I Had a Cheapo Aluminium Beam racks a while back on a (Road) commuter which I used daily with a 20L Drybag, I eventually replaced it with a posh Vaude seatpost mounted bag, and binned the Beam.
But I've got a planned bike packing trip coming up and I intend to lash a ~15-20L Drybag to the arse end of my bike again (Gravel or MTB yet TBC) I do have a full rear pannier rack that will work (on the gravel bike only) but it's a bit bulkier than I really wanted TBH and I won't be using any side pannier bags, just a big old drybag.
The default answer seems to be a Tailfin rack these days, But I just can't justify £100+ on a fancy rack for occasional use and all I really need is a rear platform to lash a drybag to.
I can grab another one of those Beam racks for about tenner online, I'm thinking I could actually just clamp it to the (Al) Seat tube rather than the Seat post (Carbon/Dropper) and based on my prior experience of them this would be a reasonable solution to stabilise a rear mounted Drybag at a relative fraction of the price of a 'proper' Tailfin rack. Anyone else used one of these in anger for (on/offroad) bikepacking, any compelling reason it wouldn't work?
One issue off road is that the continued vibration causes things to come loose and rotate.
Decathlon do a decent sear bag that’s a knock odd of a more upmarket brand, my mate got on well with it on the Great North Trail last year.
Whinstanleys are doing Aeroes cheaper than most ATM. Mine arrived today, I'm more than happy with it.
One issue off road is that the continued vibration causes things to come loose and rotate.
That’s a fair point, these cheapo Beams are just cantilevered out over the back wheel without any vertical ties. As for seat packs I have that Vaude job I mentioned but it’s just not quite right for the application, I also have a tapered drybag but my experience of hanging thise off the saddle/seatpost is that they swing about and basically suck.
I know I can lash a 20L bag on one of these Beams because I did fir several years, the only real issue is that they’re far from proven off-road, especially now there’s fancier alternatives, people tend not to consider such bargain bin kit I guess.
That Aero is nice, and yes it’s more affordable but still way more than I’m looking to spend right now. I’m still minded to order a cheapo beam and just see how it mounts up for what I need.
Like I said I still have a conventional rack that’s more than capable, it’s also relatively bulky with some potentially redundant bits so I’d rather not lug it if I don’t have to.
It’s defying the old triangle innint, thinking I can achieve “cheap/light/robust” when “light/robust” is already available… it’s all going to end in tears isn’t it 😪…
I'd use your conventional rack - involves no outlay and you know it works. You don't want a load that 'moves'. I did the KAW a couple of years ago with a rack that was P clipped to my rear stays of my CX bike which has no mounts. It was OK until things got rough and it would sway, so bars one way, rear going the other. I've since replaced with an 'M Part' axel/QR mount rack that fits in minutes, and is solid as a rock.
I’ve seen one systematically dismantle itself before snapping on a predominantly gravel route with a few bumps. It will also tend to twist all the time and might take the paint off the frame if you mount it below the seat collar.
I’d put the pannier rack on, unless you can find some sort of stayed/axle mounted beam rack within your budget.
I've got a Topeak RX Beam Rack with the side supports (which you can remove). Bought it for the commuter but never used it. One of these. Any good to you?
TBH I probably am headed towards the existing Rack, but I found myself wondering about those Cheapo Beams from previous, I'm not worried about paintwork but as you noted stable load support is the key thing.
A bit of googling last night found some fascinating tails of people fashioning their own DIY ultralight racks from carbon tent poles epoxy and various odds and ends. I think that's the sort of little project I'd like to undertake later myself, but not with the clock ticking on a trip...
Edit: Cheers for the offer montgomery but I've already ordered a thing off eBay to play with...
Could go for something like the Alpkit 'Big Papa' or Specialized Fjallraven saddlebag holster / harness to go with your dry bag rather than a rack. I've used the latter and found it pretty stable once I'd worked out the strap arrangment properly. Or find a cheaper equivalent from ebay/etsy/rhinowalk/etc.
e.g. Fjällräven Hoja Seatbag Harness - Bike Bag | Free UK Delivery | Alpinetrek
Topeak do the ZiRak which copies the new school of bike packing racks. Looks quite a tidy solution. However using your existing rack has to be the best option for a first time trip. Added benefit that, whilst a full rack might be overkill, you can't see it when you're riding.
I've used a topeak beam rack on and offroad. (Commuting offroad, touring on road)
Only issue i've had is when using it on a smaller diameter post, almost impossible to get it tight enough. And it still moved on bigger impacts.
Careful with a full suss as well. Can't use it on any of mine.
I used a Topeak beam rack for a few years on a FS, including a Scottish coast to coast and a Welsh 7 day off road ride. I used same seat post to tow tag along.
Beam rack was fine - but I snapped two seatposts...
Mini update:
So my £7.50 eBay special rack arrived and I immediately chopped the last 3.5" off the beam bit and slammed the load platform to the back of it's adjustment in order to clear the rear tyre and minimise the mechanical advantage it has over the clamp. Clamped it on just below the Seat Tube/Top Tube Junction (not the carbon seatpost) with a bit of protection tape (probably still knackered the paint though).
Took it for a 100 mile overnighter along the Ridgeway this weekend, loaded up with a stuffed 20L drybag, it worked perfectly for the task, bounced it about on descents and yanked it about to load/unload, didn't miss a beat.
So I might look at "refining" the setup a bit, but based on this weekend it does a pretty good job of stabilising an relatively unwieldy Drybag.
I do however now need to think about my Front carrying solution as that presented me with some different challenges...
