View Single Post
Old 11-21-07 | 11:59 PM
  #4  
Rowan
Senior Member
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 16,767
Likes: 85
Have you thought this through?

One of the reasons a front fork is designed the way it is (assuming a solid fork as opposed to suspension) is to allow the end to vibrate slightly so the road shocks transmitted by the wheel through the axle are reduced by the time they reach your handlebars. If you ride along a roughish bitumen surface, you will see the ends of the forks oscillating quite a bit. There is a function to that sweep in the fork's profile.

Now, put on a solid rack, presumably welded to the forks, and you are likely going to take away that function. Personally, I think that any fork that mounts by the rack mid-fork and at the dropout will remove some of this damping effect. I've asked a question about this before, and received no responses.

The only system that really appeals to me is the French way of usinga flat-top rack with stays that come down only to the mid-fork braze-on. This then can mount a decent-sized handlebar bag, similar to the Berthoud variety. There are no additional rack stays going to the dropout; and if there were and they were the only ones stabilising the rack, then the inherent flex in the rack itself would not interfere greatly with the fork's damping effect.

You may have a different opinion, however. EVen my own practice has been to fit low-rider racks.
Rowan is offline  
Reply