Originally Posted by
Bruce27
Looking for a little help a whether these racks can be bent without damage. I purchased this Blackburn rack and it's from a 22.5" frame. I'm putting it on a 21" frame and the seat stay section of the rack is too wide for my frame. I need to reduce the width about 5-7mm. Anyone ever bend one of these with luck? Is there anything special I should do before attempting to vice them in a bit? Would heating over a flame and bending while the rack is warm lessen the chance of breakage?
Thanks to all in advance.
That's a very strong rack. I've installed dozens of them, and have "tweaked" them a little here and there with no ill-effect. Still, others have suggested to simply use longer mounting screws and a spacer of some kind. I would leave a millimeter or two of space to allow the arms that attach to the seat tubes to suck in a little, creating some outward force to the heads of the screws, which will help with them ever loosening while on tour.