Front lowrider rack
We recommend the Tubus Duo front rack and have located attachment points on the fork blades at 165mm from the front eyelets on the fork dropouts for this purpose. Any rider who is travelling by plane with their bike and using lowriders will need to be able to remove them in the packing process and to later refit them.
The below instructions address the very first time a new Tubus Duo rack is attached to a World Randonneur which has a front disc brake.
Preliminary – check that the distance between mounting points on the rack matches that on the forks.
Attaching right side front rack
Tools
You will need the 4/5/6 hex wrench and a 4mm small arm hex wrench.
Attachment items
One 6mm thick spacer, two 10-15mm long and one 18-20mm long (this is the threaded section length) 5mm allen head (cap) screws with washers.
- Remove the front light connector at the hub and then the front wheel.
- First attach the upper inner screw using the short arm allen key. Use the rear-most hole in the rack. Don’t tighten yet.
- Attach the upper outer screw. Don’t tighten yet.
- Using the 20mm screw and the 6mm spacer between the fork and the rack, attach the bottom rack hole to the fork eyelet at the front of the dropout. Depending on the spacer outside diamater you may find you need to file a little from the side nearest the forkblade so as to have the spacer sit perfectly flat.
- Tighten all 3 screws, alternating between each one to keep them mostly evenly tight
When fitting the front wheel, ensure the light cable is not where it will be worn by a pannier bag. Note the convention of having the skewer arm on the right-hand side to avoid the risk of it ever contacting the disc rotor.
Attaching left side front rack
This is very similar to fitting the right side except that you need to watch that you are clear of the disc brake caliper. The pictures here have been taken when we were road-testing an Avid BB7 calliper which is slightly different to the Shimano. The key difference is that with an Avid you can use an 8mm spacer and with a Shimano you may need a 13mm spacer, which is supplied.
Tools same as for right side
You will need the 4/5/6 hex wrench and a 4mm small arm hex wrench.
Attachment items
one 8mm or 13mm thick spacer, two 10-15mm and one 20-25mm long (this is the threaded section length) 5mm allen head cap screws with washers.
- First attach the upper inner screw using the short arm allen key. You are using the rear-most hole in the rack. Not tight yet.
- Attach the upper outer screw. Not tight yet.
- Using the 25mm screw and the 13mm spacer (or the 8mm spacer and 20mm screw) between the fork and the rack, fit the lower tab on the rack to the front eyelet of the fork dropout.
- Tighten all 3 screws, alternating between each one to keep them mostly evenly tight
- Examine the operation of the disc brake to be sure its operation is not impeded by the rack.
- Refit the front wheel and the light wire connector.
Why We Chose the Tubus Duo
We like the design of the Tubus Duo. Using three mount positions removes the hoop at the top as seen in many other designs like the Tubus Tara. An old-timer said “hoopless is hopeless”. However, if you have a hoop you can’t use the Vivente’s headlight mounting position as the hoop is right in the beam. So you end up needing to weld a light mount onto the hoop and route the light wire along the hoop. The light is more vulnerable out there. If you remove the rack you lose your light mount.
It is important for all Vivente owners that use front racks and fly with their bike to be comfortable with fitting, removing and refitting the racks. It is not hard but the airport is not the place to work it out. We encourage these users to practice in advance. And always carry the short arm 4mm hex key on trips. Avoid multi tools.