Quoting Paul Cooley <[email protected]>: > > I ordered one of Velo Orange's front racks, (and a set of their > aluminum fenders) for my Rivendell touring bike. I'm still waiting > for them to arrive, but I wonder if anyone has any advice about > drilling the holes in the tangs of the rack. Are they so long that > you would then need to saw the tangs to fit? Most of the time, when I > undertake that kind of project, it ends up looking a little sloppy. I > belong to the cut once, measure, curse and start over camp of > handymen. I can't afford to do that with the rack.
Oh my yes. I wrote about this on the iBOB list, and Alex supplied the information. The rack is stainless. I spent literally an HOUR drilling a hole in the tang, and all I was accomplishing was polishing the steel. Same for sawing - I had a fresh blade in the hacksaw, but it was the wrong type, and I sawed and sawed and sawed and all it did was polish the metal. Turns out, stainless work hardens very quickly. You need special bimetallic saw and drill bits. Yes you need to saw the tang to fit. And you need to bend the tang to fit, too. In my case, my first attempt to bend to fit wasn't right, and I didn't see it until I bolted the rack in place and found the brakes wouldn't work right due to interference. When I re-bent it, the hole wasn't in the exact right place, and I had to ovalize it. The good news is, no matter how sloppy it is underneath, you can't see it when the bike is done. Check mine out for proof: http://www.flickr.com/photos/97916...@n00/sets/72157606169015639/ Looks great, you can't see the bends - well, if you look close you can see some of the tool marks on the tang from the bending, but it doesn't look bad. You also can't see the angst and the sweat as I did the work. > > Also, what's the best way to bend the rear tang so that it fits > smoothly between the fender and the fork crown. I would have a > tendency to bend it by hand, but again, I'm worried about sloppy > results. What I did was bend it by hand, using the PTFPTM methodology (that is, Pound to Fit, Paint to Match). I do have a bench vise, but how do I figure out where to > bend it and how much to bend it when it's not on the bicycle mounted > to the fender? Eyeball. Make sure you hook up the brakes before you decide you've got it bent right. I had to put in more of a 90 degree bend than I thought necessary at first. > > Maybe, with its not being here yet, I'm making it more complicated in > my imagination than it is. Yes. I managed it, and if I can do it your TV commercial baggage handler (the ape jumping up and down on your luggage) can do it. > > I'm preparing myself to take some time with both the fenders and the > rack. Generally, I don't trust myself with drilling holes in things. Right. That's what your rat-tail file is for. And your blue Locktite. Steve "Been there, lived to tell the tale" Palincsar --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Bicycle Lifestyle" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bicyclelifestyle?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
