Sunday, April 17, 2011

Best front rack setup EVER.

I wanted a front rack on my bicycle for my cross country tour. I ordered the Jandd Extreme, but fitting it wasn't possible with my current fork and brake setup. Fortunately, the bicycle shop can just add it to stock and sell it to someone who can use it.

Then I remembered that I put aside a different rack. It's free and possibly much cooler. It's an old Schwinn rack that attaches to the headset and acts as a spacer - and has curved struts that attach down at the axle. It's an attractive rack, and it also has a spring clamp to hold something like a book or a light jacket.

I'm lucky that Kyler is working here. He hung out after work and provided the support needed to make this project happen.

I should say that earlier today was the Fairmount Arts Crawl, so we had beers left over from that and were hanging out for at least a couple hours.

I held the Schwinn rack up to my bicycle and tried to visually determine if it could work. The cable for the cantilever brake was the primary obstacle. I was ready to call it quits, but we tossed ideas back and forth until a fantastic solution came to fruition. I drilled and tapped the clamp area of the rack to make a fully functional barrel-adjusted housing stop. So simple, so beautiful, so functional. I was a little skeptical and OCD, but Kyler kept egging on progress. It was a good time that yielded great results.




The front rack is where I'll probably be keeping my tent and sleeping gear. If I wanted an easier solution, I could just tie some shit to the handlebars like Nick. But I like the rack. Looks boss.

2 comments:

Bill Hopp said...

Chris,
Your enthusiasm for your front rack is on the money. I have one that appears to be identical (except the clamp on mine is stamped "WALD"). It is very functional and very sturdy. It came to me on a 1964 Columbia Rambler yard sale purchase and still does service there. Sadly, Wald seems to have stopped making this design.

Pixy Stoneskipper said...

Hey Bill -
Yeah, this front rack is great! Yesterday I needed to remember to use my coupon for a free iced coffee at Dunkin' Donuts, and the card slipped in perfectly under the point in the middle of the rack's coiled spring. I'm sure the rack will hold a tent pretty well too. I suspect that my rack is also a Wald, but re-branded for use on a Schwinn.

Thanks for the comment!
Chris