Anyone have experience with the Tern Cargo Rack?
10-15-18, 08:09 PM
#1
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Anyone have experience with the Tern Cargo Rack?
I recently bought a nice used 1996 Bike Friday New World Tourist with ISO 406/20 inch tires. It came with a Blackburn rear rack designed for 26" tires. The rear rack shelf sits about 6 inches/15 cm above the tire. I am looking for a rear rack that can be mounted much closer to the tire so that I will have a more compact "quick fold" but would like the option for touring with rear panniers.
Does anyone here have experience with the Tern Cargo rack?
It looks like I could mount my Ortlieb panniers on the lower rack rail, but what about mounting them on the upper rails which are larger in diameter?
Any thoughts or experiences with this rack would be appreciated.
Does anyone here have experience with the Tern Cargo rack?
It looks like I could mount my Ortlieb panniers on the lower rack rail, but what about mounting them on the upper rails which are larger in diameter?
Any thoughts or experiences with this rack would be appreciated.
10-16-18, 01:24 AM
#2
On yer bike
You can mount on either rail. I think the top rail takes Ortlieb hooks with no spacers installed. Just be sure to tighten up all the screws on the rack before using (there's a bunch).
10-24-18, 02:37 PM
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I have the rack on my Dahon. The lower rails have mounting hardpoints to stop the bag from sliding around, and it's positioned farther rearward so your heels don't kick the bags. The bags can go on the upper rails but you have to remove the spacers in the ortlieb clips, and there are no hardpoints on the upper rails, so you'll have to readjust your bag clips somehow to keep it from sliding. ALso the upper rails are not as far back as the lower rail hard points, so either you'll have to adjust your bag clips so that they're no longer symmetric, or have the bags further forward.
The rack can be made really low. I've set mine so that my rear ortlieb bag is juts above the rear derailleur, when mounted on the lower rails. If you mount on the upper rails you could probably lower the rack another 4cm. There are dimensional drawings in PDF format on the Tern website.
The rack can be made really low. I've set mine so that my rear ortlieb bag is juts above the rear derailleur, when mounted on the lower rails. If you mount on the upper rails you could probably lower the rack another 4cm. There are dimensional drawings in PDF format on the Tern website.
10-25-18, 07:19 PM
#4
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Thanks to Nightdiver and tomtomtom123 for their comments.
I ordered a rack from Tern and installed it on my New World Tourist this week.
The Bike Friday quick fold involves folding the rear wheel under the bike, folding the seat mast forward and the removing the handlebars. Without a rear rack the bike would rest on the top of the rear fender, the seatstay ends (which fold with the rear wheel), and the bashguard on the crank. With a rear rack you can rest the quick folded bike on the top of the rack. The rack that came with the bike with the bike was for a 26” wheel bike and the top of the rack was about 6”/15cm above the tire making the bike have a larger than needed folded size.
The Tern cargo rack is well built and quite adjustable making it easy to install on my NWT. The top of the rack is about 4”/10cm lower than the original rack. The rack sides bolt to the rack top so the rack can be disassembled into 3 flat pieces to pack the bike into a suit case.
The pictures show the rack on the unfolded NWT, the folded bike resting on the rear rack top, and the folded bike in the back of my Honda Fit. Much cleaner storage without the chain resting on the floor of the car.
10-28-18, 07:00 AM
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You might want to try a longer fender otherwise your rack and bags will get muddy.
SKS Bluemels 20"
In addition you can add on flaps, short = Spoiler Pro, long = Spoiler XXL
The rear can take either the short or long flap. The front should use the short flap. The flaps come in different widths for different size fenders.
SKS Bluemels 20"
In addition you can add on flaps, short = Spoiler Pro, long = Spoiler XXL
The rear can take either the short or long flap. The front should use the short flap. The flaps come in different widths for different size fenders.
01-01-20, 08:43 AM
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Thanks to Nightdiver and tomtomtom123 for their comments.
I ordered a rack from Tern and installed it on my New World Tourist this week.
The Bike Friday quick fold involves folding the rear wheel under the bike, folding the seat mast forward and the removing the handlebars. Without a rear rack the bike would rest on the top of the rear fender, the seatstay ends (which fold with the rear wheel), and the bashguard on the crank. With a rear rack you can rest the quick folded bike on the top of the rack. The rack that came with the bike with the bike was for a 26” wheel bike and the top of the rack was about 6”/15cm above the tire making the bike have a larger than needed folded size.
The Tern cargo rack is well built and quite adjustable making it easy to install on my NWT. The top of the rack is about 4”/10cm lower than the original rack. The rack sides bolt to the rack top so the rack can be disassembled into 3 flat pieces to pack the bike into a suit case.
The pictures show the rack on the unfolded NWT, the folded bike resting on the rear rack top, and the folded bike in the back of my Honda Fit. Much cleaner storage without the chain resting on the floor of the car.
Last edited by 50kguy; 01-01-20 at 08:51 AM.
01-01-20, 07:23 PM
#7
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I think I have a pair of Ortlieb Backrollers, not sure if they are the Classic model. I will try and mount them later this week, take some pictures, and let you know how they fit.
01-02-20, 01:36 AM
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Thank you! That would be great! You also seem to have a gear hub but without the protective cap on it. My rear rack is mounted high so that the panniers do not "sit" on the protective cap of the gear hub. I am wondering if the Tern Cargo Rack mounts the panniers in a way that they do not touch the protective cap but can still be mounted much lower. I prepared some photographs in which I tried to draw what I am talking about but apparently I cannot post them before I have made ten posts int his Forum. Anyway, thank you for your support! 
01-02-20, 03:20 AM
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The tern cargo rack has adjustable legs, so you simply select a height where the panniers don't touch the hub axle. For my ortlieb roller, I have the legs on the 3rd or 4th hole.
01-02-20, 04:35 AM
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Thank you for your response but that's exactly not what I want. I would like the rear rack to be as low as possible because I do not like the look of the rear rack being 15 cm above the fenders.
01-02-20, 05:19 AM
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Well, I'm not sure what you want. You say that you want low height. I say that it has adjustable legs. So to get it as low as possible, you simply select the lowest hole in the leg. I'm not sure how that's not what you want. You can look at the CAD drawing with the dimensions of the rack:
https://www.ternbicycles.com/sites/d...nsions-web.pdf
I've already mentioned that the ortlieb rear bag sits just above the hub axle when the leg is on the 3rd or 4th hole from the bottom. This is with the bag hooks on the lower bar. If it were on the top bar, then you could possibly lower the legs by 2 or 3 holes. Any lower, and the ortlieb rear bags will touch the axle. You said that you don't want the orlieb bags to touch the hub axle. I don't think you can push the bags so far back that it can sit below the axle but still clear it, because your bike would be so imbalanced that it would tilt backwards and your front wheel would lift off the ground if you were climbing uphill. You could possibly do that with the Tern cargo rack, but you'd have to adjust the hooks on the ortlieb bag to be asymmetrically positioned to the front side.
https://www.ternbicycles.com/sites/d...nsions-web.pdf
I've already mentioned that the ortlieb rear bag sits just above the hub axle when the leg is on the 3rd or 4th hole from the bottom. This is with the bag hooks on the lower bar. If it were on the top bar, then you could possibly lower the legs by 2 or 3 holes. Any lower, and the ortlieb rear bags will touch the axle. You said that you don't want the orlieb bags to touch the hub axle. I don't think you can push the bags so far back that it can sit below the axle but still clear it, because your bike would be so imbalanced that it would tilt backwards and your front wheel would lift off the ground if you were climbing uphill. You could possibly do that with the Tern cargo rack, but you'd have to adjust the hooks on the ortlieb bag to be asymmetrically positioned to the front side.
Last edited by tomtomtom123; 01-02-20 at 05:29 AM.
01-02-20, 05:41 AM
#12
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After using the Tern Cargo Rack for 2 years, I noticed that the pannier hooks were rubbing away the aluminum stays of the rack. So I wrapped the contact area of the stays with a few rounds of duct tape. The rack no longer wears, and the extra thickness actually helps to stabilize the panniers so that they don't shake or bounce.
I also installed the rubber bumpers into the track on the rear of the Ortlieb bags. It helps to stop wear on the side of the rack stays and also on the bag itself.
https://www.ortlieb.com/de/bike-rack-abrasion-guards
I also installed the rubber bumpers into the track on the rear of the Ortlieb bags. It helps to stop wear on the side of the rack stays and also on the bag itself.
https://www.ortlieb.com/de/bike-rack-abrasion-guards
01-02-20, 05:57 AM
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Well, I'm not sure what you want. You say that you want low height. I say that it has adjustable legs. So to get it as low as possible, you simply select the lowest hole in the leg. I'm not sure how that's not what you want. You can look at the CAD drawing with the dimensions of the rack:
I've already mentioned that the ortlieb rear bag sits just above the hub axle when the leg is on the 3rd or 4th hole from the bottom. This is with the bag hooks on the lower bar. If it were on the top bar, then you could possibly lower the legs by 2 or 3 holes. Any lower, and the ortlieb rear bags will touch the axle. You said that you don't want the orlieb bags to touch the hub axle. I don't think you can push the bags so far back that it can sit below the axle but still clear it, because your bike would be so imbalanced that it would tilt backwards and your front wheel would lift off the ground if you were climbing uphill. You could possibly do that with the Tern cargo rack, but you'd have to adjust the hooks on the ortlieb bag to be asymmetrically positioned to the front side.
I've already mentioned that the ortlieb rear bag sits just above the hub axle when the leg is on the 3rd or 4th hole from the bottom. This is with the bag hooks on the lower bar. If it were on the top bar, then you could possibly lower the legs by 2 or 3 holes. Any lower, and the ortlieb rear bags will touch the axle. You said that you don't want the orlieb bags to touch the hub axle. I don't think you can push the bags so far back that it can sit below the axle but still clear it, because your bike would be so imbalanced that it would tilt backwards and your front wheel would lift off the ground if you were climbing uphill. You could possibly do that with the Tern cargo rack, but you'd have to adjust the hooks on the ortlieb bag to be asymmetrically positioned to the front side.
For clarification: I would like to mount the rear rack as low as possible (yes, the Tern Cargo Rack's adjustable height helps here) but with most rear racks the panniers will "sit" on the protective cap of the gear hub. This may not be the case if
1) the rear rack is very wide (here the fitting dimensions may help) ... apaprently the Tern Cargo Rack is 178mm ... I will check if that is enough. Maybe I can also add some spacers.
2) if the backs are mounted at the far back of the rack so that they sit "behind" the protective cap of the gear hub (you made some good points here)
I hope this clarifies my question. Thank your for sharing your information!
01-05-20, 02:54 AM
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In the meantime I figured out that the Tern Spartan front rack is a nice fit for a BikeFriday: https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/a/65752/39705
01-19-20, 03:16 PM
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I shared my fix for the Tern Cargo rack, Sram Dual Drive and large panniers on Stackexchange Bicycles: https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/a/65941/39705
01-19-20, 03:41 PM
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I recommend that you wrap duct tape around the contact area of the pannier hooks. After 1-2 years, the abrasion of the hooks actually start to make the aluminum thinner. So does the rubbing from the bottom of the pannier. I just wrapped 1 round of duct tape at the bottom. At the top where the hooks touch, I wrapped several rounds to get it just below the diameter of the hooks, which helps to reduce shaking.
I also bought some Ortlieb bumpers that fit into the lower hook track, which helps dampen the rubbing and shaking at the bottom.
I also bought some Ortlieb bumpers that fit into the lower hook track, which helps dampen the rubbing and shaking at the bottom.
