Do they wobble much? Mine, when loaded with a fair amount of clothes, shoes and whatnot (nothing excessive though) wobble enough to affect the control of the bike, unless I am really careful.
Is this normal, or do I have a floppy rack? It's a cheapo from the LBS but they are usually pretty good so I tend to trust their recommendations. Not oversized tubing or anything...
not if you have decent ones and ride smoothly
I bet your rack wobbles and maybe the panniers swing on the rack. esay enough to tell - just see i the rack moves when you push and pull it
Are they attached at the bottom of the rack?
Dies the rack have an additional loop to make the base "wider">
Druidh - yes and yes.
TJ - yes, it's definitely the rack - you can wobble the bike and see the rack flexing. It's a bit disconcerting and not particularly comfortable but I can manage it by riding really smoothly. That's a bit of extra stress but really I'm concerned it might break. A lot of load going through a few tiny bolts.
The rack shouldn't move - I can stand on mine with no give.
crap rack or badly mounted then.
Got any pics?
Mine doesn't move. Topeak Super Tourist. The Ortlieb Downtown QL3 system rattles a small amount, but nothing serious.
It moves side to side, not up and down. Doesn't budge up and down.
Mounting - well it's bolted in tightly, nothing much else to do.
You are re-inforcing my theory that it's a crap rack - thanks. No pics currently TJ sorry.
Do they wobble much? Mine, when loaded with a fair amount of clothes, shoes and whatnot (nothing excessive though) wobble enough to affect the control of the bike, unless I am really careful
Really? Mine don't move, not that I've ever noticed, anyway. Cheap rack (£4 from bike jumble) Cheap panniers (£15 SJS Cycles) Fill em up with shopping, work stuff, clothes for touring, whatever, and just ride.
My first thought is - What bike are you using? 700c by any chance?
Here we go, fully loaded, totally stable
IMG_1586 by PeterPoddy, on Flickr
Yes, 700c - the wheels are in fact Shimano R500 or whatever.. the cheap 24 spoke deep-ish rim road jobs. Ok so not beefy touring wheels but they are fairly sturdy as my arse will testify having ridden them on the road bike.
It's definitely the rack wobbling. I'll video it later.
Yes, 700c - the wheels are in fact Shimano R500 or whatever.. the cheap 24 spoke deep-ish rim road jobs.
I had this:
IMG_8774 by PeterPoddy, on Flickr
Which had cheap Shimano wheels on it, IIRC the same ones you have.
To be frank, they are fooking SHITE for load carrying. That bike was all over the place, it simply couldn't cope with even a mild load. I swapped the wheels for some cheap 36 spoke touring wheels which helped, but I'll tell you right here and now, a 700c bike, (Unless it's a purpose built tourer, and not really even then...) simply won't carry a load like an MTB.
I swapped the Roadrat there for a Carerra Subway One. Which was faaaaaaaar better for the job in hand. Slower, yes, but better in every other way for commuting and touring with luggage. It's only downfall was vee brakes (Scary with a trailer in the wet in Cornwall) so now I have the Inbred in the first pic, which speed wise is somewhere between the two, but also better than either.
Get an MTB for the job.
I've had 30 kg on my 26" Surly LHT's Tubus Cargo - rock solid. 28" version makes my Tricross unstable going down hill so I no longer tour with it.
I swapped the wheels for some cheap 36 spoke touring wheels which helped, but I'll tell you right here and now, a 700c bike, (Unless it's a purpose built tourer, and not really even then...) simply won't carry a load like an MTB.
The combined weight of my bike and gear on the TransAm was 100lbs. I had no wheel issues at all. Mme Moonteresse had about 90lbs. I had Hope Pro 3s on Mavic 317s (36r 32f), MM had Ultegra hubs on Open Pros 32 f&r. I doubt I'd want to carry any more gear off road than I did on. I think racks are the biggest wobble inducing problem. Blackburn or Tubus are best.
I had some wobble issues at the front end, but those were solved by balancing the weight in my front panniers and my huge bar bag.
I also think that bikes with sloping top tubes that need very long rack to seatstays brackets are a recipe for flex.
Ortlieb Back Roller Plus (GREAT adjustable fixing system) on Tubus Disco here. Absolutely rock solid, even when loaded to capacity.
The combined weight of my bike and gear on the TransAm was 100lbs
My Inbred in my top pic is easily more than that, and I'm 16.5 stone. I win. 
(With my cheap rack and panniers....)
I also think that bikes with sloping top tubes that need very long rack to seatstays brackets are a recipe for flex
Hmm.... yes.. interesting... got a pic of the bike somewhere online. I did have to slide the slidey bits out a long way to get it to fit.
Weekly commuter by molgrips, on Flickr
PeterPoddy - Member"The combined weight of my bike and gear on the TransAm was 100lbs"
My Inbred in my top pic is easily more than that, and I'm 16.5 stone. I win.
(With my cheap rack and panniers....)
We win - all up weight 230+ KGs !
42 Windmills bicycle and us by TandemJeremy, on Flickr
Out of interest I just weighed my Inbred. It's exactly as in that pic, panniers empty except for stuff I always carry - D lock, tools, pump, and it had lights on it.
Just a shade under 40lb.
We win - all up weight 230+ KGs !
You should try a trailer too.
Mol, get some smaller panniers mate! WTF do you need those ginormous things for??? They must weigh a TON on their own, no wonder it's a bit bluddy wobbly!
I can pack for a 2 week cycling holiday, including a shoes, sleeping bag, lock, tools and toiletries in not much more then half that capacity!
The top mount we can see looks very flimsy. Is it a p clip?
Well that's what I brought with me for a week working away from home.
Five shirts (thick ones)
Pair of smart trousers
Lots of spare cycling kit for mid-week rides and commutes
Several casual long sleeved tshirts
5x underwear and socks
Jeans
Jumper
Waterproofs cos rain was forecast later in the week
Running kit
Misc electronic stuff like chargers
Pair of running shoes
Pair of smart work shoes
Pair of casual shoes
Toiletry bag including razor
Travel towel for showering when I get to work
I think there was a book in there when that was taken
I have no problem with the size or weight of the panniers - I just think my wobbly rack is not up to it. Really not that heavy on their own either, they are just a nylon bag with some clips attached.
TJ - no, proper rack mounts. The supports look like the ones you get on most racks in the shop it seems. They are just very well extended.
Instead of using those top rack mounts, you could buy a seat clamp with rack mounts on it. That would give a shorter fitting.
Some racks let you adjust the length of the main upright. Reducing that would also mean a shorter front extension.
Or look at a rack with a lower pannier mounting bar (like the Super Tourist). That will lower the CoG of the pannier. You can see one on this £28b Madison rack
is the front mounting the twisted slotted bit of flat steel? go for one with a bit of bar instead. check all the blts are dead tight. Are you using M5 bolts while the pannier rack is drilled for m6 at the bottom mounts?
My tubus rack is absolutely solid no wobble at all even with the load above on it. A great piece of kit
What do you mean by lower rack mounts? As in, using the lower of the two holes on the dropout? I already did that - bent the mudguard wires a bit.
Yes to twisted steel, yes to everything being tight, and I think I used the bolts it came with and I think they are correctly drilled.
I like these ones with the bars - didn't see those in the LBS. Not sure about putting extra stress on the seat tube but I will do more research - it's clear that it does need to be lower, and it's also clear that the seatstay supports are far too long. If I could get one where the frame itself came down a lot closer to the mounts it would really help.
I need to find a shop with a decent range and take my bike in. Any ideas in London?
Right - I went to Evans and I bought one of these (clicky):
It's a lot chunkier and it has the bars to secure it instead of the twisted steel. The deck is no lower than what I have now, but there's an extra lower rail which allows you to mount the load a couple of inches lower. That might also help, and it'll help me strap my lock to the top too.
Hope it works.
I've got one of those evans racks, its awesome - cheapo roadie with 700cc wheels and Endura panniers.
Can be loaded with shoes, laptop, clothes and assorted other electrical gubbins with no wobbles at all.
It's much much better. Result.
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