Luggage carrier
Encyclopedia
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
to which cargo or pannier
Pannier
A pannier is a basket, bag, box, or similar container, carried in pairs either slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to the sides of a bicycle or motorcycle. The term derives from the Old French, from Classical Latin, word for bread basket....
s can be attached. This is popular with utility bicycle
Utility bicycle
A utility bicycle is a bicycle designed for practical transportation, as opposed to bicycles which are primarily designed for recreation and competition, such as touring bicycles, racing bicycles, sport/training bicycles, and mountain bicycles. The vast majority of bicycles can be found in the...
s and touring bicycle
Touring bicycle
A touring bicycle is a bicycle designed or modified to handle bicycle touring. To make the bikes sufficiently robust, comfortable and capable of carrying heavy loads, special features may include a long wheelbase , frame materials that favor flexibility over rigidity , heavy duty wheels , and...
s.
Bicycle luggage carriers may be mounted on the front or rear of a bicycle. The rear mount is more common. Bicycles may have eyelets, tapped with a standard thread, at the dropouts
Dropout (bicycle part)
A bicycle dropout is a type of fork end that allows the rear wheel to be removed without first derailing the chain. The more inclusive term fork end refers to a slot in a frame or fork where the axle of the wheel is attached....
on the rear chainstays, and on the front fork blades. Mounting a bike rack is possible without these eyelets, but requires additional hardware. A style of rack clamps only to the seatpost
Seatpost
A bicycle seatpost, seatpin, saddlepole, saddle pillar, or saddle pin is a tube that extends upwards from the bicycle frame to the saddle. The amount that it extends out of the frame can usually be adjusted, and there is usually a mark that indicates the minimum insertion...
, does not require eyelets or additional hardware, but has a limited capacity.
Luggage carriers can be mounted on recumbents
Recumbent bicycle
A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons; the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by back and buttocks...
and on folding bicycle
Folding bicycle
A folding bicycle is a bicycle designed to fold into a compact form, facilitating transport and storage. When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings and workplaces or onto public transportation or more easily stored in compact living quarters or aboard a car, boat or plane...
s, but may require customization or additional hardware. Additionally, specialized or customized luggage carriers are often required on bicycles with (rear) disc brakes or full suspension.
A common type of child seat designed for carrying an infant on a bicycle mounts to a rear luggage carrier. Some models of child seat are not attached to a luggage carrier but are fixed to the seat tube.
Some luggage carriers come in more than one size to accommodate different sized frames. A common variation is for there to be a different model for road bicycle
Road bicycle
The term road bicycle is used to describe bicycles built for traveling at speed on paved roads. Some sources use the term to mean racing bicycle...
s and mountain bike
Mountain bike
A mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
s.
Rear-mounted luggage carriers are typically designed and tested for a maximum load of 25 kg, some models even for up to 40 kg. For front-mounted carriers, a typical design load limit might be 2×10 kg. Most luggage carriers are not designed to withstand the weight of an adult person.
Luggage carriers are commonly constructed from aluminum, steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, or some combination of the two. Components may consist of tubing, extrusion
Extrusion
Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile. A material is pushed or drawn through a die of the desired cross-section...
s, or casting
Casting
In metalworking, casting involves pouring liquid metal into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowing it to cool and solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process...
s. They may be welded
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
, rivet
Rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the buck-tail. On installation the rivet is placed in a punched or pre-drilled hole, and the tail is upset, or bucked A rivet...
ed, or bolted together.
Some bikes, depending on their intended use, may be built with an integrated luggage carrier. The Schwinn Phantom
Schwinn Bicycle Company
The Schwinn Bicycle Company was founded by German-born mechanical engineer Ignaz Schwinn in Chicago in 1895. It became the dominant manufacturer of American bicycles through most of the 20th century and today it is a sub-brand of Pacific Cycle, owned by the multi-national conglomerate, Dorel...
and many longtail bicycles
Longtail (bicycle)
Longtail is a type of bicycle with a longer than usual frame wheelbase at the rear compared to a standard utility bicycle...
, such as the Xtracycle
Xtracycle
Xtracycle is the name of a company and the name commonly used for the variety of load-carrying bicycle, a longtail or a longbike, that results from use of the company's product: the Free Radical kit and associated accessories. Web forums and blogs often use the shorthand Xtrabike, Xtra, or simply...
incorporate a rear rack, and Porteur bicycle
Porteur bicycle
A porteur bicycle is a kind of cargo bicycle designed for carrying cargo loads on a platform rack attached to the fork. Porteur bicycles are similar to butcher's bikes, baker's bikes, low gravity bicycles and delibikes, but they include design differences which make them a distinct category...
s include a front platform rack.
Panniers may be mounted to front and rear luggage carriers. Removable panniers hook onto the top edge of the carrier and then are held in place by a spring or elastic cord that hooks near the wheel axle at the bottom.
Standards
- British Standard BS EN 14872: Bicycles – Accessories for bicycles – Luggage carriers, British Standards Institution, 2006.
- International Standard ISO 11243: Cycles – Luggage carriers for bicycles – Concepts, classification and testing, International Organization for StandardizationInternational Organization for StandardizationThe International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
, 1994. In this ISO carriers can be fastened an EN 14344 DMS child seat.
See also
- Bicycle basketBicycle basketA bicycle basket allows a bicycle rider to carry cargo or objects without using their hands. Baskets on children's bicycles and some utility bicycles are often mounted to the front handle bars and are made of wire mesh, wicker, or woven plastic...
- Utility cyclingUtility cyclingUtility cycling encompasses any cycling not done primarily for fitness, recreation such as cycle touring, or sport such as cycle racing, but simply as a means of transport...
- XtracycleXtracycleXtracycle is the name of a company and the name commonly used for the variety of load-carrying bicycle, a longtail or a longbike, that results from use of the company's product: the Free Radical kit and associated accessories. Web forums and blogs often use the shorthand Xtrabike, Xtra, or simply...
(an extreme form of bicycle mounted luggage carrier)