by now that the more singletrack you plan to ride, the better off you are Bikepacking soft bags. You may need to make some tough decisions on what to bring along as space will be tighter than with 4 panniers. Quality bikepacking bags are expensive though... But there are ways to cut corners and save money. You can make a bar roll with a quality drybag and some straps instead of paying >$75 for professional setup. Another option is a cheap rack connected to the bike with P-clamps and a big drybag strapped to the top of that. The one place to spend some money is on a quality framebag, especially on a hardtail with a big frame opening. That's where you want to put all of you heavy stuff. You can also strap water bottle cages to each fork leg and under the downtube with tape(or P-clamps) to carry water of smaller cylindrical items. Do some reading up in the 'bike setup' thread on this form and also over at Bikepacking.net.


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## jlt199 (Jun 4, 2017)

Thanks, the P-clamps option is only for the hard tail bike, right? On a FS bike the frame moves with respect to the seatpost, so that won't work.

I believe this is my bike https://cdn.mos.bikeradar.imdserve....-71-01-1470220984250-136axii62nelm-630-80.jpg

Is it possible to lock out the rear suspension enough to put a frame on? It's by far my better bike. The other one still has v-brakes and uses springs for suspension.

The route I have in mind is two days almost all on single track, so the less I can carry and the more I can fix it to the frame the better. Maybe it's worth investing in a Pack N Pedal so I can ride my FS bike unencumbered. Although older bike with rack would be far cheaper.

... It's a hard decision. I guess it comes down to safety, and I think it would be safer riding my FS bike with disc brakes, especially as there may be mud.


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