Rear Rack Bicycle

[ezdoesit]

Hello,
  I just emailed Fuji and ask about the rear rack that came with my 2008 Fuji bicycle as far as how much weight the rack was rated at and I must say I got a fast reply from them. Here is a copy and paste from them:
The stock rack on the Touring model is rated at 35 lbs.
So my question is will this rear rack be enough for me to use along with a front rack for self contained touring?
I realize it would be determined by how much weight would I will be taking and I can only answer that saying I have all my backpacking gear from hiking the Appalachian Trail and never carried more them 38 pounds and that was with 5 1/2 days of food,2 liters of water and fuel for cooking.

So I hope this makes some kind of sense and thank you for your time.

[staehpj1]

I am pretty sure we had the same racks on our Windsor Tourists and two of us replaced them with a couple Blackburn EX-1's that we had on hand.  The other of our group used the stock rack for the Trans America.  It held up OK.  I did notice a bit of sway in the rack when riding behind her, but it held up OK at least for the 4244 miles that she used it.  I think she always had less than 35 pounds on it.

I'd say that you can definitely get by with it if you pack fairly light especially if you are running front panniers too.  If I didn't already have an EX-1 before I bought the bike I'd probably still be using the stock rack.  Give it a try for a while and if you find it too flimsy buy and EX-1 when they are on sale (Nashbar and Performance often have them on sale).

[ezdoesit]

 staehpj1;D
Thank you for your reply,and yes I think we both have similar bikes and I plan on spreading the weight between the front and rear Pannier's.

[bktourer1]

My one and only rear rack is the Jandd "expedition".  Wide / Long platform and very sturdy

[ezdoesit]

 
Thank you for all your reply's.
I just bought a Axiom Journey and much-much better then the stock rear rack.
I jumped on the REI sale and ordered a set of Ortileb front classic rollers to match my back classic rollers and last but not least I ordered the Jannd front low rider rack and hope I don't have a problem with because of my new SKS fenders.
Yes I am getting ready for touring and can't wait to go- well go some where
The pannier's are Yellow

[Pat Lamb]

I jumped on the REI sale and ordered a set of Ortileb front classic rollers to match my back classic rollers and last but not least I ordered the Jannd front low rider rack and hope I don't have a problem with because of my new SKS fenders.
...
The pannier's are Yellow

Fenders shouldn't matter, although you may need to shim something out.

Ortliebs are easier to mount than any of the other pannier brands I've tried (including Trek and REI house brand).  Yellow's a good color.  Highly visible, even if it's just the back of the top, above the black side.

[DaveB]

I realize it would be determined by how much weight would I will be taking and I can only answer that saying I have all my backpacking gear from hiking the Appalachian Trail and never carried more them 38 pounds and that was with 5 1/2 days of food,2 liters of water and fuel for cooking.

For on-road bike touring there is no need to carry multiple days worth of food as you are never more than a few hours from a grocery store of some sort.  Water is usually carried in water bottles cages on your frame or in a Camelback on you so the rack won't see that weight either.  Your racks should be well under their rated capacity.

[staehpj1]

For on-road bike touring there is no need to carry multiple days worth of food as you are never more than a few hours from a grocery store of some sort.

I partially agree, but think that is overstating things a bit.  Yes, on tour you don't need to carry a lot of food and ideally you buy it daily.  On the other hand I have not found it is true that "you are never more than a few hours from a grocery store of some sort".  I have fairly often gone a couple days between stores and that is in the US.  I suspect some folks tour in places much more remote than I have.

Water is usually carried in water bottles cages on your frame or in a Camelback on you so the rack won't see that weight either.

Water...  I have needed to carry more than fits in my bottle cages quite often.  Best to allow for the likelihood of needing to carry some water in your panniers.  The notion of wearing a camelback doesn't appear to me, but even if it did sometimes in the desert you need a bit more.

Your racks should be well under their rated capacity.

Agreed, yes he should be able to stay under the capacity of the racks.

[ezdoesit]

DaveB,
  Thank you for your reply and I will make sure I have food when needed after looking over my maps.
I have many, many miles under my belt riding tours and 45 mile days so I know about the water but thank you for pointing that out to me that is much appreciated.
I plan to carry what I need and learned about carrying weight from my Thur-Hikes of the AT.
My stated weights (capacity wise) Front rack max-25lbs., Rear rack max 154lbs. these are the weights for the racks I am not carrying that kind of weight.
The only experience I don't have is on a long distance ride with the bike loaded but hopefully if the weather holds up I will get out with  a fully loaded bike and have some fun.

[Pat Lamb]

Water is usually carried in water bottles cages on your frame or in a Camelback on you so the rack won't see that weight either.

Water...  I have needed to carry more than fits in my bottle cages quite often.  Best to allow for the likelihood of needing to carry some water in your panniers.  The notion of wearing a camelback doesn't appear to me, but even if it did sometimes in the desert you need a bit more.

Pete only alludes to them, but I found the Platypus folding water sacks he recommended to be invaluable.  Weight is about nothing, empty space in the bag is about nothing, but when you need to carry water, it's great.  Fill it with water as cool as you can get it, stuff it inside a sleeping bag and it doesn't get too hot to drink (although it's not as nice as getting a friend to pull a trailer with an ice chest!).

[ezdoesit]

 
The Platypus water bottles I have two of those and yes they weigh about 1 ounce a piece and hold 1 liter.
I would say if you know your going to need to carry more water then yes this is the way to go.

[Westinghouse]

Just about  any rear rack will suit your needs for a transcon bike ride. My last rear rack cost about $10.00. No problem whatsoever.

[DaveB]

I partially agree, but think that is overstating things a bit.  Yes, on tour you don't need to carry a lot of food and ideally you buy it daily.  On the other hand I have not found it is true that "you are never more than a few hours from a grocery store of some sort".  I have fairly often gone a couple days between stores and that is in the US.  I suspect some folks tour in places much more remote than I have.

Water...  I have needed to carry more than fits in my bottle cages quite often.  Best to allow for the likelihood of needing to carry some water in your panniers.  The notion of wearing a camelback doesn't appear to me, but even if it did sometimes in the desert you need a bit more.

OK. I did overstate the availablity of food and water re-suppley a bit but the point I was making is you don't need to carry several days worth of either food or water. 

[JayH]

Re: Platypus bags...     if you want longevity, the MSR dromedary bags are worth their extra price. the standard translucent platypus bags do develop creases over time unless you really are very careful of them. These creases introduce stress lins and stress cracks in the Platypus bags.  Mind you, it typically isn't going to fail on one, two, three, four trips but over time and temperature, mine eventually fail. Nothing that's difficult for an emergency repair with duct tape but keep that in mind.

Jay