Ron, the *static* weight of the load is always 10 times its mass (when working in SI, otherwise its 32.2 times the mass in slugs). The dynamic weight of your load is whatever your 12-pack of beer (about 4.5 Kg) is accelerating at (relative to gravity) just as it hits the basket again; Therefore, the total loading is that static load plus the dynamic load. A good load rating takes into account an assumed maximum dynamic load along with a static load and then factors it down to account for defects or other unknowns.
I know Tubus (as an example) rates their load for masses in Kg and us 'mericans usually rate our racks in lb-force (or at last I hope so because nobody measures stuff in lb-mass, i.e. slugs!), so you'll need to convert to compare apples-to-apples and this can lead to the lower rating that nitto/Riv provides. Their 4.4 lbf max is about 2 Kg, or about 2 liters of beer (just under a 6-pack), which seems reasonable given the size and how the struts connect to the fork. The static capacity is likely HUGE in comparison and I'd imagine lots of folks could sit on it while the bike *isn't* bouncing down a hill (that is *NOT* an invitation to try it...) Patrick, I'm speculating that typically the connections (welds, bolts, brazes, etc) fail rather than the steel members failing by shear or buckling, unless nitto uses super thin walled steel/aluminum. So as long as the connections are burly enough (huge/a lot of bolts, or multiple weld beads), the rack is made from a single piece of tubing (to minimize the number of welds/connections you would make), and mounted as close to the fork as possible (I'll cover moments in another post), the rack should handle large static loads without excessive distress. Benz, I have since learned that lesson, I'm all about those nord-locks now :) Sorry for the lecture, Collin A -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
