Mid-Fork Eyelets and Front Racks
 

Hey folks, I recently purchased a touring bike with mid-fork eyelets, and Im trying to find a front rack that makes use of them.

So far, all the racks I've seen have the U-shaped thingy which holds the rack to the fork, but I'd really rather find a rack that mounts onto the eyelet (one less part to screw up, and whats the point of paying a premium for a bike with mid-fork eyelets when you dont use them).

So far all I've been able to find is the Tubus Tara (http://www.thetouringstore.com/TUBUS...ARA%20PAGE.htm) which, although I'm sure its a good rack, strikes me as unreasonably expensive. (all the other lowrider racks Ive seen have been in the $20-40 range)

Anyone know if there are any less pricey racks that make use of the mid-fork eyelets? If the mid-fork eyelets aren't commonly used for racks, what are they used for?

Thanks!

Just so you know, the reason the Tubus is expensive is that it is probably the best rack ever made for touring

http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CGIQ8wIwAg#

I think you may be misunderstanding something. Can you post a picture of the racks you were looking at? Most racks attach to the mid-fork eyelets.

Just so you know, the best rack ever made is this:

http://www.bgcycles.com/images/racks/rack_front.jpg
http://www.bgcycles.com/racks.html

It ain't cheap though!

These are the racks I tried putting on. http://www.amazon.com/Axiom-Journey-...=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

As you can see, it attaches to the fork with a rubber coated U-Bolt type thing. I thought I could use the eyelet with it anyways, but the eyelet did not match up with the slot on top.

Thanks for the suggestions bobdell, but I've heard that lowrider racks are better than the classic ones like you've linked to. Is this true? Is it possible that low-riders generally are not meant to attach to the eyelets?

Low riders are indeed meant to attach to the mid-fork eyelet, look at the rack I posted, as well as the tubus racks. What would concern me about the axiom rack is that it doesn't look like the two sides of the rack are connected. That is what the loop over the tire is for, to stabilize the load further. I use an axiom rear rack on my commuter, and it is flimsy as hell, and I wouldn't trust it on a tour, though many use them. Then again i use BG racks, so my opinion is skewed when comparing racks to it.

Maybe try a jandd?
http://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FRLOW

Mounting instructions:
http://www.jandd.com/Technotes/technotes_front_rack.asp

The U-shape thing that you refer to are to attach a front rack if you fork does not have the eyelets.

FWIW, I usually have most of my heaviest items up front, cooking gear, tool kit, food, water.....so I like to have a sturdy front rack.

Thanks zoltani,

Again, with the Jaand rack, it looks like it mounts on clamps instead of just screwing directly onto the eyelet... from the picture of the mounting instructions it looks like the eyelet maybe doesnt even line up with the mounting slot. This is the same problem I had trying to get the axioms on.

I find it strange that all but the most expensive panniers seem to not be designed to use the eyelets.

Here is another low-rider rack from Blackburn...

http://www.dandq.com/browse.cfm/blac...ck/4,2829.html

Just remember that you get what you pay for. Virtually all inexpensive racks are made of aluminum. They will do OK on smooth roads and with lighter loads. For commuting, they're great. If they ever break down in the middle of nowhere while touring, however, you may have to stop your trip or figure out a way to carry your front panniers until you get a replacement. They cannot be fixed (welded) like you can with a steel rack. These racks a good way to get into touring though but if you already "paid a premium" for your bike, try to find something made of steel. I simply can't find a new inexpensive low-rider front rack made of steel for you. :( Maybe someone here has some ideas.

http://www.jandd.com/Technotes/FrontRack/image2.jpg
Front low mounted to braze-on points

I agree completely with all of this. Spending more money up front will save you money in the long run, IMO.

is the mid fork braze on of the type that goes straight thru the fork blade?

I have had a set of Bruce Gordon's Racks for 25 years , they are formed of a single tube
the hoop, and bag platforms are all the same tube, with one crossbar on each side.

If any rack could use the 2 dropout bolts
[I use 8.8 high strength steel bolts]
and have a less rigid mid fork fitting
so the springy fork compliance with the road
for some comfort then bruce is it ,

Tubus racks have a bolt connection , between the top rail and the hoop,
that is part of their fit flexibility, [and smaller shipping size] though the angle the parts fit ,
varies with location of the connection points.


I have some Bruce Gordon made racks, now over 20 years of use..
only powder coat wear on them..

I’m happy with the Blackburn front rack. It installs without using the supplied clamps on my Surly fork, but required the use of the supplied clamps on my Windsor Tourist front fork. All needed hardware is included. The quality is A+. The rack is rated for 24 LBS., and could easily carry more.

I installed the Blackburn MTF-1 front rack on my Windsor Tourist and checked the fit on my Surly Cross Check fork. I had hoped to install the rack on the Windsor fork using a lower-front braze-on eyelet and the mid-blade eyelet. However the attachment points did not line-up. Next, I tried the lower fork braze-on (where the fender also attaches), but that did not line-up either. I ended up using the lower-front braze-on eyelet and the largest supplied clamp for the upper attachment. Using the clamps, the rack will fit any rigid fork for rim brakes.
The fit on the surly fork was fast and easy, using the lower fork braze-on (where the fender also attaches) and the mid-blade eyelet

I actually use Nitto Campee front and rear. I wanted the Tubus but got the Campee set at a great price

Looks like that could work...decided to order it! Got one off ebay for about $65 all in. A bit more than I wanted to pay, but I suppose having the connector over the top is important.

Thanks for the advise guys!

Blackburn Low Rider Custom Front Rack
http://www.biketiresdirect.com/produ...der-front-rack

I had one, it was pretty good. I have a Tubus Tara now, it's good too. The low rider was starting to wear out after a few thousand miles (maybe, uh, 7000?) of carrying Lone Peak panniers that had some metal hardware that rubbed directly on the rack. I wouldn't have replaced it necessarily, but I was getting a whole new setup with a new bike and got the new rack.

One thing a little awkward about the Blackburn rack is that since it has two bars on top, the hooks that sit on the top bar need to be narrow enough to fit between them. It was fine for the Lone Peak bag but wouldn't work with an Arkel bag.

edit - oops, too late. :)

The hoop style of front rack is much more solid than 2 separate sides, or it is much lighter weight for the same stiffness. Tara is a fantastic, minimalist rack than packs flat for transport (eg packing for air travel) and holds the heaviest of bags without budging or wobbling.
Low rider racks have more neutral steering, high rider racks have better ground clearance for off road.

Blackburn racks are junk.....Mine are 34 years old,don't buy one of those.....The old ones are made from 6061 T6,I don't know what the new ones are made from.

The u-clamps are used when there aren't mid-fork eyelets.

The mid-fork eyelets are typically in a fairly standard location and all the rack manufacturers know about them.

Maybe, the positioning of the eyelets on your bike isn't standard.

The Axium rack should work with them too.

This might suck: the weight is too far forward. It's also really unusual.

load adds stability as it inches ahead of the axis.
+ some pannier hooks are adjustable
in slots to move the bag respective to the rack.

I have made brackets for my fork when the holes don't line up properly .
2 holes for rack , 1 hole for the fork, so the triangle of bolts wont rotate,

I have the jannd extreme rack, which is awesome and allows a platform and low panniers on the front. It comes with P-clamps, but can use mid-fork eyelets if you have them instead.
http://www.jandd.com/ProdImages/Rack...xtremeRack.jpg
Lots of mobility in mount choice options as you can slide the hardware up and down wherever to match your eyelet/clamp location. Just a great rack, but it's super heavy. Not enough to notice in your steering (until you load it up), but it definitely makes the fork flop a lot more when you're not moving even unloaded.

I have an Old Man Mountain front rack, though it is no longer on their WEB site, but they have a new one that uses the mid fork mount:

http://www.oldmanmountain.com/Pages/...rontRacks.html

Oh , just found my rack, Arkel now sells it, though I expect OMM makes it.

http://www.arkel-od.com/us/all-categ...-lowrider.html