Rear Rack Help

[bikesnotbombs]

I've recently purchased a Tioga alloy rack to put on my Trek 7.0fx.
Do I place the rack on the inside of the frame or the outside?
Do I attach it with the same bolts as say, water bottle mounts?
Also: I have a small frame (15 inch) so I need P type clips, will I be able to get these from a hardware shop?
I feel like an idiot for asking seemingly simple questions.
Cheers.

[timbo]

If you feel like an idiot, you're in good company on this forum. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure the Trek 7.0FX came with rear rack mounts welded onto the frame, so you should be able to bolt the rack straight onto the frame using the same type of bolts holding your water bottle cage in place. You may have to bend the brackets at the front of the rack to fit your size frame, but it doesn't really matter whether it goes on the inside or outside of the frame. Perhaps just the side where you have to bend the brackets the least. After typing all this, if your bike doesn't have these mounts welded to the frame, you will have to use clips to bolt it to the frame. These normally come with the rack at purchase time, but if it didn't, I would suggest going back to the bike shop you purchased the rack from and ask for a couple of clips. They are normally plastic coated to protect your frame from scratching, but if the ones you end up with are plain metal, put a couple of layers of electrical tape around the frame first to protect it.
I hope this helps. You may have even solved the problem by now, so enjoy your bike riding.