Bicycle Mechanics - old rack (big bolts) newer frame (small eyelets)

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA
propagandrew
06-12-04, 02:25 AM
Hey folks, I'm wondering about attaching the rear rack that was on my 1978 schwinn traveler to my new bike. New bike is described in "goodwill treasure" thread over in general discussion (don't know an exact brand frame or any specific) but it has small (5mm bolts seem to fit) eyelets. The old rack was attacked with bolts probably twice that diameter. What I'm wondering is, is it advisable to attach the rack and just tighten it down well enough to negate the difference in hole diameter or should I look for a new rack?

Or, I guess, is it even standard for the front and rear eyelets to be 5mm? Maybe this bike is weird.

Thanks for any info,

Andrew

MichaelW
06-12-04, 09:45 AM
5mm is the standard size for rack, fender and waterbottle threaded eyelets. Almost any rack will fit (except yours!).
madpogue
06-14-04, 03:06 PM
Y'mean the holes in the rack are about 10mm? That's HUGE! And hard to believe. They may be considerably bigger (6mm or 1/4"). In any event, tightening the fasteners further won't make a difference. But you should put flat washers behind the heads of the fasteners, to make up the difference in hole size.

John E
06-14-04, 03:13 PM
It sounds as though your rack was designed to mount over the rear axle, instead of over a pair of bolts. As mentioned above, washers with big outer diameters and small inner diameters should solve the problem handily.