Originally Posted by
balto charlie
I have the Tubus fly, very small steel rear rack. It works well with small to mid-size panniers. I have also put on Ortlieb larger panniers which work but they can be easily adjusted. My Deuter bags did not fit as well, doable but not pefect. How similar is the Fly to Airy, I don't know. I wonder if the Airy is the Ti version of the Fly.
I had to bend the mounting arm to fit, it was solid steel. I used soft copper as a 'template' then heated(?) it and bent the arm in a vice to match the copper pipe. It was very easy to do, it did discolor. I usually strap a dry bag for bikepacking on it or panniers for shopping. Nice little rack, holds way more weight than I need it for.
I’ve bent a number of Tubus Round Stays over the years. None of them have been steel.
Tubus even says they are aluminum. Don’t be confused by the designation of titanium/stainless. That’s just the color.