WHAT RACK HARDWARE TO GET, AND WHERE

July 10, 2006

    I just bought a Trek Multitrack 7000. I went to put on my old metal double basket rack and found out that Trek does not have a universal bracket mount.
    I saw your book’s page on rack hardware but would like to find out if I can get the hardware from a hardware store instead of a bike shop. The shop has good bike prices but rips you off on the accessories.
    Also, any ideas on what hardware to get and where to attach it on my Trek? Your page doesn't have anything that looks like my bike. Thanks.

Rikki S.

Rikki:
    What hardware you need depends as much on your rack as it does on your bike—which makes it hard for me to say exactly what hardware to get.
    But if you want to attach a rack to a bike frame using a bolt thru a hole where no hole exists, you generally need a loop strap like the ones shown on the bottom right of page 16 of my book. They come in different sizes, so it helps to know the diameter of the frame part to which you’ll attach the loop strap.
    A well-stocked hardware store will have loop straps, or get ‘em from an industrial supplier such as McMaster-Carr or W.W. Grainger.
    Now lemme make a little speech about independent bike dealers (IBDs). IBDs provide the single best place to get a good bike and get it fixed well—even tho (in the U.S.) they sell less than 20 percent of the bikes bought each year. This means they make a good part of their income on stuff besides bikes, so to survive they gotta make a decent profit on that stuff. Do you want IBDs to survive? If so, you must support them with your purchases. (You don’t have to support all of ‘em . . . pick one you like.)

Mr Bike

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