ehcoplex 

I've got a Nitto M-18 on my '97 Cannondale T900 to support a rando bag. This era Cannondale has an MTB-style TIG-welded 'unicrown' fork with a pretty large distance from the hole in the center of the crown to the tire. This means if I use the 'diving board' that came with the rack, the rack is up higher than it needs to be (the rack is a good 1 1/4" up from the top of the fender). I want to lower it not least to lower the bag, but also so I can attach the fender to the rack to eliminate some rattling on rough roads. I (think I) can make a new diving board with a piece of aluminum bar stock from the home improvement store... but the diving board that comes with the Nitto is stainless. Is aluminum bar stock risky to use in this case? Seems most of the weight on the rack is supported by the stays to the mid-fork eyelets...

kingston 

I bent the nitto diving board in a vise to get it to work at the right height with my bag. I've talked to other people who had to do the same thing.

Roger M

Before

After
I cut the bracket down and drilled a new hole. I will say that drilling through this stainless was no fun(using a cordless drill). The results were good, and it allowed me to use the fork braze ons instead of P clamps.

ehcoplex 

I'm not completely sure how long my 'relationship' with this Cannondale is going to last, so I was kinda trying to avoid messing with the Nitto diving board.... and being a cheapskate I suppose, because I could always get another for $20 or whatever (assuming it is 'in stock' anywhere when the time comes)! Probably I'll end up doing what you did, Roger M. (I actually ordered longer stays and cut them down to work with where the rack is positioned with the unaltered diving board.... but if I alter the diving board to where I want it I think the stays that came with it will work..... so there's $20-something down the drain!)

Roger M

I understand and can relate to cutting up something, knowing you can't go back. I'm glad I did it(under the recommendation of another forum member). I brought my rack down and rearward quite a bit, making the bag installation much better for me.

Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

madpogue 

Aren't there generic stainless steel brackets with a simple L-bend at the end, typically used to mount rear racks to the brake mount?

ehcoplex 

Well, whaddaya know..... velo orange makes a rack strut in a couple sizes (I can't post a link for whatever reason....)
I guess 'diving board' wasn't the right search term... $7, and out-of-stock pretty much everywhere, but seems like it would do the trick without having to mess around with cutting and bending...

fliplap

If you have a bike co-op in town they’ll probably have a whole bin of rack hardware for next to nothing.

ehcoplex 

Ah, I wish. Truth is there isn't even a really decent LBS within an hour & half from me...