mmcc73

Hi All - I'm trying to set up a 70s Dawes Galaxy to do some bike camping this summer. I'd like to put on a decent modern rear rack, but I was wondering if there are modern racks that work better than others on older bikes. My bike frame has rack mounting holes on the dropouts but not on the seat stays. Should I just get a rack that is made for seat stay mounting holes and rig something up with p clamps? Or is there a better solution?

Thanks,
Clark

3speedslow

mmcc73

I don't suppose you have a link to such a rack? All of the ones I'm seeing on Amazon use two seat stay mounts.

Here's the bike as found - it is currently in a mostly disassembled state.

gugie 

I'd vote for P-clamps, two connection points are better than one. I'd also use a steel rack vs an aluminum one. I've had two aluminum racks break ove the years, both times my handy roll of duct tape was used to get me home.

The one thing on that Dawes I'd worry about are the wheels, specifically the spokes. It's very similar to the Raleigh Super Course MkII that I toured on when I was younger. Two long trips in a row I broke a drive side spoke and had to limp into the next town to get it fixed. For a regular rider it would be ok, but loading down a rear wheel with panniers, sleeping bag and tent along with your weight puts a lot of stress on those old spokes. Consider a set of new wheels with modern stainless steel spokes.

TenGrainBread 

P clamps will be totally sufficient if you get some good quality ones. Nitto makes some you can buy, and a lot of racks come with them.

This is a prime opportunity to visit your local bike shop. You will be able to get their advice and be able to see what hardware comes with the racks they have in stock. They might even test fit it for you. Unless it's something you absolutely can't find or get on order locally, I would skip Amazon and support your neighbors' small businesses.

panzerwagon 

madpogue 

Those ^^^^^ look robust, moreso than p-clamps. But I reckon they're for fork blades, right? They'd be a bit big for seat stays, and I think major use of spacers would compromise the robustness some. Do they make adapters of this design, but sized for seat stays?

To the OP's question about a single central brake bridge mount, look at just about any modern MTB rack. The kind that uses stainless steel straps, rather than the seat stay mounts being integral parts of the rack. Typically you see three rows of mounting holes. The outer ones are for the straps that go to seat stay braze-ons (or P-clamps), and the center holes are for a steel strap that goes to the brake bridge. On the one hand, it's a more direct method of mounting than using P-clamps on the stays, and of course it can't slip. OTOH, it's one mount point rather than two, as said.

ryansu

My 78 Motobecane Grand touring has a blackburn rack with single attachment "arm" that goes to the brake bridge. If you live near a bike co-op they can be a good source of older racks, the can also be found on eBay. Be careful though as those early Blackburn rack were frame size specific i.e. not much adjustability but great if its the right size.

Salamandrine 

Pletscher! If you are brave and want to be period correct. That's all that was around until the later half of the 70s. The new ones supposedly have improved. They have twin stays now. Only exotic customs like Singer or Jack Taylor or whatever would have upper braze ons for racks. Everyone else ran a Pletscher, or a Blackburn after 1976 or so.

While I'm not entirely joking, for a serious camping bike, I'd suggest Nitto big rack or similar. That's what I use. Mount with P clamps. There is nothing wrong with P clamps, especially the Nitto ones, and they were really the only option circa the 70s. I think it's going to be more rugged than a rack with a single upper mounting strut at the brake bolt.

Be careful of some modern racks. They assume sloping top tube modern design, and they won't fit on larger sized traditional diamond frames. IE the Tubus logo Evo. I have one in my junk box because of this.

Aubergine 

panzerwagon 

SurferRosa

What I'm seeing on youtube from modern touring is they're getting away from loading the rear of the bike, especially with panniers. More folks are using front bags, larger saddle bags, and frame bags.

If you do go with a rear rack, I would suggest a blackburn rack as shown in post 8. That's what I use on my grocery getter. I would hate to attach anything to my stays.

Kuromori

I forgot where, it might have just been eBay, but they sell brackets that mount like that behind the brake, but have to tabs that stick out to the sides to mimic upper rack braze-ons.

52telecaster

I like the old brake bridge mount blackburns too but i wouldnt discount the tubus fly. It will mount on the brake bridge, is quite strong and weighs next to nothing.

Salamandrine 

For those that fear the P clamp or think it's a hack solution, it's really not. This was the correct way to do it before rack braze ons started being added to production bikes. I worked in a touring specialty shop in the pre braze on era, and we mounted racks with P clips all the time. A twin stay rack with P clips is much more reliable than any single stay to the brake bridge type rack, especially if you are setting it up for actual bike camping gear. P clamps were even used to install low riders for the first 2 or 3 years, before manufacturers were convinced to add mid fork braze ons.

mmcc73