need a fork with a rack built into it.
11-21-07 | 10:29 AM
#1
Thread Starter
park ranger
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,794
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From: mars
Bikes: recumbents
need a fork with a rack built into it.
i got a frame that needs a fork.
i want to get a rack built into the fork for use around the city.
who knows of builders that will do that.
I'm in austin texas, moyer is not real interested, isn't there a builder in houston? i forgot his name, i wanna say it was green but i'm not sure.
i want to get a rack built into the fork for use around the city.
who knows of builders that will do that.
I'm in austin texas, moyer is not real interested, isn't there a builder in houston? i forgot his name, i wanna say it was green but i'm not sure.
11-21-07 | 11:22 AM
#2
Banned
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,115
Likes: 4
Ant has done some similar things, and might be iterested in the urban transport aspect. If it is just a fork, anyone can do it and mail it.
I probably wouldn't do it for my own bike. I have a similar project under way to carry some of the front fork functions. I prefer to just have super beefy attachments, because front rack function can vary as to trip etc... or panier and load configuration. I was looking at a BMX fork where there were separate braze ons for pegs (rather than their being integral with the axle). That in addition to other braze ons mid fork and crown is super beefy in my book, and there are more elegant ways.
I probably wouldn't do it for my own bike. I have a similar project under way to carry some of the front fork functions. I prefer to just have super beefy attachments, because front rack function can vary as to trip etc... or panier and load configuration. I was looking at a BMX fork where there were separate braze ons for pegs (rather than their being integral with the axle). That in addition to other braze ons mid fork and crown is super beefy in my book, and there are more elegant ways.
11-21-07 | 12:21 PM
#3
Is there a reason you need the rack to be an integral part of the fork? There are plenty of racks that bolt onto a fork with eyelets either at the tips or midway along the blades, depending on what type of rack you want. A touring fork might be ideal for this.
A rack, such as the Velo-Orange Porteur or Courier rack (https://www.velo-orange.com/racks.html) would work fine with such a fork.
A rack, such as the Velo-Orange Porteur or Courier rack (https://www.velo-orange.com/racks.html) would work fine with such a fork.
11-21-07 | 11:59 PM
#4
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 16,767
Likes: 85
Have you thought this through?
One of the reasons a front fork is designed the way it is (assuming a solid fork as opposed to suspension) is to allow the end to vibrate slightly so the road shocks transmitted by the wheel through the axle are reduced by the time they reach your handlebars. If you ride along a roughish bitumen surface, you will see the ends of the forks oscillating quite a bit. There is a function to that sweep in the fork's profile.
Now, put on a solid rack, presumably welded to the forks, and you are likely going to take away that function. Personally, I think that any fork that mounts by the rack mid-fork and at the dropout will remove some of this damping effect. I've asked a question about this before, and received no responses.
The only system that really appeals to me is the French way of usinga flat-top rack with stays that come down only to the mid-fork braze-on. This then can mount a decent-sized handlebar bag, similar to the Berthoud variety. There are no additional rack stays going to the dropout; and if there were and they were the only ones stabilising the rack, then the inherent flex in the rack itself would not interfere greatly with the fork's damping effect.
You may have a different opinion, however. EVen my own practice has been to fit low-rider racks.
One of the reasons a front fork is designed the way it is (assuming a solid fork as opposed to suspension) is to allow the end to vibrate slightly so the road shocks transmitted by the wheel through the axle are reduced by the time they reach your handlebars. If you ride along a roughish bitumen surface, you will see the ends of the forks oscillating quite a bit. There is a function to that sweep in the fork's profile.
Now, put on a solid rack, presumably welded to the forks, and you are likely going to take away that function. Personally, I think that any fork that mounts by the rack mid-fork and at the dropout will remove some of this damping effect. I've asked a question about this before, and received no responses.
The only system that really appeals to me is the French way of usinga flat-top rack with stays that come down only to the mid-fork braze-on. This then can mount a decent-sized handlebar bag, similar to the Berthoud variety. There are no additional rack stays going to the dropout; and if there were and they were the only ones stabilising the rack, then the inherent flex in the rack itself would not interfere greatly with the fork's damping effect.
You may have a different opinion, however. EVen my own practice has been to fit low-rider racks.
11-22-07 | 12:58 AM
#5
Full Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 293
Likes: 1
From: San Francisco Bay Area
Silly piwonka! Just get a fork and a rack and take it from there. You're mixing all-lower-caps no-first-name no-second-name austin-tx improvisation-style stylishness with "OMG RACK MUST BE STRICTLY AND RIGIDLY INTEGRATED WITH FORK TO AVOID URBAN CATASTROPHE" anality. The former is more charming. Get a fork and a rack and tell us about the cool thrift store way down in Houston that you biked to spontaneously in order to get two panniers' worth of compressed stuffed animals at a dollar a bag, and leave off with the unattractive stoner-engineer "around the city" welded-integration rigidity anxiety.
Last edited by Takara; 11-22-07 at 01:07 AM.
