[CR] Jack Racks and Jack Trailer, where are they found?

(Example: Production Builders:Peugeot:PY-10)

Date: Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:04:58 -0700
To: <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
From: "Jan Heine" <heine94@earthlink.net>
Subject: [CR] Jack Racks and Jack Trailer, where are they found?


> According to the recent article in Bicycle Quarterly, the article
>by Jan Heine states in the interview

The interview was by Mark Lawrence, not by me. Mark has known the Taylors for years, and thus was able to obtain insights and information that a stranger wouldn't have got. Mark is on this list.
> I personally do not know if there were any 'generic' ones on the
>loose or sold separately. It would be very nice to have a set. Now
>that being said, what is an appropriate substitute or is there such
>a heresy?

You may want to ask Mark Lawrence - he bought some stock from the Taylors after they closed shop. Perhaps some "raw" racks are floating around.

Otherwise, any constructeur can make racks like that. Like the frames, the Taylor racks were a bit cruder than the best French constructeurs, but they were perfectly functional. Perhaps a Taylor owner could lend you some racks, which you could send (together with your frame) to have copied.

Of course, the racks make sense only if you have a Jack Taylor bike to go with them. The front racks usually are held up only by the fender, so they are pretty generic. A straight copy would do (as long as you have the same wheel size), with slightly longer tabs at the bottom, and you'd drill them to match the clearances on your bike, so they sit nicely on top of the fender. The rear ones attach to the seatstays, and you won't be able to move them from bike to bike.

That said, I have not yet seen a builder who is willing to do an accurate restoration/replica of racks. Most just build their own racks, and adapt them to the bike. So it may be best to make them yourself. Making racks isn't that hard... I did that for a few bikes, working with a friend who is handy at brazing and who has a few tube benders. The results are very nice. (One of them is in our book "The Competition Bicycle.")
> Then on to the subject of the man who holds the
>trailer.......would you be willing to steal it for me?

For the trailers, again, a few were floating around about 10 years ago. They were expensive then, but I bought one anyhow. Haven't regretted it, as it comes in handy when my loads exceed the capacity of my Grand Bois Urban bike. The "combination" is shown here

http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/images/GBwTrailer.jpg

Again, you could build your own trailer - it's like a huge rack... but there are many small pieces you'd have to custom-fabricate. You could ask a builder to make one, but be prepared to pay at least as much as you would for a custom frame.

Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
2116 Western Ave.
Seattle WA 98121
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com