Rack setup safe?
 

Posted this in touring too but typically get more traction here.

Going on some overnights starting this week and fit this Blackburn rack for my front panniers, first time with the rando rack on with it. One of the bottom eyelets is sharing the fender stays and one of the Blackburn stays while the mid fork mount is sharing the Blackburn rack and rando rack.

I can drop the nitto rack if needed but wanted to get some opinions on the setup before losing a bag. Thanks.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f32384409.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8fed26e8c.jpeg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5190ab1fa.jpeg

Not excited about the length of the mid fork stand off. I cannot tell the slope of the bag support appears going downhill - gravity is not your friend-

I think the low rider looks fine, but I don’t think the upper rack will do much good with an angle
like that.

Rack bolts are, in general, some of the most loosening-prone fasteners on the bike, along with bottle cage bolts and sometimes saddle clamp bolts.

When in doubt, I use blue loctite on rack's threaded fasteners, especially the ones shown having beefy 4mm hex sockets (to assure easy removal).

Is there an optional set of stays that mount on the canti studs?

Upper rack sits level actually, the way it’s hanging on the bike stand gives this angle effect.

I did find some online and will be buying those, just won’t have them in time for the first two nights of camping.

The forward tilt on the lowriders make bags more prone to coming loose during sudden deceleration, especially if the bag attachment system is not fully locking. Is the mid-fork mount location fixed?

I think Nitto makes longer struts for the upper rack so you can level it.

edit: just saw the other replies after posting

As long as everything is tight, I wouldn't be too concerned about doubling up the attachments. On my LHT, the dropout attachment is doubled up with the rack and the fender stays without issue. I see that on yours, you've used a bolt that extends to the inside of the dropout eyelet. You probably have room there for a nut if you wanted to go for overkill on that attachment point.

I would also strongly recommend using the blue thread locker; the rack bolts tend to be a problem area for vibration loosening in my experience.

can you mount the low rider rack on the mid fork eyelet in on of those two elongated holes so it's level?

The old style, VO randonneur racks are much more confidence inspiring. They have a stud that passes through the fender mount in addition to attachments at the cantilever mounts. No idea where you'd get one now though. Was going to their site to provide you a link and I see they've gone cheap with center of the fork attachment, and also bumped the price up. I do like the idea of having the side-supports at the canti mounts, so you won't have multiple attachments at the same point and possibly conspiring to loosen the securing bolt. My other main concern was the apparent downhill slope of the rack - which you have explained is an artifact of the angle it was photographed at, so never mind on that.

It also looks like your right front brake pad might catch the slightest bit of your tire, and the length of the bolt behind the right dropout that secures your low rider and fender stay is a little bit longer than ideal.

In the third photo, the rear screw is too long. I'm sure it's not but it looks dangerously long. Nonetheless, it should protrude but only about 1 full thread.

Cut it and file the end or get a shorter screw.

That's all I've got for you that hasn't already been mentioned because,... it looks great.

If that's true, then the lower racks are at quite an angle. One way or the other, that doesn't seem right.

It looks as if it's rubber. Is the standoff a rigid, strong material?

That is some serious optical illusions!

If it IS rubber, it's not a standoff, it is a falloff.

Looks to me like the lowriders on on the wrong sides. The more acute angle on the top should be forward, I believe. That change might improve the angle of the dangle.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bc30c7c9da.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c5405de6cd.jpg

Bingo!!

It all seems fine as long as the bolts don't come loose. I've run shared-bolt setups like this (sharing bolts seems to be your primary concern, no?) all the time, and never had a problem due to bolt sharing.

If you want extra security, you can put a locknut on the backside of the bottom bolts. Can't do this for the upper ones, unfortunately, but one thing I've found is that a fatter spacer will stabilize the standoff on the mid-blade eyelet, which may be wobbly from flex in a bolt sticking out that far.

The angles are hard to gauge with the bike on the stand like so here's a pic assist. If the handlebar bar is indeed level, then the lowrider rack is way too leaned back. I'd try mounting at another point to level it out. I'm thinking one of the longer slots would line up and I'd probably reinforce with a washer on either side since the openings look a bit larger.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7336c66681.jpg

Hmm. A few things:

- The Nitto rack is indeed level, as mentioned the bike is hanging downwards on the rack, giving the allusion that it isnt.
- Looks like I'll be able to get my hands on a handlebar bag before I leave, so I'm going to drop the Nitto rack and utilize the handlebar bag.
- As for the lowrider racks, There's no way to utilize the mid fork mount and fork eyelets to get these perfectly level. The only option is to have the top slanting down towards the bike as shown here. Seems odd given the era of the bike and the rack, and that they are essentially designed for each other. I've used this rack before and just assumed the angle was ok. Unless someone is seeing something here that I'm not:


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cc335bf1c.jpeg

Using these mounting points won't allow for the stay that connects to the eyelet to reach unfortunately. See my post above.

What if you moved the lower mount to the forward eyelet on the fork?

That's what I was just thinking.