Saw this rack made for front suspension forks at MEC recently and picked one up to try on my old Rockhopper.

https://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Cyclin...rider-rack.jsp

As I have mentioned before, I use this bike for commuting and have done long day trips and a bit of touring, albeit with rear panniers only and front bar bag. Its a workhorse of a bike, and is stable with a good load on the back while still handling great, and the low gearing comes in handy in hilly terrain.

For a possible week long upcoming trip on paved roads, I was debating using my cross bike, but would want to change the granny from 30 to 26 teeth, and I figured I'd have to buy another Ortlieb handlebar bag attachment thingee as I have already moved mine twice, and I suspect the wire would be a real p.i.t.a this time...

so given that I will be camping, I'll be using front panniers, so started looking around for rack options for this suspension fork. Ive attached photos to show the mounting system, it is pretty basic, with those screw down clamps looking particularly homemade. I've mounted it as per the instructions and it is reasonably stable.

As in the past, I will be using my old small front panniers, and have always loaded them fairly lightly--rain gear in one side, and cooking set in the other, so the weight shouldnt be much more than 10 lbs. The whole mounting system seems kind of marginal, from the bracket on the v brake bolts, to the actual clamp attachments, so I figure it would be wise to go light anyway. Plus I dont want to overdo the weight on the front suspension anyway, but as I myself am fairly light and want to keep the front load down (I prefer the steering feeling that way) this should work out fine.

I do see that for $4 you can buy a new set of clamps, so I am wondering if it would be better to go with two clamps on each fork (forgoing the brake attachment--which I see as the weak point)

Re improvising, on the MEC product page, in the review section, someone put up photos of an improvised attachment system he made, using an L bracket that goes on the skewer, then bolts to the rack. Would this put too much strain on the skewer-have any of you used racks that mount like this?

The other option, is to just go the double clamp route, which seems sturdier to me as the force will be going onto the thick fork body, but may cause issues as the rack will be farther back somewhat and the panniers may be tight being close to the fork (but I guess I could use spacers to keep the rack out from the fork enough...)

opinions? ideas? Basically its still winter here so I'm not out riding, so am messing around with this inside, and have time to try out diff approaches. The actual rack seems well made, especially for the price as well as for what I will be doing (a road trip, not even offroad) but might need some improvising, so Im putting this out for ideas.

here are some pics of how it mounts as is.

I'd leave it the way it is - the brake attachment should prevent the entire rack from sliding down on those tapered fork legs, which could be disastrous. That may be an unlikely scenario with a 10lb load, but I wouldn't rule it out completely if there were only two pairs of band clamps securing the rack.

Additionally, if you were to replace the upper mounts with another pair of band clamps, you'd need to move the rack back a bit to allow the upper mount to meet the screw slot. It looks like you've got the rack in the ideal fore-aft position now, so sliding it back might negatively impact the handling.

+1

I would assemble with blue Loctite or similar threadlocking compound. Nylon-insert lock nuts work pretty good too. Pay attention to the connecting hoop over the tire - if you lose a hoop fastener, either side of the rack could rotate into the revolving wheel, which could also be disastrous.

Yea, make sure nothing comes loose, over time.. re check bolts before they fall off.


the more expensive Tubus one is attached to the fork crown, to take mass off the fork slider.
suspension systems just react better the less weight on the un sprung lower, wheel, portion.

I have used this type of rack and had no problems with it over many years use. The brake attachments are not weight bearing but serve to stop any rotation of the rack. The weight is taken by the U clamps around the fork and these can take a lot of weight so I wouldn't worry about not loading them with much weight.

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/...oc_id=6090&v=i

shows how I attached the rack with a U clamp. I would recommend you use these rather than the hose clamps you have shown in your pictures.

hadnt really thought of the clamps slipping down, but yes, perhaps that is something to be wary of.
As for the fore/aft position, I too was wondering if the handling would be weird if the pannier weight would be further back, ie further back from the axel position--and if this would cause weirdness...?

thanks for the heads up against using only clamps.

that makes a lot of sense re loctite and the nylon insert nuts. That did bug me that the bolts have Philips (cross) heads instead of allen key shapes, and that knowing that stuff does loosen up sometimes, I would have to take my little Y shaped tool to hold the rear bolts in place to properly tighten them if they began to loosen (the Y shaped tool with 3 diff bolt sizes is lighter than my smallest adjustable wrench)

Im pretty good about keeping track of bolt tightnesses, but as you say, due to the design of seperate loop etc, you really need to keep an eye on all the attachment points. Ive never used loctite, so would want to use the stuff that is more or less easily "crackable" when it comes time to disassemble (I dont want to keep this on all the time, basically when making sure it works well enough, and then in July when hopefully the trip will pan out)

yes I can see how taking the mass off the slider makes sense, the Manitou forks I have are fairly stiff to begin with (they date to 98 or 99) and I really do intend to keep it light up front. For my use, it just wasnt worth considering spending a lot on a better rack given how much I will use it, and also the fact that I will use the front panniers to take bulky, lighter stuff from the rear of the bike.
Like you said about keeping track of tightness, that will be key.

Steve, thanks for the input and your experience with this type of rack and the u bolt system recommendation. Hadnt thought of that, but thats great if you have had success with it. Looks like this is a cheap copy of the rack you have used. The hoop attachment with one bolt only isnt as good a design, but hey, Im sure it will be ok if kept an eye on.

I figure with the U clamp, one could even wrap some old inner tube around the fork to give an extra amount of cushion and/or "grip" that rubber on metal has.

I will now have to take a peek at your cgoab journal and see where you went and all, thanks again for the reply, great to see that this type rack can work well with some fiddling.
cheers