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@bobjonkman asks about strong front racks that attach to your frame:
Q2. Are there any after-market frame-mounted front racks? Something I can bolt on? Substantial enough for that 18kg (40lb) sack of potatoes?
I've seen a few bikeshare bikes with an L-shaped front rack that's welded to the frame, but welding is too much for me.
@bobjonkman @bikenite A2. I am not very familiar with front racks. I know that some of the folding bike racks (Tern for example) have mounting points in front of the head tube.
Is one of the main reasons for the question is so that heavy loads don't swing the handlebars around? If so, I wonder if one of those springy handlebar stabilizers would help.
> Is one of the main reasons for the question is so that heavy loads don't swing the handlebars around?
Exactly! When my sister got her bike tuned up last spring she had a basket mount put on the handlebar. I rode her bike a few times, and even when the basket is empty I could feel the inertia when steering, especially quick manouevers like avoiding stones or potholes. I'd hate to try it with a sack of potatoes in the basket.
#BikeNite A2
@ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite can’t find many pictures but I have the Surly 24-pack rack and it’s great. Here it is holding 3 gallons of paint #bikenite
@ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite oh… frame mounted. Never seen that aftermarket. The mounts would be hard I bet
@ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite A2: With that much weight, you'd probably want it in low-slung panniers for stability. Tubus offers a couple of solid front racks if you go that route.
#bikeNite
@ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite frame-mounted front racks as in *not* fork-mounted?
@RichSPK @bobjonkman @bikenite Yeah, that's my interpretation.
@ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite interesting. I've seen Harleys with frame-mounted fairings, but I've never seen frame-mounted front racks. I imagine they wouldn't tug at the front wheel in crosswinds.
Right. I envision something that bolts on to the top tube, extends forward past the head tube, and maybe braces to the head tube as well.
My bike has the brake and derailleur cables attached to the top of the top tube, so that makes it extra interesting to find a mount point
#BikeNite A2
@ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite A2) Not sure whether I can get one for my #bicycle but it might make sense for me to add weight up front, given that I represent quite a bit of weight on the back wheel. #BikeNite
@ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite #BikeNite A2. Not familiar with front racks, but 40 lbs seems too much weight for the front. (it's quite unwieldy, although do-able, on the back).
@ai6yr @ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite Ehhh, it's not bad if it's reasonably balanced. But unlike the rigid back, huge disparities in weight balance on the front will pull you around easily. Another thing to watch is small jumps, as your front wheel will drop much faster with weight than without, which could spell disaster if the bump is at an angle.
| R.I.P Natenom @ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite #BikeNite A2: Eerder Metaal in the Netherlands offers their "Full Metal Bracket" for some head tube diameters and bike models to mount Brompton front bags and compatible front racks (like those from Vello or Fahrer Berlin, see below): https://www.eerdermetaal.nl/brompton_webshop.html#!/Seatposthuggers-&-Headtubehuggers/c/72491968
They support more than the 10kg of Brompton's plastic front block.
Not sure how general they're usable.
Fitting front racks:
https://vello.bike/en/products/vello-front-carrier
https://www.fahrer-berlin.de/produkte/gepaecktraeger/front-rack-fuer-brompton/a-1092
https://www.fahrer-berlin.de/produkte/gepaecktraeger/frontkorb-fuer-brompton-und-vello-aus-aluminium/a-2422
Of course! I should have guessed @hembrow would have a frame-mounted front basket on https://dutchbikebits.com !
#BikeNite A2
@bobjonkman
indeed
that's because he's awesome
@hembrow @ascentale @bikenite
️
@ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite A2. I think you will find that most manufacturers do not provide mounting points on their frames for front racks, and those that do generally make the mounts to suit their own racks (like my RadMission, which has four threaded points welded to the head tube, see below, basket rated for 10 Kg). Many provide standard mounting points on front forks, however.
#BikeNite 20250228
@gcvsa @ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite A2. I also have this front mounted Radbike basket. I recently put 14 lbs of sugar in it and the bike handling became much harder. I had a lot of weight in the panniers and didn’t notice it at all. FYI, I do a lot of fruit canning/jams, so that’s why all the sugar.
I would not have liked riding with more weight than that. Maybe panniers or a basket above a rear rack would work better. #bikenite
@PamelaSchure @gcvsa @ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite
A lot depends on whether the front carrier is attached to the head tube or the fork. My Brompton and my wife's ebike have carriers attached to the head tube, so steering is independent of the carrier, and so not affected much. When I had a front rack attached to the fork on my bike-camping bike, fully loaded panniers did impact the steering, and made me feel less safe. I now use a trailer for bike camping.
@ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite
A2) radpower offers a "small" and a "large" front rack that bolts directly to the head tube. But most of their bike models have 4 threaded socket bosses built into the head tube for just this purpose. For a bike without these bosses you might be able to add nutserts (rivet nuts) to the head tube, but the geometry is tricky--you can't impinge on the steering tube inside the head tube. Also, you may want to dial back your weight requirement--40 lbs cantilevered unsupported shear load is a lot to ask of four M5 or M6 bolts. Even the radpower example where they designed for a frame mounted front rack from the get-go is limited to 10kg. #bikenite
@ascentale @bobjonkman A2. I have one, but it’s an aftermarket accessory from the manufacturer (Tern) for their specific frame mounting system. One thing I don’t like about it - it’s VERY weird to not have the rack move in the direction you’re turning the handlebars. It made it a bit unwieldy for me. #BikeNite
#BikeNite A2 unless your bike has rack-mounting designed into the head tube, probably not. I think xtracycle and radpower say 50lb for their fixed front racks. I might put 50lb on this contraption on my zigo but it starts to pull on the handlebar. Davey Oil once built this head tube extension for an xtracycle #edgeRunner with #stokeMonkey #eBikes #BikeTooter -- wish I could get one for a suspension fork.
@pleaseclap @ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite the Clydesdale fork isn't fixed like Davey's mod was, though it's the similar idea of downsizing the front wheel. Does that impact steering less when the load is lower? #BikeNite
@enobacon @ascentale @bobjonkman It is less unstable than the usual rack placement, but not as stable as the fixed, head-tube mounted rack. Its main benefit over other front racks is it's structurally capable of heavier loads
@enobacon @ascentale @bobjonkman It seems like the stability benefit with the clydesdale is leverage. It's almost as tippy but much easier to correct, if that makes sense
@enobacon @ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite A2 #BikeNite A fork swap was gonna be my suggestion too. Something like the Crust Clydesdale : https://crustbikes.com/products/clydesdale-cargo-fork
@ascentale @bobjonkman @bikenite A2. I've got the Surly front rack [1], but also a Surly bike (which means a Surly fork). That said, all it's looking for is mid-fork eyelets and dropout eyelets, so if your fork can take such a load, it should be able to take this fork. If your fork doesn't have eyelets/barnacles for a rack, I wouldn't suggest it. Most others won't take 18kg.
The fork has done great by me, but unbalanced weight on the fork is a huge drag.