Does a Tern Cargo Rack fit on a Bike Friday NWT (whilst accomodating Ortlieb Backroller Classic Panniers)?

Question

I was wondering, whether a Tern Cargo Rack fits on a Bike Friday NWT with a Sram Dual Drive 27 whilst accommodating Ortlieb Backroller Classic Panniers. The problem with rear racks, the Sram Dual Drive and Ortlieb Panniers on a Bike Friday NWT is that most rear racks are low (green line) and narrow. The low clearance between the top of the rack and the internal gear hub and the narrowness will cause the panniers to "sit" on the gear hub (the blue line is longer than the green line). I suppose this is also why the standard Bike Friday rear rack is very high (the pink line is longer than the blue line):

Picture modified from bicycletouringpro.com.

The Tern Cargo rack is also low but quite wide. I am wondering whether it is wide enough to give enough space to the sides so that the Ortlieb Panniers sit next to the Sram Dual Drive hub rather than on top of it. I found a report on BikeForums.net but it didn't contain any information on the Sram Dual Drive and Ortlieb Panniers specifically.

Answer 1

Yes, a Tern Cargo Rack fits on a Bike Friday NWT and a Bike Friday NWT can be equipped with both, the Tern Spartan front rack (see Bike Friday NWT with Tern Spartan Rack (front)) and the Tern Cargo Rack (rear).

However, one should be careful if the Bike Friday is equipped with a SRAM Dual Drive. The Tern Cargo rack may not be wide enough to prevent large panniers from touching/sitting on top of the clickbox (blue) of the internal gear hub. A modification of the Tern Cargo rack can solve this problem (the green line is the height between the bar to which the panniers are attached and the clickbox of the internal gear hub):

To prevent the panniers from touching the clickbox of the SRAM Dual Drive internal gear hub I widened the Tern Cargo Rack at the bottom. For this, I choose wider screws to increase the distance between the screw thread in the bike's frame and the bars of the Tern Cargo Rack. To maintain stability I inserted a second perforated steel sheet. I don't really know how to describe it very well but I hope my pictures do the job of explaining:

The Tern Cargo Rack also does a very good job in terms of protecting the fenders when folding a Bike Friday NWT.

And finally, a photograph with mounted panniers which shows the gap between the clickbox of the SRAM Dual Drive internal gear hub and the mounted pannier.