Quote Originally Posted by Lucky, Fabulous View Post
I am ready for a rack for my bike. It is just too uncomfortable and heavy for me to carry all my stuff in a backpack. But...and this is embarassing to ask...how do you get them on? I have shopped around for them, and there doesn't seem to be much information about that little detail. I don't have much for tools, which is why I ask. Also, can you take them off when you are not using them? Some day I will get a second bike and will be able to just use this one as my commuter, but until then, I hate the looks of them when not in use (there is another thread about this, so I know I am not alone).
Rear cargo racks usually require that your bike have lugs and/or braze-ons on the rear stays that you bolt the rack onto. Most of your higher-end road bikes and especially the carbon frames don't come with these fittings these days. An alternative to mounting to the braze-ons is to use P-clamps which fasten around the seat post and seat stays and give you a place to attach the rack supports.

Here's a link to a thread over at the RoadBikeReview forum answering a similar question, and giving an excellent little (illustrated) tutorial on mounting a cargo rack: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/sho...d.php?t=146866

Someone mentioned seatpost-mounted racks... I've tried this a time or three, and have two of them in my possibles box. Seatpost racks have only around half the weight capacity of a frame-mounted rack -- maybe 20 to 25 pounds at the max -- and it's sometimes hard to get them clamped tight enough that they don't sway a bit when the road gets rough.

If your road bike doesn't have the lugs to mount a rack, or if you've got a full-suspension MTB, Old Man Mountain (http://www.oldmanmountain.com) makes several racks that will attach to the seat stay and the axle/rear skewer. They're a little pricy in comparision to other racks, but they give rock solid reliability and performance.