Cracked rear rack mount. Repair or replace?
#1
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Cracked rear rack mount. Repair or replace?
Son's bike has a cracked mount in his rear rack. It's an old Blackburn, aluminum, I guess. We got our money's worth out of it. It's been on 2-3 bikes over the years as he grew & I may have bought it used for cheap. Dunno how / why it cracked. Noticed it before our family trip last month. It's strong enough w the 3 contact points for regular rear trunk & a day trip load to the beach. was thinking I could make an adapter with a 3" long 1" wide piece of thin steel or aluminum bar, fold it over the round bar & drill a hole through it & that tab sticking out, then a single bolt & nut & to squeeze it shut. somewhat like a p-clamp. would probably be easier, faster & cheaper than buying another (new or used) rack & installing it. I've got the raw materials in my basement
Last edited by rumrunn6; 07-19-17 at 07:10 AM.
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I love seeing things repaired whenever possible. It sounds like you've got a good plan to me.
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Just drill a hole in the flat piece and connect w a wire or Tie Wrap.
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Looks like a perfect application for a P clamp. Looks like there's room for two on there.
Last edited by FBOATSB; 07-19-17 at 07:27 AM.
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Make the P clamp the same width as the broken bracket otherwise if you only put in one bolt that is taking all the load, & use SS bolts, my guess its about 1." wide so you can put two x 1/4" bolts in, if you are near any workshop maybe you can get it ally welded ?
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#8
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Welding would be stronger. Its not an easy job on thin metal but you might be able to find the right guy to lay down a few beads to fix the break and reinforce the other side.
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I like the welding solution best. A shop that has heliarc or TIG equipment should be able to do it. I'd like to think it wouldn't cost much.
On the other end of the sophistication spectrum, you could run a length of glass-reinforced strapping tape around both sides of the rack. a couple thicknesses would hold any reasonable load you might carry.
Steve
On the other end of the sophistication spectrum, you could run a length of glass-reinforced strapping tape around both sides of the rack. a couple thicknesses would hold any reasonable load you might carry.
Steve
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Before doing anything contact Blackburn. They have a lifetime warranty on most of their products and you may get a new replacement at no cost. I've had a couple of their mini-pumps fail when the check-balls got rusty from rain exposure and they replaced the pumps no questions asked.
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Used racks periodically show up for $5 to $10.
Most of the load on the rack will be vertical, but there may be some other twisting going on. I don't use my rack a lot, but going out on a mini-tour, I want everything to be in good condition. No sense in getting 200 miles from home and having the rack disintegrate.
Most of the load on the rack will be vertical, but there may be some other twisting going on. I don't use my rack a lot, but going out on a mini-tour, I want everything to be in good condition. No sense in getting 200 miles from home and having the rack disintegrate.
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Like Hillrider said, check warranty, worst they can say is no.
If that didn't pan out, If I could get it welded free I'd do that, if I had to pay, I'd be going the P clamp route.
If that didn't pan out, If I could get it welded free I'd do that, if I had to pay, I'd be going the P clamp route.
#13
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rumrunn6, The P clamp idea is good unless the clamps are in the way of hanging a pannier. If need be, form a piece of aluminum or steel sheet to fit around the tube (a Phillips head screwdriver and a vice using a hammer is an easy way to form the loop) and then screw into the flat piece on the rack.
Brad
Brad
#14
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meanwhile 2 months later ... sometime between then & now it cracked on the other side too. it was an old rack I got 2nd hand & it had moved to 2 maybe 3 bikes over the years. decided to replace it with a Topeak Explorer Non-Disc Direct MTX Track rack because I saw it recommended by another BF member. we have a bunch of trunks so not jumping on the slide on Topeak MTX Trunkbag just yet but they look sweet
Last edited by rumrunn6; 09-16-17 at 08:29 PM.
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The version #2 TP rack I have has the slide feature. Also has the under rack slide box. The box is useless for the most part, but that slide and latch is worth the simplicity it lends. Version #1 I had, it was great for the little box under the rack... It just flopped off when the rack itself came apart somewhere between the midway and end of my commute that day...
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#16
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Lot of good tips already.
I sometimes see people double riding and using the back rack as a seat. That is probably what started the crack.
I sometimes see people double riding and using the back rack as a seat. That is probably what started the crack.
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