Hi all,
I've been looking around for a stronger rear rack for my mountain bike for use off-road. This is part of a wider project for a touring trailer, which is discussed in a
separate thread.
Previously I've just bought off-the-shelf ones, and they have two big limitations:
- No towing hitch; my current trailer uses an axle mounting which I'm not keen on
- Despite 25 and 30kg load capacities, and only carrying about 16kg, they seem to fail catastrophically regularly. (between 1000km and 2000km)
Having seen some of the posts here from the likes of @
thechadillac and @
Charlie_R, I'm impressed and inspired to try it myself.
I don't have access to a welder, so I'm thinking along the lines of gusset plate construction using aluminium tube sections (maybe 25.4mm box section?) which are widely available in hardware shops here, and bolting these sections together using 1-2mm aluminium plate.
What has peoples experiences been with that style of construction? Are there any gotchas apart from ensuring bolts don't rattle loose?
The other method I'm considering is using joiner sections like these:
Connect-it 3 Way Corner Joiner I/N 1138482 | Bunnings Warehouse -- I'm not sure about their tensile strength however. Perhaps a combination of the two techniques may do the trick? (Edit, seems I can get
all-aluminium ones)
Another question is the design of the rack with regards to rear wheel access. Two rear rack/trailer hitch designs come to mind here:
How do you go changing a tyre on the rear wheel with that style of rack?