Crooked rear rack on Brompton?
 

After owning and using my Brompton for a year, I only just noticed that my rear rack is crooked. (I didn't use the rack for hauling anything, so I ignored the rack).

I just noticed however that the rack seems both off centre and skewed. Furthermore one of the support struts is bent. Is this supposed to be straight? I would think so, but I can't remember, and the Brompton is unique, so I assumed the rack support was made to be bent to facilitate the fold somehow.

Is anybody else's rear rack similarly skewed? http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=314233http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=314234http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=314235

All of those struts are straight on my B.

Alright... just needed to know that others Brompton rear racks were straight. Can't recall how mine even got bent....

At some time you put too much weight on it? Watch those frame rollers! the J bend will bend Over more, then break.

Probably the baggage handlers....looks like your staying at a hotel

Actually, eventhough the photos were taken in the hotel, I noticed the bent strut at home. The best I can think of is that in one of my airplane travels last year, eventhough I used the B&W hard case, it got jostled enough that the strut bent. Or, it could when the bike fell over when it was partially folded: I find the "kickstand" mode to not be very stable actually. However, I actually managed to just re-bend the strut into an almost straight alignment using my bare hands. It helped straighten out the rack itself. I really think I will mod the EZ wheels and replace them with roller blade wheels. It should be more stable, roll more easily, and be less prone to tipping.

Right after my first airplane trip with the B&W case I noticed that my rack was bent to the same side as yours. The difference is that the fender was still in in line with the rack and touching the tire. And there were no bends in the struts. It seems the rack easily bends sideways as this reoccurs after realigning the rack.

Hmmm... that's good to know that I'm not the only one with this sort of experience. Now that I've had the Brompton for over a year, I'm of two minds of the rack.

1. It's not the most useful for hauling things. Anything that gets strapped down needs to be shaped or oriented "just so" to avoid heel strike.... but at least you have a rack for extra things. It also makes the bike just that little bit heavier and more awkward to handle.
2. On the other hand, the rack really makes it easier to roll the bike around.

I really don't use the rack wheels to roll be bike around but do use it for carrying stuff and find it great for that. On my bicycle tours I have the tent, sleeping mat, and sleeping bag on the rack. The key is to attach the bungee on the rack behind the tabs that point down, not by the front wheels where you place them when nothing is on the rack. This keeps things towards the back.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=314462

(High resolution photo)

Wider front wheels , your J tube mounted ones. impinge on pedaling feet if too wide..

That's when the slightly unattractive pedal extenders and QR pedals come into play.

My struts snaped. Might see if I can mount a mezzo rack system