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OK, we bought our first tandem. A Cannondale Tandem R3. I'm impressed overall for the price. Even the Tiagra shifters are nice. Tiagra has come a long ways from what I knew of it. Used to riding Ultegra or Dura Ace.
Anyway I had a brand new rear rack leftover from some project through the years. I went to go install it and of course the huge rear axle width of the tandem doesn't work with the standard rack. Not having a clue in the tandem world as to what the solution is, I'm asking you folks.
What do I do? Do they make a wider rack that fits the wide axle? Is there a way to adapt the current rack to fit the wide axle?
Thanks in advance for information on a solution.
Ben
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I don't have a solution for you current situation. I have only read that The Touring Store (http://www.thetouringstore.com/) is supposed to be a very good source of racks. I know they sell Tubus racks but I am not sure if they sell any other brands of racks. I think they have fit kits for getting racks to work in more difficult situations. There are probably other solutions that someone may have for you. The touring forum may have more rack information although may not have experience with tandem specific issues.
Another specialty rack manufacturer is Old Man Mountain (http://www.oldmanmountain.com/).
I just put a Tubus Vega rack from the Touring Store on a Cannondale tandem. The rack is made from chromoly so it can be bent wider. It clears the rear disc brake fine but I had to use a small spacer to clear a bolt from the brake. I also had to get extra long arms.
Anyway I had a brand new rear rack leftover from some project through the years. I went to go install it and of course the huge rear axle width of the tandem doesn't work with the standard rack. Not having a clue in the tandem world as to what the solution is, I'm asking you folks.
Put a rear rack on our c-dale tandem. Just spread the mounting arms and tweaked the bottom of the brackets to be parallel with the frame, worked great.
I put a rack on my 97 (98?)... just spread the rack out a bit to slip over. Tandem spacing is only, what, 5mm wider than MTB?
I put a rack on my 97 (98?)... just spread the rack out a bit to slip over. Tandem spacing is only, what, 5mm wider than MTB?
MTB wheels also have a smaller diameter. We had a MTB rack for awhile and it worked fine but with little clearance between the rack and tire. When we put on new tires, there was not enough clearance.
Actually, I think it's 10mm, not 5.
My rack is part of a baby carrier, seems to fit fine, YMMV. I kind of like the Delta rack with the adjustable-length uprights.
I bought a Topeak rack that is specifically made for disc brakes from REI. I put it on my '08 Cdale tandem. Bolted right on, no hassle, fit perfect. Seems pretty heavy duty. Probably not as nce as the Tubus, but I can not tell. I hang my tandem from a hook in the ceiling by the front wheel and lift the bike with my hands using the chain-stay and rack. Seems solid.
We use a Burley Moose rack on our tandem. The newer racks are imported, but the older rack were heavy duty and well made.
I bought a Topeak rack that is specifically made for disc brakes from REI. I put it on my '08 Cdale tandem. Bolted right on, no hassle, fit perfect. Seems pretty heavy duty. Probably not as nce as the Tubus, but I can not tell. I hang my tandem from a hook in the ceiling by the front wheel and lift the bike with my hands using the chain-stay and rack. Seems solid.
+1 on the Topeak explorer rack. We have one on our '05 C'dale road tandem and I really like the quick slide-on/off trunk bags they accomodate, too. I also have the non-disc version on my Surly Long Haul Trucker and it did me just fine on the Southern Tier last year.
If you carry loads under 25 lbs, a seatpost rack would be an other option.
I thought I had seen a comment on one of the forums here about racks being possibly a bad option for tandems with disc brakes, if they have panniers mounted on them. Apparently they can block airflow that helps cool the discs on long, steep descents.
I have a B.O.B. Trailer that I plan on using when I'm ready to try touring on tandem.
I got the rack for our Sanatana direct from Old Man Mountain. Been very happy with it.
Finally got around to trying to get that rack on. It wasn't too bad. Only an hour or so of grinding, finding longer bolts, re-fabricating the center attachment around the rear break, etc. It wasn't an easy hour, but it looks like it should work great for the small weight load we are going to put on it. Good to go for RAGBRAI now.
Thanks for that link to the TouringStore!
The finished product ready to roll.
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q157/DrDover/DSC_2710.jpg
Baldy -
I can't make out the details in your pic. Can see the one piece of stainless going to the frame under the stoker's seat, but can't figure out what you did at the rear wheel. Could you attach another shot please? I'm very curious to see how other people hung racks on their 'Dales...
Telkwa (and other curious C'Dale owners),
While I currently don't have a pic handy, here's a description on how I mounted my "heavy duty" axiom rack.
- Dropout attachment was through the rack braze-ons...easy part.
- Since the travel agent on the rear brakes prevent direct access to the seat stay braze ons, I used the nearest pivot off my Thudbuster as a mounting point for the other support brackets. You can see the pivot I'm talking about in Baldy's photo, which is the bottom right pivot in this photo. The pivot is fixed and hollow, which allowed me to simply put a long bolt through the pivot to secure both rack brackets. Make sure to use lock nuts and washers. Also, don't over-tighten in case you want to adjust seat height for the stoker. And FYI, securing a bolt on this pivot DOES NOT impede on the Thudbuster's performance.
This set-up worked well for us and held as much as 130lbs (static) and 40lbs (touring) without any issues.
Baldy,
Did you mount both rack brackets to one mounting point centered between the seat stay on your frame? With a heavy load, I'm curious if this rig would be prone to some minor twisting.
You are correct about this setup and not being able to handle a heavy load. We aren't going to be loading down with much for RAGBRAI so for this type of trip it will be fine. I did notice, while taking these photos, that I can run a second bracket on the right side with no problem. I may do that tonight just to add a little more stability.
Here are the shots of how I have the rack attached.
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q157/DrDover/DSC_2713.jpg
Right side bolt. Here is where I had to grind some of the leg bracket on the rack down to get it to fit around the hanger screws.
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q157/DrDover/DSC_2714.jpg
Left side bolt. This is a longer bolt threaded all the way through and I am using a lock washer to tighten the rack support.
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q157/DrDover/DSC_2715.jpg
Shot from above which I realized I can put a second bracket on without any issue with the brakes.
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q157/DrDover/DSC_2716.jpg
Hi, Baldy -
Thanks for the close-ups. I didn't know there was a rack with adjustable ends. Learning new things every day on this forum!
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