Possible to install porteur-style front rack on Nevo?

[michal]

I realize the suspension fork, disk brakes, and R&M's choice of parts would certainly create some challenges, but would adding a porteur-style front rack — like the Blackburn Bootlegger Front Rack — to my Nevo GT Vario HS be even remotely possible?

 

[Mr. Coffee]

There really are two tracks here. Neither of them are perfect but one or the other might be a suitable compromise for you.

The first one is that you would replace the front fork with a good fixed front fork with all the mounts and mount the porteur rack to that fork. If you ride with the fork locked out most of the time and use a springy steel front fork as a replacement you might actually improve ride quality and road feel. Depending on how concerned you would be about vibration and discomfort I'd also recommend adding a decent suspension stem if you go this route. R&M bikes in general are very stiff and losing the front suspension fork is going to make for a tiring ride unless you at least partially compensate for the loss.

The second one would require building a custom rack that used hose clamps to wrap the fork and also used a longer through axle, so the rack would be supported by both the fork and the axle. Note that in this approach the whole rack and whatever was on it would move with the front wheel and not the suspended part of the bike. I wouldn't expect to be able to carry very much (probably less than 8-9kg) on such a rack and you'd need access to the equipment and expertise required to make such a rack. Also note that using hose clamps to grip onto the fork is done a lot but there are some tricks to it and you'd need to be extremely careful to not structurally compromise the fork.

 

[michal]

There really are two tracks here. Neither of them are perfect but one or the other might be a suitable compromise for you.

The first one is that you would replace the front fork with a good fixed front fork with all the mounts and mount the porteur rack to that fork. If you ride with the fork locked out most of the time and use a springy steel front fork as a replacement you might actually improve ride quality and road feel. Depending on how concerned you would be about vibration and discomfort I'd also recommend adding a decent suspension stem if you go this route. R&M bikes in general are very stiff and losing the front suspension fork is going to make for a tiring ride unless you at least partially compensate for the loss.

The second one would require building a custom rack that used hose clamps to wrap the fork and also used a longer through axle, so the rack would be supported by both the fork and the axle. Note that in this approach the whole rack and whatever was on it would move with the front wheel and not the suspended part of the bike. I wouldn't expect to be able to carry very much (probably less than 8-9kg) on such a rack and you'd need access to the equipment and expertise required to make such a rack. Also note that using hose clamps to grip onto the fork is done a lot but there are some tricks to it and you'd need to be extremely careful to not structurally compromise the fork.

Thanks a lot for your reply! I'm trying to figure out if the Blackburn Bootlegger's mounting system is pretty much what you described in your 2nd option:



Their mounting system is supposedly able to accommodate a wide range of bikes:

Our mounting hardware is designed to easily attach using braze-ons, brake boss’ or p-clamps. The unique design allows the attachment to swivel and work at odd angles … making it fit on nearly any bike.

Think that could work?

 

[Mr. Coffee]

In general, yes, that approach could work.

It is critically important in such a design that all attachment points are stationary relative to one another. If you attach through the axle you'd want the clamps on the lower parts of the fork that move with the wheel, and not the upper part of the fork that is stationary with respect to the frame.

This might sound pretty basic but the consequences if you didn't do that would be catastrophic to the rack and the fork, probably in fairly short order. I certainly wouldn't want to ride a bike so equipped and I don't think anyone would (or could) ride such a bike for very long before it failed.

This rack mounting system, sadly only available in Europe, is pretty much what you'd want except for a porteur rack rather than low-riders. The Old Man Mountain racks were a similar design (but seem to no longer be available).

 

[michal]

In general, yes, that approach could work.

It is critically important in such a design that all attachment points are stationary relative to one another. If you attach through the axle you'd want the clamps on the lower parts of the fork that move with the wheel, and not the upper part of the fork that is stationary with respect to the frame.

This might sound pretty basic but the consequences if you didn't do that would be catastrophic to the rack and the fork, probably in fairly short order. I certainly wouldn't want to ride a bike so equipped and I don't think anyone would (or could) ride such a bike for very long before it failed.

This rack mounting system, sadly only available in Europe, is pretty much what you'd want except for a porteur rack rather than low-riders. The Old Man Mountain racks were a similar design (but seem to no longer be available).

Awesome, glad to hear this seems doable. Will talk to my LBS about installation specifics. Thanks again for your help!

 

[dblhelix]

I realize the suspension fork, disk brakes, and R&M's choice of parts would certainly create some challenges, but would adding a porteur-style front rack — like the Blackburn Bootlegger Front Rack — to my Nevo GT Vario HS be even remotely possible?

I realize the suspension fork, disk brakes, and R&M's choice of parts would certainly create some challenges, but would adding a porteur-style front rack — like the Blackburn Bootlegger Front Rack — to my Nevo GT Vario HS be even remotely possible?

Is the wide deck important to you? I put a Thule Pedal and Pack up front last year. Very sturdy but is limited to about 22-25 lbs. Hassle-free install.

 

[michal]

Is the wide deck important to you? I put a Thule Pedal and Pack up front last year. Very sturdy but is limited to about 22-25 lbs. Hassle-free install.

Thanks for your insight!

Wide deck would be nice, but not strictly required. I do deliveries so I'm looking to expand my cargo carrying ability by adding a front rack

I've been thinking about the Thule Pack & Pedal, but have heard conflicting reports about its stability. It's working well for you though? 20–25 pounds is more than enough for my purposes so this could work nicely if it's so sturdy and easy to install.

 

[dblhelix]

Thanks for your insight!

Wide deck would be nice, but not strictly required. I do deliveries so I'm looking to expand my cargo carrying ability by adding a front rack

I've been thinking about the Thule Pack & Pedal, but have heard conflicting reports about its stability. It's working well for you though? 20–25 pounds is more than enough for my purposes so this could work nicely if it's so sturdy and easy to install.

Here is what I can tell you:

I had it on a RM Suntour Aion/34mm stanchions. It was rock solid. Sometimes (esp initially) I would push really hard on the platform just to double-check. If you are just using the platform with a reasonable load, I don’t think you would have a problem.

I have a friend who put one on his tandem bike for a Great Divide trip w/his girlfriend. I see a picture of the bike 30 days in (on FB) and the rack is still on it. The Great Divide is all dirt and gravel, but it appears to me as though he only has 5lb on it.

I have to qualify my comments about the install. This took place with the help of someone who had done it before, so it was straightforward. I’m guessing that people with stability issues may not have had the patience to follow the directions carefully. We put it together, checked it before installing on the fork, used a bike stand and w/ two ppl had an extra pair of hands. A second stability issue might be the optional pannier rails. I was less impressed with this rack as an option for front panniers, but this isn’t an issue for you.

If you go this route, you could just order through a bike shop and have them do the install. It is definitely possible to do so with very good results: level and sturdy.

I no longer own the bike I had it on. If you’d like to borrow mine for an extended period of time to see if it suits your needs, send me a DM.