ncscott

This seems like a simple enough situation, but I am looking at my fork (LHT) and can't figure this one out. My fenders are currently attached to the braze on to the back and bottom of my fork. It would seem that the front rack (not currently bought) would also use that braze on. My fenders are the SKS with the thick plastic peice and the rack I am looking at is the Nashbar rack (POS I realize, buts its cheap and I won't be using it very often at all).
What gives? How do you attach a low rider front rack and fenders?
Thanks,
scott

EmmCeeBee

There's no problem mounting the fenders and a lowrider rack on the same brazeon. Mount the fender first (inboard) on the mounting bolt.

In fact, you'll find that you have to do this. The LHT fork is beefier than most, and the strut of a lowrider rack mounted alone will interfere with the fork. You'd either have to bend the lowrider strut (something I wouldn't attempt) or use a spacer on the mounting bolt to move the strut out a bit. Fortunately, a fender mount provides this spacer -- problem solved.

I'd prefer to mount the rack inboard, too, in order to minimize stress on the brazeon. But it's the upper rack mount (mid-fork) that takes almost all the weight, so in practice the lower mount isn't a problem. And I don't think the Nashbar rack is a POS, it's a Blackburn knockoff, and the two I have have served me well.

Use good quality bolts -- at least grade 8.8, preferrably grade 10.9 .

-- Mark

oldride

I've been trying to mount the Nashbar low rider front rack on my new Randonee with no luck. Beware that the rack may not lineup with the mid-fork brazeons. The rack comes with 2 different size U bolts to fit around the fork blades. Neither U bolt will fit my bike. One is too small to fit around the fork blade and the other is way too big.

It may fit ok on a LHT but you may want to see if other LHT owners have had success with this rack.

Accident

Strange coincidence. I got my fenders today and installed on my LHT this afternoon; I have a surly nice rack on there. I just shared the same bolt for the rack and fender with no problems even though the nice rack has a plate that can have the fender bolted onto. Don't fret, if you have to disassemble the bike to ship/air travel then the racks and fenders should be removed anyways. (at least for me, since it would need a bigger box otherwise)

NoReg

What I did was weld a plate to the side of a 1/8" SS rod, and drilled the plate. Two of these allow you to torque down the rack bolt uber hard without any chance of opening the rod that attaches the fender. Using the supplied bent rods isn't as ideal but few people actually have a problem. What I currently have is plates mounted directly to the rack so that my fender ties off to the rear of the rack, and leave the fork mounts for the rack.

ncscott

Thanks for the advise, especially the pic from Mark.
My fenders are the sks with a "secu-clip" as shown in this pic: https://www.sks-germany.com/sks.php?l...t&i=6409800121
Do you think the plastic clip would work? Simple solution would be to just take the plastic clip off, but the fenders are adjusted to the clip, hopefully there is enough wire still there to work without it.
I was also thinking about bolting the upper stay of the rack to the upper braze on, just to clean up the area. Does this make sence to do that?

EmmCeeBee

Recognizing that there's lots of ways to put things together, and most things involve some jury rigging....

For a touring load, I wouldn't want a plastic spacer inboard of a rack mount. That would eventually allow the bolt to wiggle, and potentially it or the braze on could fail. I'd pull off the plastic tab and use the fender's steel wire to mount to the bolt. That gives a solid, tight mounting. I think the plastic tab works as a "quick-release" if something catches on the fender, right? If you want to keep that feature, then you could make up your own spacer: a piece of steel with two holes, one for the bolt, the other to mount the fender tab.

I bolt the upper mount to the mid-fork braze on, it's much more solid (and lighter) than using steel U-bolts. But lowrider racks never match up on the mounting holes -- the upper plate doesn't have the hole in the right place. Just drill or file the plate in the appropriate place. Use a washer under the bolt head, to spread the force. And also a washer or "standoff" (a thick washer) between the plate and the braze on, to ensure the struts clear the fork.

The lowriders probably involve a bit more jury rigging than other rack designs, but they end up clean, they're solid, and they do the job with no problems.

-- Mark

Mr. Jim

LBS mounted my rack to the fork then the fender to a spare hole on the rack mount. SKS fenders and Axion lowrider rack