Okay, I could have sworn I bought a JCHiggins rear rack for a 26" bike a while ago and it looked like it would fit when I held it up to my project but now that I have my Fat Franks mounted the legs on the rack aren't long enough to reach the axle without hitting the fender. The underside of the rack is deep enough to put some type of block but I thought I'd ask if others have ideas for a fix. Sorry, no pics of my dilemma. I appreciate all ideas though.
Rear Rack - legs not long enough!
- Thread starter Pudge
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Are you sure it is supposed to reach the axle and not have a separate hole on the drop out? Here is a pic of my Flightliner framed build showing where the rack attached originally. Is this about how much you are lacking?
Same as udallcustombikes on my bikes.
I wish it were that easy, but no, my hole for an accessory is actually lower than the drop outs on this frame. It's a Monark frame and I'm trying to put a Higgins Colorflow rack on it. Could it be possible that the Fat Franks are taller than the 2.125s that were on it and that's what's doing it?! You'd think I'd be able to figure that out since I took geometry twice in high school! (Failed it the first time, got a D the second time! :lol: ) That explains why I'm a saleman and not an engineer, I suppose! Maybe I bought a 24" rack and held it up to another 24" rack in my garage by accident when doing my comparisons and just made a false assumption that if their legs are the same size they both must be 26". I have no idea. I'll post a few pics of the underside of the rack once I take them and see if that'll generate some ideas. The colorflow rack has some pretty deep sides. I think I can hide any extension I rig up underneath. My concern is that it's not going to be very strong unless I can find a block of aluminum or something similar. I'm not a fan of wood but might have to resort to it.
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Could just make an extention, take a small piece of pipe or tubing, flatten it over the end of the rack brace with a hammer, then drill a hole to mount it.
I ran into almost the same problem when I was building my wife's 47 Schwinn earlier this year.
I picked up a nice JC Higgins ladies rack.... went to great lengths to save the stays with their nice original zinc plating, wrapped them in rubber tubing while I sandblasted the rest of it... and went to assemble and found out, no way, no how, this thing ain't gonna fit!
The Higgins was a middleweight and the rack fit down over the fender. In fact, it screwed to the fender with a slotted hole. The stays were really short when I tried to fit it over a balloon fender- the rack was too narrow to fit down onto the fender top. But I was determined to use it...
A Stingray sissy bar and clamps did the trick! I happened to have one hanging around with damage at the bottom. When cut off it was the perfect length. Painted the same semi-gloss black as the rest of the bike.
I did decorate it just a little...
The finished product- I think the bike would be less striking without the rack:
Good luck with your project!
--Rob
I picked up a nice JC Higgins ladies rack.... went to great lengths to save the stays with their nice original zinc plating, wrapped them in rubber tubing while I sandblasted the rest of it... and went to assemble and found out, no way, no how, this thing ain't gonna fit!
The Higgins was a middleweight and the rack fit down over the fender. In fact, it screwed to the fender with a slotted hole. The stays were really short when I tried to fit it over a balloon fender- the rack was too narrow to fit down onto the fender top. But I was determined to use it...
A Stingray sissy bar and clamps did the trick! I happened to have one hanging around with damage at the bottom. When cut off it was the perfect length. Painted the same semi-gloss black as the rest of the bike.
I did decorate it just a little...
The finished product- I think the bike would be less striking without the rack:
Good luck with your project!
--Rob
Rob - first things first. WOW! I hadn't seen that ladies bike build before! That thing is awesome! Very cool. The shifter looks like it was meant to be there. Love the way you added that color wheel panel behind the chain ring too. What ingenuity, on that and on the sissy bar/rack conversion. Nice job overall. Thanks for showing it off, and more importantly thanks for giving me a few ideas. I think what I'll try is to lower the rack right down cozy to the top of the fender like you said and see how little of an adapter I really need to make. Hadn't given that much thought, I must admit. I'll still need an adapter but maybe not so big.
Also, thanks to all the others for their input and getting me back on track.
Also, thanks to all the others for their input and getting me back on track.
Thanks for the compliments!
Yeah, that bike was built in the "Build Challenges" Ladies Bike buildoff. We had a good number of folks participate in that informal event. Everyone likes building bikes!
The rack support, the old sissy bar, gives the bike one more place it can be picked up with and tied down when it's in my van. And picking up the bike is important, it weighs a good 60 lbs....
The little piece behind the crank (off center in those pics because it spun a little) is actually a paint can lid... exactly the right size to fit inside the chain circle of a 46t sprocket. It did make installing the chainguard more of a challenge, and the crank is shifted a bit to the drive side- VERY tight on the left side, especially where the rear drum brake cable has to run. All part of the fun...
If the rack you're using allows it, a screw through the fender top could be the way to go- I didn't want to drill that old Schwinn fender but the original Higgins/Murray fender had a hole for securing the rack, plus the stays- that thing wasn't going anywhere.
Glad you liked the bike- my wife loves it even though it is a heavy beast. She always supports my efforts!
--Rob
Yeah, that bike was built in the "Build Challenges" Ladies Bike buildoff. We had a good number of folks participate in that informal event. Everyone likes building bikes!
The rack support, the old sissy bar, gives the bike one more place it can be picked up with and tied down when it's in my van. And picking up the bike is important, it weighs a good 60 lbs....
The little piece behind the crank (off center in those pics because it spun a little) is actually a paint can lid... exactly the right size to fit inside the chain circle of a 46t sprocket. It did make installing the chainguard more of a challenge, and the crank is shifted a bit to the drive side- VERY tight on the left side, especially where the rear drum brake cable has to run. All part of the fun...
If the rack you're using allows it, a screw through the fender top could be the way to go- I didn't want to drill that old Schwinn fender but the original Higgins/Murray fender had a hole for securing the rack, plus the stays- that thing wasn't going anywhere.
Glad you liked the bike- my wife loves it even though it is a heavy beast. She always supports my efforts!
--Rob
Pudge said:
