ewmyers

Hi All,

I'm looking for recommendations on how to align a VO Passhunter Front Canti Rack, which appears to be a couple mm off-center. Ultimately, I want it centered so that I can attach the stainless steel front fender to it. The fender is relatively well centered on the wheel, but the boss for the fender attachment is slightly off compared to the fender (see photo). If I push the fender to the side to line up under the boss, then it is too close to the tire on one side, and is glaringly off-center to the wheel.

My first thought is to just shim one side of the mount with a washer where it attaches to the canti stud, but before I take everything apart to do that, I thought I'd ask around for other people's experience. The rack sits about a cm away from the top of the fender, so if there is an easy way to lower that in the process, that would be great too. I'm willing to bend, shim, etc, but mostly I just want the rack and fender attached and centered on the wheel.

Any recommendations from someone who has encountered and solved this before?

Thanks,
Eric

abshipp 

I would try to just bend it, first. They are sturdy enough to do what they are designed to do, but it's still just stainless steel tubing. Be firm, but gentle. Use your hands and don't go crazy. Don't whack it with a hammer or anything like that

Or, if you plan on having a bag on it all the time, maybe just drill the fender hole off-center and live with it. We promise not to tell

gugie 

I've used a hammer.

Not that end, stick the handle against the inside of the fork and the outside of the rack. And like @abshipp spells it out, if gentle persuasion doesn't work, and you're afraid to bend the canti bosses, maybe just live with it.

Note, however, that it's not necessary to center your front rack except to attach the fender on the rack.

As far as vertical clearance goes, 20mm is the "Peter Weigle" method, and it's hard to go against that recommendation. Your rack is too high, so just use a spacer to make up the difference.

noglider 

I have a VO front rack, the kind that attaches to bosses at the fork tips. It is extremely sturdy and will stand up to bending.

smoothness 

I can't attest to the build quality of the VO rack, but I have the Nitto version, and the tang is welded at least 10mm off center. I've accepted it as "character," and haven't thought about it since. If it truly bothers you, an easy way to move it laterally is to bow one of the legs, while making sure that the leg isn't under load when in the correct position. I would caution against forceful persuasion; make a cautious approach multiple slight bends rather than one big one. Doubly so if it is hollow tube.

ewmyers

Thank you. I'll try bending it,but I think I'll take it off the bike to do that. I'll post back when I've finished.

USAZorro

My front rack required a bit of persuasion to mount. The thought of doing it was disconcerting at first, but it was necessary.

jlaw

VO has a recent blog post re: using a spacer (bottle cork) to span the gap between the bottom of the rack and the top of the fender - and other similar situations.

https://velo-orange.blogspot.com/

fietsbob

Only a cork from a French vintage, naturally..

ewmyers

After several tries at bending the rack, plus adjusting the rest of the fender mount points, I've got it close enough. The center of the fender is connected to the rack (though it looks a little off in the pic because my handmade leather washers aren't very even), and the rest of my fender line is almost as nice as it was before this effort. I tried a cork spacer first but it squished too much, it needs two larger surfaces, not a large and a small like this one. Thanks for the tips folks!

gugie 

Good job not letting perfect get int he way of good enough. This is one of those slight imperfections that only you know or see. Had you not detailed the off-center rack, above, I would have said it's perfect.

coolkat

My Berthouds currently on my commuter have been on a few bikes, so they're full of random holes that have been plugged. The front rack hole in the fender is more of a slot, because the rack never seems to line up the same with the fender on different bikes. I just bolt it in place, and then put a piece of mastik tape over any gaps around the bolt. So far so good. I'm not concerned about the rack being slightly off center (if it is), especially since it's impossible to say whether it's the rack, fender, wheel, fork, or canti mount that's off