36Oly_Rider

Installing the Tubus Tara Lowrider, I came across an issue. Originally, I had it installed on the front eyelet of the fork and found that it would be difficult to take the wheel on and off and was informed of the fact that the rear eyelet of the rack (originally designed to install the fenders) MAY be (not necessarily will be) weaker than the front eyelet (see last picture), which makes sense looking at it.

So, back to the drawing board. I installed it on the rear eyelet as advised. Though it looks good, it has about a 1" rise. Measuring 19.5" on the front of the rack and 20.5" on the rear (indicated in the pictures). Will this pose a problem with panniers on? The picture makes it looks really bad, but it really doesn't look too drastic in person.

Doug64

I'm not quite sure how you installed it originally, but you might look at using the front eyelet on the rack and the front eyelet on the fork. This set up works well for me, but I don't know if disc brakes complicates things or not.

36Oly_Rider

I did try this when experimenting. The problem with it was I could have used a 10-12mm spacer for the rear eyelet to clear the fork, but I would have to remove the rack to access the skewer. On the rear eyelet, I just had to remove the skewer completely to take the wheel off.

The more I look at it, I am thinking of flipping sides of the upper brackets so the 3 eyelets are on top rather than underneath? There is a hole at the end of the bar, so I may be able to tap it out and install a small piece of flat bar to make a retaining bracket. Still contemplating that idea, though. I figure it would decrease the slope from 1" to approximately 1/2"...

BigAura

I'm surprised that it appears so different on your Kona.

Here's mine on my LHT (54cm/26"):




I also used it on my Tricross (700c) that I had a few years back:

36Oly_Rider

Yeah. Yours even looks like theres a slight incline to it, though not quite as much.

I did flip the bars over just to try it out. Surprisingly enough, they did level out with about an 1/8" deviation. Not sure what the consequences would be to keep it like this, but it doesn't look too awkward, with the exception of the lower part not parallel to the the ground...

I do think I have to use a button head bolt on the brake mount. I did discover the fender eyelet was resting on the bolt head preventing me from going to the eyelet it was on.

Tourist in MSN

The Tara is a great rack, but it really is not very adjustable at all. I suspect that the problem is that your fork does not have the curve that more classically shaped forks have, that puts the mid-fork mounting points further forward on your bike than typical.

I think that a horizontal bar looks better than one that has some slope, but when it comes to actually using the rack I think looks are not as important as installing it the way the manufacturer intended. In other words, I would use the bar oriented the way the instructions say, even though the bar has a slight slope.

That amount of slope you have is not too bad, I use a different brand of rack on my expedition bike and I have about the same amount of slope, it does not look as good but it works just fine.

If you bought the rack locally where it is easy to return it, you might consider the Tubus Ergo, that is slightly more adjustable. The Tara only has one point where you can mount the horizontal bar onto the hoop, but the Ergo has two mounting points on the hoop, thus a bit more adjustable.

If you click on the picture of the Ergo you can clearly see two mounting points where the Tara has one.
tubus - Ergo
tubus - Tara

BigAura

Much better. I think functionally all is fine. The other functional-reality is you're rarely riding perfectly parallel to sea-level so all is good. It's just the aesthetic.

36Oly_Rider

Yeah. Not really gonna sweat it much at the moment. Tried on some Ortlieb panniers, it's really a non-issue and fits well regardless the position of the bar. If I go with something other than Ortlieb, that might pose an issue and will require a different rack. I do appreciate the inputs.

djb

I had to use the non official other tab for mounting a Tara on my Troll with Avid BB7's mtn sort of being a "in the way" factor, also wanting to put on fenders too.

I may have been able to use a longer spacer to put the rack outboard quite a bit, but I'm not sure of that, may try it again sometime.

as for the slant, in our family we have had bikes with at least that slant on the rear rack, with no problems, and I anyway tend to put less weight in the front panniers, so it probably will not be an issue at all.
I guess if your flip fix isnt a problem, then go with it, does look nicer, and I can't see how the horizontal piece will not be just as strong that way or flipped.

These tubus racks are very sturdy, I toured for ages with an aluminum lowrider from Blackburn bought in about 90 or 91 and it worked fine, but I do see the very apparent increased rigidity and overall strength of the Tara. I went with the Tara really because I like the simple lines of it compared to the other tubus front one.
Bottom line, in my experience, whatever way you have it set up it will work very well. Obviously go with the setup that is the easiest to deal with the QR etc and keeping out of the way of the front caliper.

fietsbob

Other than OCD of it not coming out perfectly level I dont see an issue..

you could fabricate a piece with 3 holes in it* and with it adjust how the rack fits your fork.

2 on top . 1 at the bottom..


I did this using Aluminum extruded angle on my Specialized Expedition in 1985, to use Bruce Gordon's racks On It.

2ering

I had the same problem with the Tara when setting up my bike 7 or 8 yrs ago. I emailed Tubus about using the lower rear attachment tab versus the larger front and they advised to use the front as it was stronger while the rear was intended for attaching fenders. My solution was to remove both upper horizontal arms and turn the main Tara body around so the hook/bends at the lower end now point to the rear, and up a bit, rather than forward. I then reattached the upper horizontal attachment bars keeping the 3-holed adjustment tab down. It's never been a problem, but your solution looks more elegant and I may try it.

36Oly_Rider

Thanks. I did have to tap out the rear eyelet on the rack to install the fenders. I used a M6, 12mm bolt and this accommodates the disc brake mount, but worked quite nice because the whole was drilled out for 5mm and I tapped it for 6. You'll need some Blue Loctite to prevent it from unbolting.

Dream Cyclery

I would recommend to have a set of longer bolts and use nyloc nuts to have racks installed. It's much more secure that way.

36Oly_Rider

I would, but my options are 12mm and 16mm. The disc side has to be 12. There's about a 2mm gap between the mount bracket and the bolt end. I'm trying this out, but if it doesn't work, I'll try plan b...the reverse bolt and nut haha

str

Tara works well on curved forks, not on straight forks. but one can easily change the position of the horizontal fixing plate (thats what I did), any welder can do that.