I don’t have a drilled fork nor do I want to drill it, so how does one do this apart from a cetma-style type of rack that’s fastened to the handlebars?
Besides clamps for the fork, which I’d rather avoid, the only thing I could think of was to use a Honjo fork crown eye-bolt (http://www.velo-orange.com/hodabofcreye.html) with a bolt/piece of metal of just the right length to sit at the bottom of the steertube, but I’m not even sure if my steertube has a lip at the bottom or if it’s just flush all the way down. My bike is in another country, so I can’t check it out (though I should probably know) .
That device you linked to is intended use with a drilled fork/brake. I don’t understand how you’d get around that. Ask your local frame builder to braze some mounts. Or just build a rack like I did.
Yea, I know that, and I tried to explain how I would get around it…with a little piece of metal (that goes through the crown eye-bolt) which would go into the steertube vertically and then sit horizontally on a lip at the bottom of the tube, only I’m not sure if there’s something for it to sit on. One of my forks had a lip at the bottom of the tube, so for some reason I’m imagining that it’s not uncommon.
But I guess a cetma-type rack wouldn’t be bad. I’ve just already got a brake lever and a bell up there. Things would get tight with clamps for a rack.
Um, that’s misleading or you didn’t really think about this. First of all, I’m not carrying 30kg loads. But most importantly, with a rack that’s designed to attach to the brake bolt all (or the vast majority) of the weight is supported by the fork-end struts. The 2nd attachment to the brake bolt is primarily to keep the rack upright. And even when it’s attached as it should be to a brake bolt, it’s the same diameter of metal that I’ll need to use.
A short piece of 1/8" steel is pretty strong and won’t fail for this purpose, as long as there’s something for it to sit on inside the tube.
With all due respect bexley, that sounds like a terrible idea. Your front rack coming loose and swinging in front of your bike would lead to wipeouts terrible and comical. I’d just get a cetma, weld something in there or htfu and drill my fork.
Thanks for the cringe and death fantasy, but while your concern is appreciated I think a lock washer and/or locktite will do the trick. Plus the crown eye bolt would still be acting in the way it’s meant to. If anything, I may see if it’s possible to weld a brake-bolt sized piece of metal where the bolt would normally sit and have the crown eye bolt attached to that. I don’t think that would be significantly weaker than mounting a front rack to the brake bolt itself.
Homemade cetma-type racks are nice, but I don’t have my tools with me.
(edit: I forgot, the reason why I made this thread was because this idea wasn’t something I wanted to settle on. I was asking for other ideas. I guess there aren’t any other options.)
Rusty: I’ve got a rear rack already. Seatpost-mounted deal. Similar problem in that I don’t have a brake hole in the back. Can only deal with one bike now; moving around a lot. Yea, I’m aware that track bikes are not made for racks. They’re also not made for the road. And I disagree–they can be very utilitarian.
sam: Thanks! One of those may just be the best solution. While a rack is more flexible for different kinds of cargo, what I mostly need it for is my weekly grocery run, so a basket is perfect.
If you don’t end up getting a Wald basket, then you should think about just getting a new fork. Or maybe even a new bike. You talk about track bikes being “utilitarian,” but they are definitely less so than a bike that’s actually designed for the job.
Be warned… the wald baskets tend to rattle loose ALL the time. If you install one replace all the nuts with either nylock ones with serrated lock washers or use plenty of the thicker blue loctite. Even then be prepared to check the bolts for tightness on the regular. One of my employees had one on her Bridgestone and ran into problems. Where the struts bolt into the actual basket tends to act as a hinge. That combined with the bar clamp design results in a wobbly set up. It can work but be prepared to improvise beyond the stock hardware. It might even be worth replacing the struts with thicker ones (possibly aluminum if you can find some thick enough that they wont flex much.
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