I struggled to attach a front rack (Pelago commuter medium) to my bike (Surly Cross Check) according to the instructions. To get around this, I used the fork crown attachment upside down and the drop outs on at an angle. Is this safe to use to carry 5-8kg load? Thanks!
by floridabootross
5 Comments
Why not use the tabs on the fork? You know the answer to your question. Your front rack is not safe. Being held with a cantilevered mount on a quick release skewer is not adequate. There is no vertical stability.
I’m not a fan, the qr tab mounts at the bottom being that twisted means the load can possibly leverage it out of the dropouts with enough weight. I ran a similar rack on my steamroller, but I felt a little more comfortable with it because the qr arms were almost straight up and down.
I can go snap a picture, but the rack I’ve got on my crosscheck attaches to the two mid blade rack mounts, the two crown mounts, and the fork crown, so I have like 5 attachment points since there is no rack mount down by the dropouts. Maybe a rack of that style would be a bit better?
I’d also bend that fork crown attachment to be flush so you can tighten the bolt all the way down. You could get a nylon washer to protect the paint too.
Do it like this. Might need to install a spacer between the tab and eyelet to clear the fork blades.
https://preview.redd.it/bw12m82w1fte1.jpeg?width=963&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=590de899300c8f6a83944d1bbcd6b55251635ec9
If i’m not mistaken, that’s a pelago front rack and that bottom piece of rack hardware is designed to use the fender eyelet with the use of an extra spacer that came with the rack.
I can’t speak to whether it would/wouldn’t work as you’ve set yours up, but I’ve always been a bit twitchy mounting anything to qr skewers. I imagine pelago wouldn’t recommend it either, but you can always contact their customer support too and see what they say.
I have the same rack mounted to a cross check fork and it works like a charm, but I’ve mounted it to the fender eyelet with one of the spacers that came with the rack. Check out the [install instructions here](https://pelagobicycles.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/pelago-front_rack_rasket_assembly-instruction_web_V2.0.pdf)