nickw

Guys/Gals,
Been busy trying to solve my problem of wheel flop on my touring bike when on the kickstand. I use a front basket on top of my rack, so when loaded down, it has a tendency to flop to one side or another when at rest.

My KISS solution was to drill a small hole in one side of the headtube and through one side of the steer tube to place a pin through it. Of course I could get fancy with some welded brackets and what not, but figured simple is the way to go.

Anybody see any issue with this. My gut says there will not be, but from some reactions from a post in the touring forums, it may be a poor idea. I have also talked to a frame builder and he opinion was it was not a good idea.

I have a steel Surly LHT. I thought maybe in the extension above the top tube or below the downtube may be a better area but was not sure.

Here is an example:

unterhausen

I wouldn't do it

Steerers and head tubes are both known to break, and you are giving them a good place to start cracking

Live Wire 

A little bungee cord around the downtube and rim.

nickw

It doesnt hold, I have a bungee and it just gets stretched to the max. Maybe a cable or some rope, but I was hoping for something more sano.

unterhausen

the traditional method is to attach the fork crown to the downtube with a spring. Trying to think of what bike comes standard that way, one of the utility bikes. Maybe a worksman?

himespau 

they make front racks that come with a kickstand (and I think someone out there sells kickstands for front racks (don't remember who off the top of my head. Probably won't help you though as you say you basket it, not rack it on front.

ultraman6970

Duct tape and will be like new!

NoReg

There must be some traditional solution. What about the flickstand? I am not sure it could handle it, anyone ever own one of these. They fit on the downtube and the bail flips up to wedge against the wheel. If that wouldn't work. something attatched to the DT that would take a rod through the hole in the crown would hold it and use holes that already exist. In fact a bent rod you could push into the crown hole and that would rest against the side of the DT would stop it flopping in one direction.

There are a bunch of them for sale on Ebay. but the price is near 30 dollars.

martinus

^^^ Yes . https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2224/...d0435f5445.jpg

Dave Kirk 

The head tube doesn't scare me too much but the steerer is a different story.

dave

NoReg

I think the hole idea is sorta ugly, and might promote corrosion, but I suppose if one wanted to do it, there might be a way of adding a little plate, might have to choose the lower bearing for the long haul.

thedutchtouch

velo orange has some thing that's spring based that attacched onto the brake bolt and the downtube. never seen them in real life so don't know how well they work.

Live Wire 

Hmm, struggling to reconcile this statement with the fact that the bike has a basket on it.
The steerer/headtube drilling thing has possibilites, but that's not a thing a responsible builder could endorse on a forum like this.
I like Peterpan's idea of making a bar that would stick through the crown and loop around the dt. It wouldn't have to be very big. You could cover it with some shrink tubing to protect the dt paint and carry it in the basket!

Allen

Several European bikes do such as the Biria.
I have a Biria and one of the Velo Orange things on another frame. They work fair enough, the wheel flops to about a 45º angle with it.

fietsbob

a toe strap , or as I have done, a short nylon strap with a Fastex side release Buckle,
thats quick and easy to clip

Hebie and Velo Orange sell a spring, that fits between fork and down tube,
it self centers gently.

My Koga Miyata WTR has a 2nd Kickstand fitted to the bottom
of the left side, of its Tubus low rider rack.
It's a trekking bike , for carrying 4 panniers..

nickw

Here is the contingency plan in case drilling a hole seemed like a bad idea, which it sounds like it is.

unterhausen

welding to an aluminum frame is not a slam dunk either. You will probably need have a post-weld heat treatment

nickw

Its for a steel Surly Long Haul Trucker, not the bike in the pic.

Booger1

I don't see a problem with this.

1.To stop a crack,a hole is drilled,not the other way around.
2.Tubes have holes at both ends and cracks don't magically start there.
3.Headtube badges have been rivited on for a long time,I think they drill a hole,maybe even 2 for that.
4.Look at some pictures of Eddy Merckx steerer tubes on his bikes sometime,they look like swiss cheese.

I don't know where the rumor started that drilling a hole will probagate a crack,but it is not true.Ask any machinist.....

I ride a touring bike year round,would I drill a hole in mine? No,not because of a strenght problem,I would be more worried about letting crap in to contaminate the lower headset bearings than anything else.The hole will egg out with enough use,look like crap.Than I have to keep track of the pin or make a leash for it.

I use a homemade cord.A paracord loop with a wooden bead on it.Goes thru the wheel and around the downtube,takes seconds to use.

unterhausen

let's just say that the magic of stop drilling a crack doesn't translate to this situation. The recent SWA jet that had a 5' tear in the fuselage had cracks that started from fastener holes.

I'm pretty sure that none of the bikes that Eddy Merckx had drilled like swiss cheese were ridden for many miles at all. Riders of that era were known to stuff their steerers with wood in the event that the steerer might break.

agustinkim

will damage structural integrity and may cause problems in the long run

revelstone

check this out https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...+flop+solution

himespau 

While I think the Hebie Stabilizer sounds like a great idea, it looks like it pretty much rules out putting the bike on the racks where you lift the front wheel and fork over the bar, no?