apr144

I put a Tubus Nova front rack on my bike, but it is not parallel with the ground:



I'd like to know if this is too far off from parallel to use reliably with front rack bags (Ortlieb front-roller).

If this is not recommended, does Tubus or another equipment maker sell an accessory or bracket kit that I can use to extend and offset the arms to make the rack parallel with the ground?

Also, I had to mount the rack to the buses on the front of the fork axle mount. The figure in the Nova installation diagram has the rack mounted behind the axle mount, but I can't put the rack on those buses because I have a fender installed, and the fender uses those buses. Is that going to be an issue as well, or is it okay to use the front buses with this rack?

Thanks for any advice!

FBinNY 

It might be OK, but the bag may want to square up because of gravity, and with the rack angled this way, it can cause the rear hook to lift and disengage. If the bag doesn't have hooks that latch positively, this can create a dangerous situation. The angle also concentrates more weight on the forward (upper) hook, so may be an issue if the bags are heavy.

If it were mine, I'd consider using a P-clip on the top mount to push it forward, or try my luck mounting the lower bolt into the rear (fender) eyelet, or both. It might take some creative jiggering to make it work or at least get it more level.

I'm also curious about the rack itself because many touring forks have curved blades which would put the upper mount even farther back. I'd expect that the rack would be designed with the upper bolt farther back w/respect to the lower one.

Good luck and happy touring however you work it out.

robert schlatte

Also, I had to mount the rack to the buses on the front of the fork axle mount. The figure in the Nova installation diagram has the rack mounted behind the axle mount, but I can't put the rack on those buses because I have a fender installed, and the fender uses those buses. Is that going to be an issue as well, or is it okay to use the front buses with this rack?

Thanks for any advice![/QUOTE]

It is okay to use the same eyelets the fenders are on. I did that on my bike to get the rack level.

FBinNY 

Yes, it's find for racks and fenders to share a mounting bolt. When doing so, the rack goes first so it's load creates the same shear forces on the bolt as otherwise, and the fender which is basically zero load, goes to the outside. Because fender braces can spread, I use a washer between them and the rack, and also under the bolt head.

An old touring friend does it a bit differently, threading a long pan head from the inside out and tightening it to the frame, then the rack held on with it's own nut, followed by the fender with a nut, and finally sawing the rig flush and filing it smooth. The reasoning is that it assures that the frame won't ever be stripped, and the separate nuts, give early warning that things are getting loose while the rack is still secure.

If you go with my friend's belt and suspenders solution, finish by using a center punch on the screw/nut face, to distort the last thread slightly and preventing loosening. You only need a bit for it to be secure (test by trying to back off gently), but the nut can be removed easily enough when desired.

seeker333

+1

I've done the same, except I used nyloc nuts and/or blue Loctite.

In a pinch, Krazy glue (cyanoacrylate) works too as threadlocker, but it'll sometimes dissolve plastics and occasionally foul bolt threads to the point where a cleanup with knife edge required.

Doug64

Actually you might want to use the rack mounting points (attached to the dropouts) that are farthest forward ( in front of the rack mount you are presently using. If the rack does not interfere with you disc brake you should be OK. A 3/8" or 1/2" spacer may be required, but this is pretty normal even in non-dic applications.

I believe the mounting point you are presently using on your rack was intended to mount fenders if you only have one eyelet on you fork dropouts. Use the one on the other side of the tubing.

fietsbob

Yea the 2 holes not used are where the [Koga] factory build bolted my rack to the fork where you attached it, they attached the Mudguard strut,

But As You did , it works .. and the wheel will come out without too much work .. Although you may have to remove the QR skewer entirely.

Thats not a big handicap.

I wouldn't OCD on it not being parallel/level. might be easier to dig around in the bags if they slant back towards you.

So, perhaps that would Be You? DIY.

Bus front racks pull down with a spring hook onto the top of the front tire , so as long as the tip of the mudguard

does not wrap all the way to the front hoop of the pannier rack, that should still be OK.

Jaywalk3r

I had a similar issue mounting my Tubus Tara rack to a Salsa Fargo fork. Ultimately, my solution was to use the rack's integrated (unthreaded) fender eyelet as the lower attachment (to the fork) point for the rack. While it isn't quite as beefy as the intended rack mounting eyelet, it is plenty strong to carry the smaller loads for which the rack is rated.

It doesn't appear that that's an option with your Nova. If it bothers you that the rack isn't parallel to the ground, perhaps you can exchange your Nova for a Tara.

Edit to add: Never mind. Looking at the pic Doug64 posted, your issue is being caused by mounting with the integrated fender eyelet.

apr144

After posting my question, I ended up mounting the rack and fender to the same behind-axle bus, which levels out the rack.

However, I didn't think about the shear stress and mounted the fender eyelet in between the bus and rack, so I'll need to undo that and swap their positions.

It's a bit crowded and I'm worried about the rack eyelet corner hitting the axle. The center rack brace also blocks the lever that allows removing the wheel. But if I bring a toolkit with Allen wrenches on trips, I should be okay, I guess.

I definitely did not want to DIY a solution that ends up not supporting the weight or ends up causing a component to fall into the wheel while I pedal, so this seems to be a much better solution.

Thanks for all the tips! Want to make sure I do this right the first time.

rm -rf

How about extending the top connector with a steel or aluminum flat bar, with drilled holes? There's two holes in the existing top connector, so drill two holes for those, and one more for the fork mount.

There would be quite a lot of side load with loaded panniers, with the bottom securely fastened and the top on a bar extension. Would this affect the adapter or allow the load to move side to side a little? It might. But it's quite cheap and easy to try on a test ride.

Lowes carries these. I can't link the page easily, but this google search works: The Hillman Group 3-ft x 1-in Plated Steel The 3 foot x 1 inch bar is 1/8 inch thick.

Would the extra 1/8 inch thickness affect the rack at all? I'm guessing it'll work. Or you could put the steel bar on the outside of the rack's mount--that sounds better.

Perhaps the aluminum 1 inch wide x 1/8 thick would be stiff enough. It partly depends on how long it needs to be. Aluminum is easier to drill and saw, of course.

Doug64

Look at the pictures in post#6. Or try using the eyelet on the front of the fork with the front mounting points on the front rack. I use setup on 3 bikes, and it is not an issue. I use the rear eyelet on the fork for fenders.

Biketouringhobo

My Jandd Extreme front rack

Doug64

I have 2 bikes with only one eyelet on the rear dropouts. I placed the fender struts between the dropout and the rack mount. There are probably 12,000 miles of fully loaded touring between both bikes without any problems. I'm not sure why a touring bike would have 2 eyelets on the front, and only one on the back, but that is the way they were made. Both are pretty well know touring models. Point: I would keep the fenders stays between the rack and the fork; it makes for a lot cleaner installation.

This is a little different from the way you mounted your rack, and it seems like it would level it out .
https://www.vlerickfietsen.be/bagagetransport/ergo.pdf

Tourist in MSN

I have mounted my rack (Tubus Ergo) on the outside of the fender mounts with a long bolt. I think I needed a spacer too. And then mount the fender stays are inside the fender mounts, held on with a nut on the long bolt. For that I prefer nylock nuts over regular ones, less likely to rattle loose. This was very solid mounting, but did require a trip to hardware store for some nuts and longer M5 bolts.

Sorry the photo is not better, it was cropped from a much larger photo.



EDIT Added later: I did not want to use the separate fender mounts on the rack for the fenders because I did not want to cut my fender stays shorter. That is why I mounted the rack and fender stays on the same bolt at the fork fender mounts. I only use the front rack on tours, not for riding around home. Thus, when around home I mount the rack stays the more conventional way.

mibike

Per the instructions that came with my Tubus rack the tab you are using is to mount A finder to the rack. It's says that this tab is not strong and shouldn't be used to mount the rack. It's so you don't need to mount the rack and finder with the same bolt. It also says not use the eyelet on top (front) of the fork tip.