Racks with built in decaleurs were sometimes made by the great French constructuers, usually as a very expensive option for their finest custom machines. I don't know of any that were produced in series and sold separately, until now. We've made this version of the superb all-stainless steel VO costructeur rack with a built in decaleur mount. The "backstop" accepts either a U-shaped plug, or a VO decaleur bag mount. The rack is sold with the U-shaped piece, but without the bag mount since so many of you already own VO bag mounts. But the mounts are available separately. It fits bikes with cantis, sidepulls, centerpulls, or no brakes. The material is 1/4" 304 stainless steel tube. There are threaded bosses for lights on both sides and a proper fender mount. Plus, it's very very shiny. Like our rear rack, this rack is designed to fit right on top of the fender of either 700c or 650b bikes. Mounting the rack low improves handling and appearance. This is the way custom racks from the great constructuers were designed. So the tangs at the bottom of our racks are undrilled. You'll drill them for a perfect fit for your bike. The tang at the rear of the rack is also undrilled. This ensures that you can mount the rack so it's perfectly level (nothing spoils the lines of a bike like racks that slope). Ideally, the tang is attached to the fender boss under the fork crown or you may use a fork crown daruma (see fender parts). The tang may also be bent up and attached to the brake bolt. While you'll probably spend an hour or more fitting our rack, the result should be a fit every bit as perfect and elegant as a custom rack costing twice as much. The platform is about 20cm x 11cm, large enough for any handlebar bag. |
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