Check Out The Size Of This Rack...

[parkrndl]

... and tell me: is it too small?

I recently picked up a small lot of bike parts off Craigslist: two racks and a mattress saddle. One rack is the type I remember having in the 80s, with a spring-loaded "mousetrap" arm to hold cargo on, and this is the other one. I was excited because I thought it looked like a Schwinn rack and it'd be perfect for my faux Collegiate project. But when I bolted it on, it seemed a little small... I had to bend the lower supports down and out a little to get things to line up, and now the rack appears to angle down towards the back of the bike and it also seems shorter than I thought it would. I had it in my head that the "pointed" backs of the side supports should come out far enough to be even with the very back of the tire/fender, whereas these seem to be a few inches shorter than I thought they would be. The base rails of the cargo platform are touching and putting some pressure on the top of the fender. Is it possible that this rack is intended for a bike with 24" wheels?

thanks in advance...

--rick

 

[Luchotocado]

I dont think it looks short. It looks short compared to how that rack looks on the middleweight bikes it came on but not short compared to the racks that I have usually see on speedsters. I think those racks just came on middleweight bikes though. Or at least all that I have seen where on middleweights.

 

[GTs58]

Looks like the real vintage middleweight rack to me. There is a repop of that rack and it's a POS made to fit the Chinschwinn bikes. Those camelback frames are small and a middleweight rack is not a perfect fit for it. Doesn't look to bad though.

 

[parkrndl]

Thanks all for your input... I may use this if I can tweak it a little to give me just a little clearance at the fender. Or, since you both mentioned that it's a middleweight rack, maybe I'll drag out my old '64 Fleet (which also has no rack) and see how it looks there. Somehow that never occurred to me till you all brought it up, even though i know I've seen pictures of middleweights with the same rack.

Incidentally, did Schwinn put racks on Speedsters and Collegiates? Or offer them as dealer accessories specifically for those models? What kind of rack would that have been? This Speedster happens to be a '67 if it matters, and I also have '69 and '76 Collegiates, both girls' frames...

 

[GTs58]

There were carriers that Dealers sold and the designs somewhat changed over the years. No specific carrier would be installed on the lightweights and what Schwinn offered changed a few times over the years. Here is the 67 catalog and the type of carrier I purchased in 64 for my Varsity.

 

[Handyman]

OK, you got me parkrndl, I must admit the title of your thread did arouse my curiosity!!

 

[parkrndl]

There were carriers that Dealers sold and the designs somewhat changed over the years. No specific carrier would be installed on the lightweights and what Schwinn offered changed a few times over the years. Here is the 67 catalog and the type of carrier I purchased in 64 for my Varsity.

thanks! so, according to the '67 catalog, this rack actually COULD have been intended for a lightweight as well. interesting...

and the carrier on your Varsity... is it made by Pletscher? it looks exactly like the other rack in my recent purchase...

OK, you got me parkrndl, I must admit the title of your thread did arouse my curiosity!!

that may or may not have been intentional...