7

The eyelets at the lower end of my frame's seatstays are not aligned with the dropouts (to allow attachment of a vertical rack strut). The misalignment is around 13°.

Two questions:

  1. What options do I have for mounting a rack on them?
  2. Is this in any way "normal" for rack eyelets?

I believe the outside eyelets, shown below, are for the rack and the inside ones are for a mudguard/fender stay.

enter image description here

enter image description here

Improve this question
8
  • 1
    You shouldn't need to use both of these eyelets to mount a rack. Probably just the outside one. So the fact they are not "parallel" (you meant "aligned" I think) is not an issue.
    – davmac
    May 12 at 12:17
  • @dvmac What I meant by parallel was that the corresponding eyelets on each side of the bike are not parallel. I'll make the wording in the question clearer.
    – Will Vousden
    May 12 at 12:18
  • @WillVousden only one side of the bike is visible in the photo...
    – davmac
    May 12 at 12:19
  • @davmac You may assume that the seatstays are symmetric :-)
    – Will Vousden
    May 12 at 12:21
  • @WillVousden except for the eyelets, you mean? Sorry for being pedantic but I really almost can't believe it until I can see it!
    – davmac
    May 12 at 12:23

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
11

Just an idea: V-brakes shoes typically come with "cups and cones" (the aluminium parts between the shoe itself and the nut in the picture below), to allow a correction of the alignment. Not sure that it would be OK in terms of diameter though (V-brake shoes usually use larger bolts, but it can be too large).

You can just repurpose such parts to correct the misalignment between the rack mount and the bolt axle.

enter image description here

EDIT: Answer the second subquestion. This layout seems very unusual for me. The most common way is to have the eyelets close to the dropout (see other image below). But that being said, I noticed a trend to have fenders/racks sold for specific bike models, that then have custom attachment points — for example the Canyon Grizl has eyelets in the middle of the seat stay, inside. Another trend is to consider the fenders and rack as an integrated part, and then only requiring one pair of eyelets (example Cube Nuroad FE).

enter image description here

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    V brakes use M6, racks are almost always M5. so they should work, but you might want to add an M5 washer under the bolt head
    – Chris H
    May 13 at 16:31
  • 1
    The presence of the inner (mudguard) eyelets suggests they want to sell you their accessories too.
    – Chris H
    May 13 at 16:32
3

With my Tortec Velocity Hybrid and Topeak Super Tourist racks, I'd probably pre-bend the rack for this much of an angle. For that I'd use an adjustable spanner, being sure to insert the end of the rack stay by the same amount on each side. The pre-bend doesn't have to be perfect, just a step in the right direction.

For a smaller angle I didn't even do that, just put both screws in finger tight, then tightened them in turns progressively.

Those racks both have a fairly light plate at the end of the stay assembly.

A rack with a sturdier plate will be harder to pre-bend. The stays themselves will bend in preference to the plate, which would be OK if done in a controlled way - and that's not easy.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.