Shadowex3

I've got a Sunlite rear rack mounted on my bike but even though I keep measuring everything as being symmetrical and the rack is mounted dead center on the bike it won't mount straight.

If you look at This picture you can see that the silver bars can be bolted in place through one of two slots on the rack itself, the guy in this picture (from Amazon) has both of his bolted through the first slot.

I've got them set up like This. The chain-side bar mounts just fine in the second slot, but the opposite one won't even be near the mounting slots unless I just a billion nuts and a really long screw to have it set absurdly far away like that, and even then it barely mounts in the first slot.

The rear wheel measures as being centered between the stays, the rack measures as being centered over the rear wheel, the (bottom mounted) brakes work fine which means my measurements aren't off, it all even LOOKS symmetrical, the bike rides straight, and yet the blasted thing mounts as though I was riding a bike built by Dali instead of a Kuwahara Aries.

serra

I'm guessing the rack wasn't made right or is bent somehow. I actually have the same problem with mine, I have to pull it over quite far, and screw it on and hope it doesn't sheer if I hit a bump. It works fine, just looks a bit odd if you look too closely. Carried ~50 lbs once and ~20 several other times without a problem, other than the mounting screws backing out :/
You could try bending the rack, but be careful you don't compromise it's integrity in doing so. Maybe you can return it for another?

HillRider

I have the same rack purchased from Nashbar a few years ago and have it mounted on a hardtail MTB frame with 135 mm dropouts. It fits and lines up fine.

However, what type of frame are you mounting yours on and what is the dropout width? If it's a road frame with 130 mm spacing or an older frame with 126 mm spacing, that could be why the mounting legs are too far apart.

FBinNY 

If the rack stands square over the frame on it's legs before fastening the seatstay braces than the basic rack is fine. On your frame the seatstay bolt holes are inboard, and at an angle, so the braces will never align perfectly with the slots in the racks.

This is very common and you need to bend them so they run nicely to the rack clamps and don't push it over to one side or the other. make the bends well away from the rack so you have room for adjustment. Also it's far easier to do the bending and fitting then leave both braces loose until the rack is in the right place before tightening either. Sometimes I tighten both firm but able to slip, then force the rack home before tightening fully.

HillRider

Sorry, I didn't look at the pictures you linked to before posting and I thought the problem was at the dropout mounting points.

Dropout width may still be a contributor but, as FBinNY recommended, just bend the mounting bars to get them to line up properly before tightening them down. It's called "custom fitting".

Shadowex3

Nope, everything's straight. I broke out the ruler and level to make sure when I first got it since that was my first guess as well.

The thing is that only ONE of the mounting bars is too far. One of them (chain side) lines up as you'd expect while the other, if I remove all those extra nuts, will be way outside the rear rack. That's why the symmetrical measurements bother me, if the bike measures as symmetrical and everything looks centered properly then you'd expect both of the bars to be off by the same amount rather than one behaving and the other needing such an extreme solution.

I thought about bending but I'm pretty sure I'd just break them if I tried since they're tubular instead of stamped sheet metal like most racks have. Plus... I still dont get why only ONE doesn't line up and the other does while everything still measures as being symmetrical.

DannoXYZ 

Try swapping the arms going to the seat-stays and see if the misalignment swap sides.

Actually, I took a closer look at the pictures and Amazon. From the order-of-operations implied in their photos, you actually attach the seat-stay arms to the seat-stays first (leave the bolts loose), then attach the arms to the rack later. In your case loosen the bolt for U-bracket that's bolted underneath the rack. This allows it to rotate laterally to let the front of the arms reach the seat-stay bolts. After the seat-stay bolts are tightened, then tighten the U-bracket at the rack:


https://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/image...fedc2210.L.jpg

Personally I think this is a poor design with too many separate and individual parts.

Shadowex3

Just got back from trying that, and remeasured both sets of bars (long and short). I was hoping it'd be an issue with the bars but my measurements were right, they're symmetrical and nothing changed. Whatever the problem is seems to be with my bike.

I also tried measuring the distance from various parts of the bike to various parts of the stays on either side and I think I'm going insane because I'm getting from 1/6th to 1/4th of an inch of difference depending on which piece and which side. It's like my bike's arse was molded by Dali, the rear wheel is straight but the stays are subtly asymmetrical enough that the rack's arms are thrown off by it.