Bike Issues

FYI. If you are just moderately handy (or, know someone who is) then you can either add extensions to the tabs which connect the rack to the frame or fabricate new tabs to replace the adjustable tabs which some frames use.

If you can post a picture (or, two) which shows your rear rack & how it currently mounts to your bike's frame then I can give you more specific suggestions.

My rackseams to be fixed how do I upload pics on here? it keeps saying A temporary error occurred. Please retry your request. when i try to add the attachment on here?

There is an "Insert Image" icon in the bar which is immediately above the "Reply" box ... it is to the left of the icon which looks like a film strip ("Insert Video"😉 ... the film strip icon is to the left of the "paper clip" icon, etc.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by anonyy [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

My rackseams to be fixed how do I upload pics on here? it keeps saying A temporary error occurred. Please retry your request. when i try to add the attachment on here?

In the "reply" toolbar, in the space just to the right of the left and right pointing arrows is a picture. It's to the left of a "filmstrip" click the picture and follow the directions. There will be two tabs: one for uploading a pic from your computer, and another for loading a pic from a url.

It used to be the forum was user friendly, and users could use BB code. Apparently that was mentally challenging for the people running the site to continue, so they decided to switch over to a forum software package that served the lowest common denominator possible. It makes it easy because now the administrator doesn't have to think.

FYI. I reckon that 90% of the time my computer & the host computer are not happy with one another and so I can only post replies on 1-day-out-of-10 (i.e., the "Repy" box appears, but the bar with the icons is not present & submisson is therefore impossible ... today is one of the rare days when I can post a "reply" in any thread),

here are the pics the error message was because it doesn't work on opera browser 🙁 used firefox instead.

I'm looking at what I presume is a plastic rear fender, so there is probably no reason that you can't allow the bottom of the rack to press down on the fender a bit ... press the "duck tail" on the rear ofthe fender to see how flexible it is-or-isn't ...

Try it ...

How far down can the fender be pushed before it twists?

Are you, or someone who you know, moderately handy + do you have some hand tools (drill, screwdriver, saw, wrenches or adjustable wrench)?

its quite flexible as i said I do need to replace them pls see my original post as they restrict my tyre pressure. As for the rack is there an extender I can use as those arms arenot long enough?

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by anonyy [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

its quite flexible as i said I do need to replace them pls see my original post as they restrict my tyre pressure. As for the rack is there an extender I can use as those arms arenot long enough?

Sorry -- my bad --- I was so focused on the rack that I forgot the particulars which you had noted in your original post ...

It is certainly possible to substitute some DIY arms which you could fabricate from aluminum "stock" (or, material of your choice) that you can buy from most hardware stores ...

You could also fit a small block of wood between the "rails" which are on the underside of the rack ... attach with two wood screws ... then, level the rack and attach the arms to the front of the block of wood with two more wood screws.

BUT, extending the arms does not address the issue off the fender rubbing against the tyre ...

By my reckoning, YOU will need to modify the front "clamp" which attaches the fender to the seat tube:

• remove the fender from the frame & hold it alongside the rear wheel to see how much shorter the "tongue" would need to be shortened to allow the fender to be concentric with the outer circumference of the tyre ...
  
• cut accordingly (see the immediately following sentence) ...
  

EITHER cut the tongue in half (as suggested in the picture) so that you can have an one piece overlap the other OR [this is what I would do] make two cuts (one closer to the clamp + one which subsequently removes the excess).
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If you were to make TWO cuts, then the "clamp" would be attached to the shortened "tongue" with two horizontally attached "wood" screws which would be countersunk & "hidden" from view by having the head of the screw on the seat tube side of the reassembled clamp (i.e., inside the clamp) ...

• Regardless, you will need to pre-drill the holes ...
  

I reckon the tongue would need to be shortened by about 2 cm +/- ... but, 'I' would remove the "excess" as a trial-and-error process.

Hope that makes sense OR that you know someone who can follow the outline of what I suggested [I can give you more detailed instructions, but I don't want to unnecessarily make this more boring than it already is if you can follow what has already been suggested.].

Hi no offence I really don't want to be making something. I wanted to buy appropriate fenders,I heard about sks branded ones. Jet not sure where could buy them from. My local bike shopdont stock them? Also heard there is something you canbuy to attch to the arms to the rack, not sure what name to search for?

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by anonyy [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Hi no offence I really don't want to be making something.
I wanted to buy appropriate fenders,I heard about sks branded ones. Jet not sure where could buy them from. My local bike shopdont stock them? Also heard there is something you canbuy to attch to the arms to the rack, not sure what name to search for?

No problem ...

I just figure that a 5-minute-to-half-hour modification (depending on how handy a person is) is easier than trundlng all around town + faster than a trip to a bike shop (unless there is one on the block you live on).

Regardless, the problem with the tyre rubbing is with the front of the fender and not with the rack being level, or not ...

You can level the back (or, front ... depending on your perspective) end of the rack by inverting the (two) piece(s) which I indicated might be upside-down & then choosing the appropriate holes. That is, the elongated hole is more-than-likely on the end which is supposed to be secured to the frame & it is used to fine-tune the "horizontal" adjustment after choosing the appropriate holes.

i dont quite understand how i could make any adjustments other than getting longer arms as the shortness of the arms that is pulling the rack forwards - it wouldn't make it any straighter by lowering the rack in anyway it is just a cheap rack that doesn't fit correctly; for my type of bike it wasn't made for 700c wheels i was told it was going to be hit and miss anyway. i just need to buy some type of extender - as i said i dont know what search term i need to look for, do you know what they are called at all??

i dont want to cut into the rack or fenders as i probably would sell the fenders once i bought the correct ones and may replace the rack if i could not make this one level with the extender things on. As i said i only bought them to cover me for when i was biking to work in bad weather and used the rack for shopping - now i just need to correct the problems.

I found out what need to search for from another bike forum, "rack stays" don't cost much thanks for replying

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by anonyy [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

I found out what need to search for from another bike forum, "rack stays" don't cost much thanks for replying

Glad to hear that you think you sourced replacement "stays" for your rear rack ...

BUT, for the life of me, I cannot fathom why you cannot level the current rack with the existing components ...

• REMOVE the fender
  
• REVERSE the vertical "extenders" which I suggested might be upside-down
  
• RE-INSTALL the vertical "extenders" so that the elongated hole anchors the rack to the frame
  
• CHOOSE the approrpriate holes which allow you to adjust the rack so that it is level (i.e., LOWER the rear of the rack instead of RAISING the front)
  
• TIGHTEN the bolts.
  
  

BUT, based on what I am looking at, leveling the rack wil not resolve the problem of tyre clearance, or lack of ...

For the time being (or, after you realize that my observtion may be correct):

• REVERSE the fender so that the "duck tail" nests at the bottom of the seat tube ...
  
• STRAP the fender to the frame & rack using clear packing tape
  
• DONE!
  
  

THIS IS AS TEMPORARY-OR-PERMANENT A FIX AS YOU WANT IT TO BE UNTIL YOU BUY A DIFFERENT FENDER.

• If it becomes a permanent "fix" then replace the clear packing tape once-a-year.
  

the fender does not affect the rack at all the two issues are completely seperate and not related to each other, its simply a case of that the rack stays are not long enough, once i get this sorted it shall be fine.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by anonyy [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

the fender does not affect the rack at all the two issues are completely seperate and not related to each other, its simply a case of that the rack stays are not long enough, once i get this sorted it shall be fine.

What we have here is a failure to communicate ...

FWIW. Okay, you'll just have to humour me because I am a product of a public school education ...

You have to explain to me WHY you are believing the clerk(s) at the "two large bike shops" which you went to who said would "be a bit difficult and the rack would require a bit of extra work" PLUS why you presume that when you "went to another shop to fit it" that they installed it (the ¿rack?) properly.

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While the new stays may not be very expensive, why waste the time travelling to the bike shop, waiting to buy the item, and then going home when you simply need to loosen the four bolts which are attaching the front of the rack to the bike AND invert the pieces which were installed upside-down to lower the rear of the rack and thereby level it?

• Maybe you do need longer stays. Regardless, by my reckoning, there is a 99.9% probability that the bolt which attaches the rear of the rack is supposed to go through the elongated holes rather than having those hole be at the top of the assembly ...
  

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1. Again, loosen the four bolts which attach the front stays ...
   
2. Reverse the vertical extensions which I reckon were installed upside-down so that the elongated slot is bolted to the "eyelet" hole near the rear axle dropouts ...
   
3. Slide the inverted extensions into the "receiver" on the triangulated lowers ... heck, you could certainly lower the rear of the rack by at least TWO holes without inverting the vertical extensions
   

Perhaps, the extensions are NOT needed at all to lower the rear sufficiently because it actually looks as though the rear should be lowered by 5+ cm in order to level the rack's platform!?!
Try it. Of course, lowering the rear end of the rack MAY eventually require lowering the fender ...

• Isn't the tyre rubbing against the fender still an issue OR were you just randomly mentioning it to mention it?
  
• Can you not see that the reason the fender and tyre are in conflict is because of the length of the "tongue" which spans the space between the fender-itself & the "clamp" which attaches the fender to the seat tube?
  

BTW. Presuming that your rear axle is attached using a QUICK RELEASE, it is customary to have the LEVER on the LEFT side of the bike so that the lever doesn't interfere with the bike's rear derailleur. BTW2. If you insist on buying new stays, BEFORE you go to the bike shop then detach the front stays from either the rack or frame, level the rack, and MEASURE the requisite distance which the replacement stays need to span ... CALL the shop to ensure that what they have are long enough. Ask them how much the will cost, too, so you won't be surprised when you get there!