MTB Suspension Fork Rack
 

Hi Guys,

I don't really have the money for a purpose built front-rack for a suspension fork, so I was hoping to get your opinions on the following setup. Its a lowrider front rack (http://www.wiggle.com/lifeline-alloy...er-front-rack/). I have threaded a long QR skewer through the rack on one side, then the wheel, and then the rack on the other side. The top of the rack is secured using a U-bolt that was supplied with it.

Do you think this setup poses a serious risk of the wheel falling off or anything? Below (Photo 4) I have put a green arrow pointing to the gap between the fork dropout where the QR skewer normally compresses against, and the rack. I was thinking that a hard rubber or plastic spacer here to ensure that pressure is being applied to the dropout would be sufficient. What do you think?

http://imgur.com/H8OcVPq,4kMev9z,b9xokiF,6Uhw5q8

Photo 1: Overview of what it looks like
Photo 2: The upper guide/mount (this u-bolt was included with the rack)
Photo 3: Close up of the dropout
Photo 4: The rack is circled in red. The green arrow points to the gap where I think a spacer would be sufficient to make sure the pressure is being applied to the fork dropout (from skewer tightening) as opposed to the side of the fork tube where the rack comes in contact with it.

Am I mad? :) Bearing in mind that there will be minimal weight on the front, any thoughts would be thoroughly appreciated!

Tubus Swing http://www.tubus.com/product.php?xn=65 as a front rack for a Suspension fork MTB,
is going to allow the suspension to work better, as It adds no weight to the unsprung lower part.

The load is going to be carried by the 5mm bolt , the QR running through the hub..

What is that a rear skewer to be long enough?

I wouldn't ride that.. [particularly off the road] if you must use spacers make them Metal ..
so you can get the skewer tight enough..

Generally, Light, newer external cam QR's are not as powerful as the internal cam type ..

I'd save my money and get an old man mountain... I really like my OMM Sherpa rear rack, I assume the front would be of comparable quality. Scroll down for a suspension fork view. Are you going to use the lockout on the fork? If not the swing would be the way to go.
http://www.oldmanmountain.com/Pages/...nt_gallery.htm

Can't you just use a shorter skewer? If not, yea, try some brass washers or bolts as spacers. Let us know how it works for you. Also, just curious how high off the ground the bottom of your front panniers will sit, looks kind of low but maybe not? Just be careful taking corners and curbs. Also agree with above, I've got an OMM front rack that is very solid and I've used it on my front shock mountain bikes with zero issues.

Could you move the rack up just a little higher and use a U bolt for the bottom attachment too? If the bolts on the U bolt are too large to fit through the hole, maybe figure out an adapter to do that.

https://www.performancebike.com/revi...ront-Rack.html

you would be wise to have a hoop connecting the 2 side plates too.

OMM is a also a good rack. as said, lock out the fork, it will not be so good with extra weight on it,

might be just as well to get a rigid suspension corrected fork, so you can put a proper front rack on ,
solidly mounted..
& set the suspension fork aside, put it back on later.

Take a look here at prducts of a Czech manufacturer of racks and panniers Sport Arsenal: the pdf catalog. On page 26 you can see a front rack for suspension forks which is attached only by threaded U rod and nuts. I have one and I think it's plenty rigid, and the height and position is adjustable up-down and fore-aft for best center of gravity of the load.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=309388

OP, the OMM rack is good idea.

You might be able to jury-rig it OK as indicated in #1. Disc brake makes it even more likely that the wheel will become unclamped at some point.

Also, as indicated in #6, this hoop-less style rack is a particularly bad design, as each side has the potential to rotate about the fork leg, moving the pack and/or luggage into the path of the revolving wheel. That's why most front racks of this type have a connecting hoop in the front - so they will not rotate into wheel.

You might want to weigh the cost of a proper rack ($100-200) against the cost of a potential wreck where you could sustain head/face/teeth injuries, in addition to likely bike/luggage damage.

Thanks for your replies everyone.


@fietsbob: it adds all of the weight to the lower part of the fork; it connects to the bridge part.


@robow: the longer skewer is there so that the rack isn't touching off the bottom of the fork tube, but rather transferring all of the pressure from the QR clamp to the dropout where it is normally applied when using a regular QR setup. The rack (as mounted in my pictures) is no lower than it would be mounted on a standard fork with braze-ons for this purpose :)


@mtnbud: I could do that, but I think there are two problems. If I tighten the U-Bolts too much, I'm afraid that I might damage the fork tubes by compression which cannot be undone. Do you think theres much likelihood of this happening? The more realistic problem is that if the rack slips downwards at all it will jam the disc brake rotor - likely causing an injury! The risk here could be minimized by using inner tube on the contact points of the U Bolt but I think the other setup is a safer option to be honest.


@fietsbob: what two side plates do you mean? As in my first post I'm trying to keep costs down - a Kona P2 or something like that would cost upwards of 100 euros, as would a commercial rack - I just don't have the money to spend on something like that at the moment I'm afraid.


@OndrejP_SK: Thanks very much for your post. I guess what I wrote earlier about the rack slipping downwards is unlikely after all! Is there rubber or something on the inside of the U Bolts to further secure it?


@seeker333: The hoop-less design could be remedied by using some extra cable ties as well as the existing U bolt that I have on there. There would be a rattling sound if the U-Bolt so much as loosened, and I would use locking nuts on it anyway.




Lots of recommendations for the OMM Sherpa here, but upon closer inspection it only works with V-Brake mounts anyway; I have disc brakes only. Upon googling it again, it is pretty much the exact same design as what I am suggesting, in terms of the QR system. There is a QR skewer, a spacer as I suggested above (the cylindrical silver pieces at the bottom), and a mounting point which connects to the V-Brake blocks above. The only difference is that I would use u-bolts around the fork tubes.


I think I'll give it a whirl - if OMM trusts a QR skewer enough to certify it to hold 40lbs, I'm sure I will be fine with the 10lbs or so that I intend on mounting there!


Thank for all the replies :)

I've just taken a look at the installation guide for the OMM Sherpa here: http://www.oldmanmountain.com/Pages/...AndSherpa.html

My apologies - it does work with forks without V-Brakes. In fact, it works exactly as my above design does :) I'll let you all know how it goes!

thought I'd mention this inexpensive rack I bought a while back and have on my mtn bike ($20 Can.)
Not in the same price range at all, and is surely limited in what weight you put on it, but for lightly loading, I figure it will do the job for what I want to do. Here's the link to the topic I put up after I stuck it on a while ago. I've been riding with it on the bike lately, but havent put bags on it yet (it uses thicker alu than traditional racks, so I have to modify my old front panniers-enlarge the top mounts that are simple curved metal bits, I have to force them apart a bit to fit over the larger diameter tubes of this rack-and just havent done it yet.)

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ack?highlight=

in any case, a cheap alternative to consider.