Why and How extended

Text being editted, come back for the finished story on the why and how of load racks

Transport of agricultural produce from the land to the market or of products from a workshop to clients, transport of fuel wood, let it not be that people have to carry it when there is a bike available. Best is to make an available bike suitable for its incidental function of transporting heavy and bulky loads, without compromising the normal service a bike should offer to its owner: available just for cycling. Transport of bulky and heavy goods ask for a sturdy load rack, for just cycling it would be in very much in the way.
When a bicycle is of a cheap low quality, care had to be taken to attach the rack in a way that avoid higher then normal stress to the frame, specially on the fore wheel fork.
The load rack should be made without significant cost and of a similar fashion as the rought baskets and bundles that are normally used.

How
Load rack for bikes, located over the front- and rear wheel. A temporary and quickly to be made construction for transporting products to the market-place only, where it can be taken off and partly left behind, similar as with temporary baskets. The wheelaxles should carry the extra load, the bicycle frame remains free from this.
Transporting bulky and heavy loads should preferable not in the way to peddle the bicycle. In practice sometimes special racks are permanently attached to the bicycle. Such racks may hinder the more normal use of this bicycle. Moreover normal bicycles are not build to take heavy loads over rough roads.

Special bicycles for heavy loads are not generally available.
An alternative could be a load carrier characterized with the following:
- the load does not rest on the frame of the bicycle, but is transferred directly to the wheelaxles; - it is easy to mount and remove the load rack;
- such a load rack can be made by the user and adapted to the load to be transported.
- The load rack should not be in the way to push the loaded bicycle or to ride it.
The load rack as shown on the pictures has all these properties. The load on the front wheel is balanced by its attachment with rubber strips to the handlebar. But the actual load, that may be as hight as 75 kg, is carried by the vertical sticks that fit into loops of steel wire, also wound around the front wheel axle. Same for the rear carrier. Here the vertical sticks have to be attached at some distance from the saddle to give room for normal cycling. This is made possible with a T-shaped subframe, that is semi-permanent attached with rubber strips to the bicycle frame. The vertical sticks for the rear rack can be lightly attached with rubber stips to this T-frame, but the actual load again transvered to the rear axle. The lower end of the stick rests in a loop of steel wire also wound around the axle of the rear wheel.
No cost and little time is involved in using thin metal wire to make loops near the wheel axles of front and rear wheel. Sticks rest in these loops. Higher up these sticks are attached to the steering handle in the front or a T-frame extending under the saddle. The user can attach a basket, bag, netting or frame to suit best the load to be trasported.
Although the load can be heavy and bulky, it is still possible to peddle the bicycle in the usual way.
To make sure that the load put on the bicycle is mainly transferred to the wheel axle, straps are attached where the wheel axles are bolted to the bicycle frame. These straps are made by winding some thin wire around frame and axle and twisting it into a loop. In each strap fits the tapered end of a straight stick roughly one and half a meter long.
For the load rack over the front wheel, these sticks are tied with a strip of rubber to the steering handle. For the load rack over the rear wheel, the two sticks are also mounted in the loops attached to the rear wheel axle, then higher up with rubberstrips to a T-shaped wooden extension strapped to the frame under the saddle.
Any basket, bag, netting or platform can be attached to the sticks, that support the load in the most practical way. This choice is left to the user.
After use only the wire loops remain attached to the bicycle frame for future use. The sticks and the T-frame are removed. On the way back from the market, these parts can be tied in a bundle to the side of the bicycle.