[Closed] New pannier rack woes

That looks OK to me. I've always set them up with a slight slope towards the seat tube.

Another option would be a seatpost clamp with rack mounts built in. That should raise the front a little.

Tubus struts have an 8mm diameter and are available in 240mm and 350mm lengths according to [url= https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/tubus-carrier-fixing-struts/aid:113441 ]Rose Bikes[/url]. [url= https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/carriers-racks/190mm-black-tubus-roundstay-l/ ]SJS[/url] for example sell them as well.

There's slight slant and there's evil kineval ramp style. This is the latter.

How ever functionally it will perform its aesthetically offensive 🙂

Thanks slowster. Could be just the job. A quick measuring informs me that the 240mm ones should modify it to just a slight angle, maybe <5 deg. The 350mm ones would get it dead-level but require cutting down. Choices is good!

The 350mm ones would get it dead-level but require cutting down.

Would cutting it be essential? I've two different Tubus racks, and on one bike the supplied (short) struts were luckily just long enough to allow the rack to be level, whereas the other rack is a different model and the struts were much longer, but that surplus length simply extends 2 or 3 inches underneath the rack: it's no big deal and not worth the bother of sawing off the surplus, and so I just fitted the plastic end cap supplied by Tubus with the rack over the end of the strut.

If you can do the same, then in your shoes I would get the longer length because I would rather have a strut that was too long than one that was just ever so slightly too short (which may also make it a bit more difficult to bend [less leverage] and may make getting the bend correct [both correct angle and correct point along the strut] a bit more critical/trickier).

That would annoy me too, I like them dead level

Mine is used mostly as a rack top bag carrier, but also carries a folding crate, panniers and a child seat

Depends on the angle from the frame wether you need to cut or not.

Looking at his current set up I would think he will need to cut as the excess will pretty much point at the sky as it comes through the base of the rack.

If the frame mount points were higher to let the strutts come at a better angle then no need to cut.

Looking at his current set up I would think he will need to cut as the excess will pretty much point at the sky as it comes through the base of the rack.

Yep, the replacement struts are straight. The strut-clamps are rotating so no bending required.

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From your photograph it looks like you should be OK with 240mm, but I note the Alpkit supplied struts are pre-bent, and according to their website the rotation is plus or minus 30 degrees. Presumably 30 degrees will be sufficient even with a straight/unbent strut?

Also, is there any chance you might want to fit mudguards or wider tyres at some point in future? If so, I would check whether a straight strut would be likely to cause clearance issues. That said, even if it did, you could easily buy 350mm struts later (and no need to cut them: just bend them at the point where they exit the fixing).

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The rack still isn't level in that last picture.

The Tubus struts are made to be bent (the fitting instructions for Tubus racks tell you to bend them).

Cutting it down (if needed) would take all of 30 seconds.

(Get the longer one 😉 )

Thanks all, very helpful 🙂

The rack still isn't level in that last picture.

Yeah I was trying the 240mm measure to see if I could live with it. Notsureism 😉
Good to know the Tubus struts are bendable, may well do a proper job after all. So much for the cheap option - measure early, pay once!

Actually I do have some SKS Bluemels mudguards to try at some point for winter road work on 35s, good point about clearance.

I can't stand sloping racks! They probably wobble less, but still. Don't care.

Sometimes it's good to have some 'Meccano' parts handy for the occasional 'bodge'.