bobframe

What I find odd about this is that this is my second Americano/Tubus Tara combo and I don't recall any fitment issues first time around. Co-Mo sells the Tara rack, though a call to Co-Mo about my issue wasn't particularly helpful...but neither did I hear "Dude, it won't work".

Having to remove the skewer to change a tube/tire isn't a total deal breaker for me. But it does add the risk of losing a critical part on the side of the road (its been a long tough day, its getting dark, raining, the wind is blowing, traffic is awful, etc.) and that seems completely unacceptable. This is a premium bike/rack and I expect better than this.

So, it's off to my shop to see if I can make these pieces play well together.

EDIT: I called Ortlieb/Tubus and found a very helpful fellow who talked me through the "correct" mounting procedures. As was shown in the PDF diagram above, the larger triangular tab (the forward facing tab) at the bottom of the Tara rack should have been mounted to the rear braze on the Americano's fork...the PO had it reversed. This took a bit of finessing, but ultimately it seems to have worked. Still not sure that the quick release will allow the wheel to drop out of the forks like a "normal" bike, but at least I have done away with the proprietary bolt/tool combination that the bike's front axle came with.

This solution resulted in the fender stays being mounted onto the Tara rack...through the same tab that is used to mount the rack to the forks. So, those bolts are now anchoring both the bottom of the rack and the fender stays. The result is a pretty busy intersection of forks, disc brakes, front rack and front fender. I don't know if this is a good stable long term solution...but I think it may work. Will drop it by my LBS and ask for his thoughts.

One concern I have about this is whether the bolts that are used to mount both the bottom of the rack and the fender stays are long enough to do so safely. Seemed to have plenty of thread engaged, but not sure is it is long enough to provide adequate support for a loaded rack on a bumpy road.