Originally Posted by
abdon
Honestly if you have little money you should invest in demystifying bike mechanics. Spend your money on tools, not fancy parts. A rack can be had for cheap, and a properly installed P clamp can be as reliable as braze ons.
Nothing will kill a long tour faster than having something grinding on you that you don't know how to take apart and replace. If you know how to do that it is just an inconvenience, not an expensive reroute to a bike shop.
Get the oldest bike you can find, if it is rusted even better. Chances are it will be free. Chances are you'll have to fight the bike for every part you have to take out which would be great; the experience will teach you more than years of reading about it.
As we speak I'm literally dissolving an aluminum seatpost on a steel frame with sodium hydroxide (lye) because it was stuck beyond human power to remove. That is a bit extreme but the point is, you learn by doing. The first time you break a bolt on a braze on (ideally on the beater free bike you use to learn) you will pick up a ton of knowledge that will keep you safe and rolling in the wide road.
Hi abdon!
Thanks so much for taking the time. At the top with my original first post I mention what I have and that's my bike for everything, my 1998 Diamondback rigid frame 4130 Cro-Mo. I need to research different brands of racks advised here. I already looked at Surly costing $300 total. There is a bike coop that charges $5 an hour (2 yrs ago) to rent a bench. Is there one brand of p-clamps that is better than another? Also I need to find a tutorial on how to go the clamp-on route. One shop said once I had the braze-ons they'd install $20 front rack and $20 rear rack. None of the 4 shops I went to in-person never even said anything about the clamp route! I discovered that reading online. All they said was go to the same frame builder that quoted $790 if I got the Surly racks through him. Another here said Surly's are heavy however I want steel racks as if there is a problem they can be welded. Another advised "Talus Logo EVO rear rack, "Tara racks by Tubus" so I'm going to try to find those and think things through. Do you think having a second set of threaded islets welded in down by the existing ones down by my drop-outs as a back up in case the existing ones break off is a good idea?
That's amazing you're actually dissolving an aluminum seatpost, wow! I never heard of that! I hope none of the hydroxide runs down the seat tube to your bottom bracket and rusts it in place. Salt water got down my former frame and my bottom bracket couldn't be removed. The shop advised $341 to switch all over to my present frame they found... that's what I did and should have bought another used bike instead, but all another story and another example of me not representing myself very well, just like with the present frame builder that quoted $790 price to make braze-ons for Surly racks. Any other advise from you or anyone is much appreciated!
THANKS!!
Winfred