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Short chainstays/rear rack fit

Old 03-15-12, 06:09 PM
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Short chainstays/rear rack fit

Hey guys just looking for some help. Anyone ever run into an issue where their rear rack isn't sitting level? My issue is due to the fact of where the rack mounts to the frame, it's not the very common two hole setup. It's got one hole under the seat near the seatstays, for a temp fix I bent the arm to fit in between the seatpost collar. It's still not flush though, does anyone know of something I could use to replace the connecting arm? (Sorry for lack of good terminology to call the metal bar that attaches to rack and frame). Only reason I bring this up is I'm getting some heelstrike issues. I've been to the hardware store, but I must of not been creative enough to see something that would work. I guess I'm looking for a thin metal bar that I can put a bend in it, but stable to hold up with load on the rear rack. I measured the mounting point to where I would want the rack to be and it's 9 inches if that helps. Thanks for any help in advance.
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Old 03-15-12, 06:33 PM
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Looks like you got an old road bike rear rack, no wonder the fit is weird .

load carrying limited weight
Shopping suggestions...
Another rack like Old Man Mountain. bottom mount is QR skewer
and top mounts is added under the bolts that hold on your brakes, V or Cantilever..

usual complaint with short chainstays is heel strike against the bags..
but if you are going to stay with that rack, know, Bike shops have a bin full of rack struts

You might find one to go down to that unused bolt hole in the seat-stay bridge.

Last edited by fietsbob; 03-15-12 at 07:31 PM.
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Old 03-15-12, 07:06 PM
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I guess if you wanted to replace the rack you would say so.

Take it to a friendly local hardware store, again, the guys should be able to show you something that will do as an extension.
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Old 03-15-12, 08:32 PM
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Bend the stay to level the rack.

This won't solve the heel strike issue.

I don't understand your measurement.
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Old 03-15-12, 09:59 PM
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it looks like you might be able detach the support piece from the frame and the rack and flip it over and reattach it. maybe it will get you a half inch or so more height in front, if that is your objective.

i have a similar arrangement on my bike rack. the end you have attached to the frame at the seatpost clamp is attached to the brake bridge when i attach it on my bikes and i have bent it to fit the rack at the other end. i'm pretty sure mine is made of stainless steel and i have to put it in a vice and hit it pretty hard with a hammer to bend it. i've also used a sledge and a anvil to good effect.
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Old 03-15-12, 10:14 PM
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This is how it is supposed to work, but



with cantilever brakes the brake cable gets in the way. I welded in the aluminum plates so it would fit on my mtn bike's chain stay eyelets. I don't see eyelets on your bike, so that would not help either.


Last edited by Doug64; 03-15-12 at 10:31 PM.
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Old 03-15-12, 10:23 PM
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Thanks for everyone's input so far it's awesome to have a group of people willing to help out and give advice. As far as the measurement goes sorry it was confusing, I just meant if the piece of material was 9 inches long it would be perfect. It would put the rack far enough back so it would sit level. At the moment with the length it doesn't allow the rack to be angled back any further. Am i making sense sorry If I'm being unclear? I don't follow with bending it a different direction to get a different result sorry if I'm missing something. Regardless I think my best bet is to give the hardware store a go this weekend and do some hunting. Does anyone have experience with using the DIY "cat litter pannier's" that are all over the web? I'm just curious if they would work with my setup since the chainstays aren't super long. I figure the cat litter buckets aren't terribly long, but more so tall so they would work just curious. I tried finding measurements but didn't see anything. I was also thinking if I mounted one side lower than the other it would but the bottom of the bucket further back to give me some extra room.
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Old 03-15-12, 10:47 PM
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Take your mounting strap to your LBS, and see if they have a longer one. Some racks come with extras, and they are likely to have one laying around. I thought I a couple in my parts box, but I just checked and the only one found is too short.
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Old 03-15-12, 11:40 PM
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Your frame design has a rather low angle for the seat stays, that creates issues..

4 point mounting of rear racks is steadier than 3, particularly when the front one has to be so long..

Note how much shorter doug's examples are..

Last edited by fietsbob; 03-16-12 at 10:49 AM.
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Old 03-16-12, 08:50 AM
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If the local bike shop does not have a longer stainless piece, the local hardware store might have a piece of aluminum strap that you could drill to fit. You would also have to bend the aluminum, either with a twist like the stainless piece you have or if you mounted it on the fender mount bridge between the seat stays. Option two would be to use a short piece of aluminum strap to extend your stainless piece, drilling is needed but bending is not.

I really think if you have heel strike issues, this will only get you a fraction of an inch, not much help. Thus, you may end up looking for a different rack anyway.
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Old 03-16-12, 09:20 AM
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commonmarket, Blackburn has a set of long rack stays that can level your rack. This may worsen the heel strike issue by actually moving the bottom forwad edge of the pannier slightly closer to the crank's arc.

To fix the heel strike you'll need either a rack that has longer support stays, the panniers mounted further rearward, panniers with a relief to reduce heel strike or a combination of these.

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Old 03-16-12, 10:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
I really think if you have heel strike issues, this will only get you a fraction of an inch, not much help. Thus, you may end up looking for a different rack anyway.
+1
Leveling the rack may be helpful for loading it, but is seems likely that your heel strike issues are close to the bottom of the rack, which is a fixed point, so there's only so much extra clearance, if any, to be gained by leveling the rack.

Tubus has a solution for moving one of their racks back a little. https://www.thetouringstore.com/TUBUS...ONS%20PAGE.htm
No idea as to whether or not it could be used with another rack, but it might at least give you an idea. Of course moving the rack up and back would definitely require a longer top attachment arm as well.
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Old 03-16-12, 08:03 PM
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Top notch, thank you all. Its a good point you bring up, it will only help with loads rather than heel strike. I'm going to make a trip to the hardware store/bike shop and see if anyone got anything laying around. Some good points have been brought up and I've got some options. I saw on the tubus website they had something that would help, that last link was actually it. Good find, I didn't know blackburn had mounting hardware I'm going to see what they have. This hoopty of mine is proving to be a little extra work, but it's fun to figure stuff out and be creative. The whole bike with a tuneup has only cost me a hundred bucks so far. Eventually I'd love to have an Old man mountain rack, just low on cash at the moment as I'm sure the bike and setup indicate. It's a ton of fun for day trips and stuff. I don't need anything super fancy, making it work is fine for now. Currently I just tie an old army surplus bag down with some bungee cords I had in my truck and it works pretty well. I'm going to start commuting to work and doing some overnight rides so just figuring out a way to get more gear on there. These upper rack mounting stays, on the Tubus website would that be the best option for my situation? I just don't know about any other rack that would work, everything I see has 4 mounting points as previously stated. The only thing I thought of was that Tubus stay clamp mounting kit I could use about any rack with that. If I order the longer stays / and the stay mounting clamps would it work for my current setup? That seems pretty reasonable 20 bucks for a permanent fix, I really like the rack its an old blackburn seems study. And then I'll save up for something nice. Does anyone have any recommendations for 26" fenders? Preferably something like this, https://www.blackburndesign.com/en_us...nder-sets.html I'm just not sure what I'm looking for if one set is better than other? I've heard SKS makes a nice set, but they have several options on the website.
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Old 03-16-12, 09:01 PM
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Mark, I have a set of SKS fenders and they're fine. Some bikes are a bit fiddly WRT mounting a rack, what's fun is when you, through a little ingenuity, finally get it fitted. Just remember that the weight is carried by the stays attached to the dropout area and the stays to the seat stays are for stability. The only suggestion I can give is when I adopted my Santana spec. OMM rack to my touring bike I felt it was important to avoid any 90 degree bends in the upper stays and I used a couple of 45 degree bends instead. May not even make a difference, but I felt better.

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