Best Rack/Panniers for my small ride?

Well, I will be bike commuting all summer and currently have a sturdy basket that I love, I will need some more space when I start my PhD program this fall. I have been looking into getting a rear rack and some panniers for my bike so that I can take it to/from work and on errands around town.

The only problem is that my bike is really, really tiny and I don't know if that will affect the ability to get a rack for it. It has 24'' tires and is a 1977 Columbia Blaze road bike.

I am just looking for something functional, waterproof, and with enough space to pack a change of clothes and such along with possibly my lunch and my 10'' netbook.

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Originally Posted by colorisnt

Well, I will be bike commuting all summer and currently have a sturdy basket that I love, I will need some more space when I start my PhD program this fall. I have been looking into getting a rear rack and some panniers for my bike so that I can take it to/from work and on errands around town.

The only problem is that my bike is really, really tiny and I don't know if that will affect the ability to get a rack for it. It has 24'' tires and is a 1977 Columbia Blaze road bike.

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First question: Does your bike have braze-ons (little sockets on the rear triangle) where you can bolt on a rack? If it doesn't, that's not a show-stopper, since you can get these little P-clamps at the hardware store that will clamp onto your seat post and seat stays to get you a place to bolt on the rack.

Most racks are adjustable so that it will fit from around a 24" wheel up to 700C, so the main question will be mounting it to the bike. Once you have that solved, panniers are fairly standard in the way they mount onto the rack; though you may have to tweak a little the way the lower connector clips onto the bottom of the rack to keep the bag from flopping around and getting into your spokes.

A good LBS should be able to get you fitted out...

Tom

Racking a bike with a tiny rear triangle can be tricky because of the height of most racks. Even if you have braze-ons, the horizontal rack stays only bend so far.

What about something like the OMM Red Rock: http://www.oldmanmountain.com/Pages/...RearRacks.html ?? Looks like it mounts lower on the seat stays...

The Ortlieb front roller bags might be good for a small bike.

My tiny bike has an old man mountain which was recomended to me because of the small frame

It doesn't have any braze-ons unfortunately. If I got the Old Man Mountain rack would I still need the p-clamps?

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I appreciate it.

Another issue to be aware of is heel-strike. Short wheelbase plus small-ish wheels can lead to your heel hitting your pannier.

To the extent that you can choose/adjust your rack for this, or your panniers, you should be okay.

The clip system on Arkel Overdesign panniers allows for fore/aft adjustment, I've found this to be a pretty important feature given the geometry of my bikes.

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Originally Posted by colorisnt

It doesn't have any braze-ons unfortunately. If I got the Old Man Mountain rack would I still need the p-clamps?

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Can you post a pic of the rear of the bike, taken from the side?

I will be glad to post them when I am well enough to go out to the garage again. I've been sick with kidney stones and just had surgery today. I appreciate the help, though, don't think I have forgotten about it :)

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Originally Posted by colorisnt

I will be glad to post them when I am well enough to go out to the garage again. I've been sick with kidney stones and just had surgery today. I appreciate the help, though, don't think I have forgotten about it :)

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Oh no! Hope that you're feeling better soon!

Owie! take it easy.

Not the best pictures, but best I could do at the time with my cell phone camera. I am not allowed to lift anything over 20 lbs right now, so getting it outside of the garage is not an option. I hope this helps a little haha.

https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&i...disp=inline&zw

https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&i...disp=inline&zw

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