Rack options on a Giant Fathom Hardtail eMTB

[RandallS]

I was tinkering with methods of firming up the frame. This is just a couple of velcro straps and it works pretty well.

 

[RandallS]

Awesome, and pics when you get a chance! Good luck with diag etc.

Hopefully ride this weekend. Yesterday was full body CT with radioactive isotope and I got lucky today when I called for an appointment for cortisone in SI joint. Have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.

I'll be extremely happy (massive understatement) if the treatment works, as I went through this in 2015 in the UK and it was horrible. I'm pretty sure I could ride with no new damage, but a couple of extra days is no hardship.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Hopefully ride this weekend. Yesterday was full body CT with radioactive isotope and I got lucky today when I called for an appointment for cortisone in SI joint. Have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.

I'll be extremely happy (massive understatement) if the treatment works, as I went through this in 2015 in the UK and it was horrible. I'm pretty sure I could ride with no new damage, but a couple of extra days is no hardship.

Good on ya, do the right thing. All my mojo sent in your direction.

 

[RandallS]

Well - initial indications are I'll be back on the bike Monday.
Don't feel too much better, but need to rest the joint a few more days to let the stuff work.

BTW - both the CT and the treatment were next day appointments.
That's not normal, even for here. I can often get the pain management appointments within a week, but a CT scan often takes a bit longer.

The only reason they did a full body one was that I've had cancer (skin) they'd already injected the isotope, and I was on the table.
They always try to do a full body with cancer history if they can in that scenario.

And my one political statement of the day, my cost was $0.00.

Back to the topic.
I was fiddling with the rack to see how much lower I can mount it, but it's not much.
I may need to go with a two saddle/seatpost set up if the suspension can't be accommodated with the Topeak bag.
One for trail, with suspension post and seatbag, and one for urban paths and street with no suspension but with rack and trunk bag (locks etc).

No big worries - just playing with ideas.

BTW - I just finished watching a video of a couple of pros going down some pretty crazy stuff at Whistler.
Never gonna be me, but I find it amazing the stresses they put on their equipment (and skills).
It's longish, but fun to watch.

Happy long weekend for those that get them.
In Canada and the US, it's labour day on Monday.

@Stefan Mikes - I know that for Poland you have a similar day on May 1st.

 

[RandallS]

So I finally got back on the bike and tried the new rack assembly. Initial impressions were pretty bang on - very slick product. I rode about 30kms, with only stuff in the main compartment.

My first learnings is it is a significantly higher step over and my hips, especially right now, don't like it. That's OK as it was not dissimilar to my experience with my other bike. Simple solution is to just lean the bike over more.

Second learning is to avoid any significant bumps if you can. This is especially important with the side frames. Bumping around tends to have the whole assembly move a bit and can get off centre easily. I did not have my velcro strap solution installed as I wanted to see if it was needed. Next ride I will install them and see if I notice a difference. Unfortunately I'd forgotten to bring them. Also, I don't think the interaction with the suspension seat post was any problem.

I did not notice any difference in handling nor did I notice the weight. I am guessing that I had around 3.5 Kg in the bag (8lbs). All in all, pretty pleased with the purchase and it's function. Won't be used on "dirt days", but pathway days will be better with this on, especially when there are beverage stops as the trunk bag gives me a place to take a lock or three.

 

[FlatSix911]

So I finally got back on the bike and tried the new rack assembly. Initial impressions were pretty bang on - very slick product. I rode about 30kms, with only stuff in the main compartment. My first learnings is it is a significantly higher step over and my hips, especially right now, don't like it. That's OK as it was not dissimilar to my experience with my other bike. A simple solution is to just lean the bike over more.
Second learning is to avoid any significant bumps if you can. This is especially important with the side frames. Bumping around tends to have the whole assembly move a bit and can get off centre easily. I did not have my velcro strap solution installed as I wanted to see if it was needed. Next ride I will install them and see if I notice a difference. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten to bring them. Also, I don't think the interaction with the suspension seat post was any problem.
I did not notice any difference in handling nor did I notice the weight. I am guessing that I had around 3.5 Kg in the bag (8lbs). All in all, pretty pleased with the purchase and it's function. Won't be used on "dirt days", but pathway days will be better with this on, especially when there are beverage stops as the trunk bag gives me a place to take a lock or three.
View attachment 64843 View attachment 64844

Looks good, however I would replace the Velcro strap with a metal connection between the seat stays and rack.

 

[DaveMatthews]

So I finally got back on the bike and tried the new rack assembly. Initial impressions were pretty bang on - very slick product. I rode about 30kms, with only stuff in the main compartment.

My first learnings is it is a significantly higher step over and my hips, especially right now, don't like it. That's OK as it was not dissimilar to my experience with my other bike. Simple solution is to just lean the bike over more.

Second learning is to avoid any significant bumps if you can. This is especially important with the side frames. Bumping around tends to have the whole assembly move a bit and can get off centre easily. I did not have my velcro strap solution installed as I wanted to see if it was needed. Next ride I will install them and see if I notice a difference. Unfortunately I'd forgotten to bring them. Also, I don't think the interaction with the suspension seat post was any problem.

I did not notice any difference in handling nor did I notice the weight. I am guessing that I had around 3.5 Kg in the bag (8lbs). All in all, pretty pleased with the purchase and it's function. Won't be used on "dirt days", but pathway days will be better with this on, especially when there are beverage stops as the trunk bag gives me a place to take a lock or three.

View attachment 64843

View attachment 64844

Looks awesome! Glad you're back in the saddle.
Just as a reference point I have done lots of shopping with zero fear of the pannier sides getting into the spokes. Yesterday I picked up shoes and 4 shirts, went for a joy ride on the way home. Jumping curbs, potholes etc with no worries. I cinch it pretty tight though.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Do you know guys the Old Man Mountain racks are unavailable in Europe? The American company claims they can send their products anywhere. I don't believe that.

I have had some problems with my Topeak Tetra Rack M2: If only a single (rather heavy) pannier is used, the rack gets skewed and it rubs the wheel. Need to use two panniers, each of them with the part of the load.

 

[FlatSix911]

Sounds pretty straightforward to me... I would give it a try. https://oldmanmountain.com/shipping/

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[Stefan Mikes]

US First Class International Mail

Don't make me laugh... If they wrote DHL, that would probably work.

I have never received my Kinekt 2.1 seatpost from the US sent that way (it was eventually sent to me from Switzerland).

 

[RandallS]

So today was 50 km of pathway cruising with the rack. First stop was dropping a dozen freshly baked muffins at my mother's place. We just moved her into a Manor about 1.5 km from my place. We did it in March, as Covid was just kicking off, so it's been interesting. It's only been around 3 weeks where we can enter and go to her unit - with masks and other common sense rules to abide by.

Back to the subject. My velcro strap hack is a no go. By exerting the extra tension on the sideframes, each little bump exerts a tiny bit of downforce to the clamp, and at some point I found the rack rubbing on the rear tire at the cross support at the back. The creep is very slow, but it's there.

At about 35km I removed the straps for a comparison, and it worked better. This setup is never going to be as solid as my old bike's rack, but I knew it was going to be a compromise. I think it's a GOOD compromise however, but I think I won't be using it as much as I thought I might. Time will tell.

 

[FlatSix911]

Try a metal band clamp with a turnbuckle spacer to resist compression... problem solved.

 

[RandallS]

Try a metal band clamp with a turnbuckle spacer to resist compression... problem solved.

Was considering something like that, but adjusted my mounting today and it was much better. At the end of a 50 km ride I had to stop at Safeways to pick up some steak and a few other things. I think it took me longer to secure my bike than it did to do the actual shopping! Today's ride included some minor single track along the Bow River, and the rack stayed put better than yesterday. I'm still going to have to decide what type of ride it will be before I go out. If off pathways with no security concerns, then the seat bag. If MUP and beverage stops, then the beam rack with trunk bag full of locks.

 

[FlatSix911]

Was considering something like that, but adjusted my mounting today and it was much better. At the end of a 50 km ride I had to stop at Safeways to pick up some steak and a few other things. I think it took me longer to secure my bike than it did to do the actual shopping! Today's ride included some minor single track along the Bow River, and the rack stayed put better than yesterday.

I'm still going to have to decide what type of ride it will be before I go out. If off pathways with no security concerns, then the seat bag. If MUP and beverage stops, then the beam rack with trunk bag full of locks.

Take a look at this seat post rack mount system... the rear clamps mount to the seatstays.

Amazon.com