TLDR: Front racks are expensive, I only need it to carry about 5kg (max) on a small bike in place of a a bar bag (handle bars are too narrow), bike has rack mounts but I can use p-clamps or included hardware for fit if it is tricky.
My thoughts on this are the angle/height adjustable rear legs should allow it to be easily used as a front rack.
The bike it's being installed on has two sets of eyelets. Lower and mid fork, plus a fork crown bolt.
My plan is to use either the lower or mid fork for the rack legs and then either use the fork crown (with center rack adapter, that should be included) or put P clamps high on the fork legs.
I know people frequently repurpose old rear racks to the front and often that involves bending the rack which probably lowers its strength and I'm looking at that option but this is $15 more than a local used aluminum rear rack and probably less likely to fail.
I'd love to hear thoughts on why this isn't going to work, why it's unsafe, or why spending $100+ to carry 5kg one trip a year is a better idea?
Most of the negative reviews on this rack are people overloading it or not using loctite on the attachments. So I'm not particularly concerned it can't hold 5kg but I don't want to waste my time if it's a fools pursuit.
by _MountainFit
2 Comments
This will be fine if you can figure out how to mount it. Going to a single central connection point at the top will reduce the stability so I wouldn’t do that.
Trouble with this kind of rack is that the upper mounts are taking half the weight. Whereas in a more typical rack with multiple vertical strut components, the top connections are just to stop the rack tipping forward or back.
So you need your top mounts to be pretty sturdy. Pea clamps probably will slip over time. A central point only gives you one point and if it can’t resist bending will result in the rack eventually touching your tire and possibly sending you over the handlebars.
In all honesty a typical rear rack will probably work better on the front than this would, because then the top attachments don’t matter as much.
I’ve been staring at this thing for weeks trying to figure out how to mod it for a reliable back rack. It’s cheap with a flat top which makes it kind of perfect. But also aluminum so can’t just weld to it. And kind of heavy for what it is.
But a tiny triangle or something just to stabilize the rear legs would go a long way in reliability. Let me know if anyone thinks of anything.