tbessie

Hi all...

I went to a couple of bike builders who also build racks, to ask them if they would build me a custom bike rack.

Some of them only built certain types of racks, not what I'd wanted. One got close, but didn't want to build one I could attach a platform to (I use it mostly for city errands, so I need to be able to easily balance things on top, and it needs to be wide). I found one, finally, that said he'd work with me to get what I wanted. But in the end, he decided that my needs were too specific, he didn't like my design (it was too much like a stock rack, but with some modifications), and asked why I didn't just have a stock rack modified (and suggested a friend of his who did that kind of work).

In any case, I'm finding it hard to find someone who will make a rack to be close to the way I want it. Many builders have very specific aesthetic senses, and don't like my designs (which are functional, but diverge from their own designs that they prefer).

Does anyone out there know what I might do to get a very specific rack built close to the way I want, where the builder doesn't mind if it differs from their own aesthetics, as long as it's stable and functional? I didn't think it would be this tough to find someone who would do that, but it hasn't been easy.

- Tim

Vintage Schwinn

My guess is that the respected bike builders have such a reputation and clientele that producing something that deviates from the world class design,
engineering, and workmanship that they are famous for, would possibly hurt their reputation and brand, even if their build for you was expertly
done in such a way that no one could do it better. For example, say that you or someone else, now or in the future, were to post photos and a
story on how the famous Arnold Ziffel made the custom rack and frame for your commuter/transport bicycle. It might not impress those that
worship all of Arnold Ziffel's custom bicycle frame builds and who are patrons of the great Ziffel.

You might seriously seek out some very skilled welder who perhaps, owns, or works in a muffler shop, or at a firm which constructs ornamental
iron fencing and gates for large luxury homes, and mansions, and universities, and parks, etc.. Seriously, anyone that routinely does detailed
fabrication from scratch, that is moderately skilled or better as a welder, could certainly do what you have in mind. There are so many people
that might be capable of doing a fine job, even if they have never welded any portion of a bicycle before. Artists that weld and create art from
rubbish from trash piles and the scrapyards, would certainly have the skillset that you need. Sometimes, those artist folks have a "vision" that others
don't see from the onset, and sometimes the finished product is outstanding beyond belief, and on the other hand it could be just a little
too weird as in a Yoko Ono, avant garde, sort of way.

Hey, if you really think you'd like to create and have design ideas, you might seriously wish to take welding classes at a local technical college.

The equipment and supplies that are needed to weld are not really expensive, BUT YOU DO NOT WANT TO ATTEMPT TO LEARN
ON YOUR OWN BECAUSE YOU COULD GET HURT, IF YOU DON'T KNOW ENOUGH TO DO SO IN A SAFE MANNER!!

I DO NOT Recommend that you go to Harbour Freight or Northern Tools and buy welding equipment, a helmet, a how to book, and watch youtube
to get started welding-----------you really need some Expert instruction and fundamentals in Safe Proceedures and How To---------.....................
............it will not cost too much to take a Welding class at your local technical college.

You'll have fun with a new hobby and you will be a lot less likely to make a mistake or get hurt doing so after proper instruction!

unterhausen

Racks are a pain to make properly and so a lot of builders don't build them or only build them if you also buy a frame.

When I go search on google for "bicycle rear rack" I find a couple of pictures of what amounts to a rear mounted Porteur rack, which sounds a lot like what you are looking for. Which leads me to ask if you have a sketch of what you want.

Ahearn builds some interesting racks, but he doesn't list racks as a separate sales item on his web page.
Front rack done, rear rack done, lights all wired up, rear bag in the works. This bike is nearly complete. See it tomorrow at the Oregon Bike & Beer Fest. #pagestreetcycles #ahearnecyclesworkshop #jrdnapproved #racktodeath #pinion.eu #paragonmachineworks by Ahearne Cycles, on Flickr

unterhausen

I searched for "rear porteur rack" and found a couple of threads here on bikeforums. https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting...pressions.html
The Minoura Gamoh https://www.amazon.com/Minoura-Gamoh.../dp/B005M9CQTC

Racks are very expensive to have made, $400 and up. And then if you vary from what a builder normally makes, it doesnt' surprise me at all that people say no. The other approach is to price it outlandishly. Your requirements as stated lead me to believe that one of the Tubus racks with a fairly wide platform would survive having another platform mounted on top. What are you carrying that it needs to be wide? I occasionally carry a frame on my rear rack, that gets pretty wide, and I just have a standard rear rack.

blacknbluebikes 

How much are you willing to pay? Custom, one-time creations are expensive, right?

unterhausen

Yes, I think the cost involved is the big unanswered question. Is it worth, say, $600? $800? There have been people that tried to make a business selling lower priced racks, but the history hasn't been good. And I really don't think they would have been interested in anything they didn't see a steady market for.

From the sounds of it, the OP should consider a trailer or a cargo bike. These are mainstream solutions to the problem.

tbessie

To answer some of these questions:

1. I'm willing to pay a lot - $1000 would not be unreasonable
2. Most of the time, I use the rack to mount a pannier or two for commutes and errands, but sometimes I'll carry a few bags of groceries or full-sized cardboard boxes on the top of the rack. I prefer a platform on top (a solid one, not one made with a few tubes) because I've had problems with things like jackets bungeed to the top hitting the tire, for instance.
3. I have big feet, so when I put panniers on, I have to put them way in the back of the rack to avoid heel strike. However, when I do this, part of the pannier extends beyond the end of the rack struts, and hits the wheel when I go around corners.
4. Porteur-style racks usually have a square top; I want a rectangular one, one that extends pretty far back, with a solid platform, and struts that extend far enough back so that the pannier doesn't hit the wheel.
5. The bike this is for has caliper brakes that get in the way of the mounting members... I've had to twist one into an unnatural angle to get it to not hit the brakes. So I'd need a better way of mounting the rack to the seat-stays (eg. going around the outside of the brake/brake cable).
6. Most of the available normal racks out there (like the Tubus racks) are pretty narrow, and wouldn't allow me to put as much right on top (like big boxes and grocery bags), even with a platform.
7. I don't want to get a cargo bike, or a huge cargo-style rack (like an XtraCycle); just something medium-sized.

My current rack is a Jannd Expedition:

https://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FREXP

It works perfectly, except for the drawbacks above; I've been trying to find someone who will fabricate for me something LIKE it, but with the fixes I mentioned, hopefully in stainless steel.

- Tim

Andrew R Stewart 

Were the Op closer by to me I might step up to that plate and take a swing. But the comment about the bike's rear brake interfering with the already present rack mount makes me suggest the bike be present when the rack is being made. (And that's not a quickie one day without your bike thing).

The other detail that I stumbled on is the panniers hitting the rear wheel. Do the panniers not have stiffeners in their backs that keep the back panel relatively flat to the rack? Or are the panniers so far rearward that their lower hook/catch/strap doesn't attach to the rack strut/mounting bolt?

I, too, would be interested in looking at any plans or drawings. Andy

tbessie

A shame you're on the other side of the country - oh well :-/

I had given the bike to the builder that decided he didn't want to try it, but he lives a lot closer to me. He's had it for a couple of weeks, but I'll be getting it back from him soon.

I have different panniers that I use, some have a more solid stiffner backing, other slightly less solid. The one I use most days is a North Street Bags Woodward : https://northstbags.com/collections/...ckpack-pannier ... and it's not very stiff.

I do have the hook attached to the bottom strut - I wrap two narrow bands of duct tape around to adjacent sections of the lower rack strut, to keep the hook from sliding around, and then hook the pannier in a place where one of the struts keeps it from sliding backwards. I'd post a photo, but the 2nd builder I mentioned has both the bike and the pannier at the moment.

I have the drawings the 2nd builder sent me, but don't want to identify him, so I won't include them here. He had the idea of a 2-tier design, with the bottom tier extending further back to give me that wheel-coverage I was trying for.

- Tim

squirtdad

@tbessie you might contact forum member @gugie he has done done some interesting rack work and is a really great guy. Not a full time framebuilder.

another option more local to you is Silva Cycles in Campbell (san jose area) https://www.silvacycles.com/ they do a wide range of work

tbessie

Thanks!

- Tim

gugie 

66 posts, I forget, how many before you can PM? If so, contact me that way.

Custom rack builders typically want the frame in hand to get it level and fit just right. I'm in Portland, OR, might be able to do it without the frame, but my buddy Jim G. is in SF, lives in the Mission, and does custom racks.

tbessie

I dunno, but every little bit that's public could be a help to future questioners :-)

You're right about the builder needing the rack in hand; most builders I've found who do this are in Portland, Seattle or Colorado somewhere, not as many in the Bay Area (and I've already tried 3 in the Bay Area who either don't do it, or don't want to do what I want). I've contacted Bronson Silva, so I'll see what he says. I'll PM you about your friend, thanks!

- Tim

sfCyclotourist

Jim G here, responding to Gugie’s summons. What brand/model of bike are we talking about here?

tbessie

It's a custom Steve Rex road bike, lugged frame, late 90s Campagnolo Veloce 9 speed parts (modern Campy rim brakes though).

I can send you a pdf if its dimensions if you're interested.

- Tim

CliffordK

Whew, not a small budget. This also puts you in the market that you might consider looking at cargo bikes (a bit more, but you start approaching that quickly). See below.
Fenders over you tire, of course will help protect stuff from falling on the tire.

It may not need to be a full solid platform, but generally just a strip down the middle (which acts as a mud guard as well as protecting the tire).

You can, of course, also put skirts on the rear wheel, which is popular in Europe, but not as common in the USA. Generally designed to keep clothing out of the tire.

Having a little openness to the rack is important both for the pannier hooks, as well as tie down points for your ropes and straps.

You had that on the Expedition rack that you had posted.

One of the things I tend to look for is not necessarily a long platform on top, but rather some kind of rack extension on the middle of the struts which helps support floppy panniers. There are a few designs that do this.

Many of the "touring" style racks have an extension behind the rear (which your Expedition rack also has to some extent).



On occasion, I've also taped bars on rear sides of my rack to extend it back and prevent floppy panniers from hitting the spokes.

I think newer panniers are also batter at staying out of the spokes.
If you do a platform/portier style rack, you'll also have to consider how to mount the panniers. I.E. tuck them up under the platform? Bars open enough to get the hooks up over the bars.

Certainly a mock-up would be useful before you invest a lot into the rack building.

There are multiple types of pannier mounts. Vintage panniers tend to open on the sides, while newer ones tend to open on the top.

Also look at the Bike Friday Haul-A-Day. It is one of the smaller cargo bikes, and is well liked by many who want a smaller alternative.

https://www.bikefriday.com/folding-b...day-cargo-bike



They are a small semi-custom bike factory, and it is quite possible that if you bought one of their bikes, they'd also do some custom work on it (at an expense).

Of Honorable Mention... I was browsing today and bumped into this MINOURA Gamoh rack. I don't like the strut design (and one would have to consider the pannier mount as mentioned above). But, it would be a start to look at.

tbessie

Yeah, not at all interested in a cargo bike; this is a rack for a very specific bike that I already have (mentioned above).

No need for fenders here in San Francisco, most of the year anyway, and this is for my city bike. Thus, I want a platform. :-)

Something like the Jandd I already have where enough space is left around the edges for the rack to grab on to, but as little as possible (1/4-1/2 inch, basically).

Not interested in that either. I want to keep the wheel bare.

Yes, that's a possibility; that was an idea the rack builder I'd originally talked to suggested, and I liked it; but since he doesn't want to work with me on this, that's why I'm looking for a new builder.

Not interested in anything added on to an existing rack; I want a rack purpose-built to my specs to be just what I want. That's the point of my posting here.

As mentioned, I'm not getting a porteur-style rack; I want a traditional rack, like the Jandd, with the platform (with space around the edges for panniers, as mentioned) - JUST that, nothing else will suit me.

I'm looking for a rack for ONLY my existing bike, not a whole new bike, not a cargo bike, not a porteur rack - I was pretty specific about this above. I appreciate all your suggestions, but there was no need, they don't suit what I'm looking for.

As a side-note, I don't like small-wheel/folding bikes - I tried them out once (we have a great shop that sells them here in San Francisco - Warm Planet Bikes), and I didn't like the feel, and wasn't interested in trying to get used to the feel.

Thanks, looks interesting, but I don't want a basket on top like that. I think a custom rack with a builder who will do JUST what I want, as I described above, will be the way forward for me.

- Tim

countalmaviva 

Just found this!
Haulin' Colin

unterhausen

apparently Haulin' Colin has a new business https://www.cyclefab.net/

billyO13

I'm a bit late to the game here, but if you're still looking, I'd second this suggestion. Too bad you're not closer, because with that budget, I'm sure I could come up with something, possibly with even some hand forged detailing if wanted. I know a few blacksmiths that would probably be willing to do something you could afford.

billyO13

Hi gugie. I just moved to Portland. Would you be willing to assist/consult on a trailer build?

gugie 

I'd be happy to talk to you about it, just no plans to get into the trailer business.

billyO13

Thanks, and I might not need to take up your time. I was planning on doing it myself (I am a blacksmith who can weld after all).
I'm just trying to get to know some folks with more practical experience with biking than me to help troubleshoot or point out things I might need to pay attention to that haven't crossed my mind yet. If it's OK, can l contact you by PM if I have any questions?

gugie 

No problem. Add CliffordK in the conversation, he's actually built a bike trailer, and has been known to load one up with a couple of bikes and ride to Portland from near Eugene. In one day.

billyO13

Thanks for the advice, but I think I'll have to include you into our conversation he started with me last night.
Thanks for making me feel welcome, all.