Has anyone fitted a rack to a bolt through sus fork

[Johnhenry]

Hi, I'm going on a long tour on my hardtail 29er MTB and want to fit a front rack, I've seen the Axiom one but it fits on the QR so it's not suitable as I have a 15mm bolt through, just wondered if anyone has done this ?
Any help would be much appreciated.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Don't recall ever seeing one. I'd suggest a look at Old Man Mountain racks - they seem to be on the ball. Another option would be a Thule rack perhaps?

[Lazarus]

I cannot really see how they will work as the 15 mm bolt through on mine does not stick out far enough on the thread side to be able to mount anything . Wiith QR you have two external ends with 15 mm /bolt through you only have one external side

I would consider mounting using p cllips/jubillee clips and the like but weight bearing is going to be somewhat uncertain

[Bearbonesnorm]

I cannot really see how they will work as the 15 mm bolt through on mine does not stick out far enough on the thread side to be able to mount anything . Wiith QR you have two external ends with 15 mm /bolt through you only have one external side

I was thinking a new axle with an internal thread.

[lune ranger]

Don't recall ever seeing one. I'd suggest a look at Old Man Mountain racks - they seem to be on the ball. Another option would be a Thule rack perhaps?

OMM Sherpa is available with 15mm bolt through axle fixings.
My wife used a standard Sherpa on one of our big trips - good quality, lasted well. If you have to use a rack you probably won’t find a better option - if you can get hold of one.
The Thule strap on rack is also a solid bit of kit. Can be configured with just the top deck or with sides for full panniers. My Mrs had also used one of these albeit on some shorter trip only.
I used to be a big fan of the Tubus Swing rack but it’s out of production. It attached the rack to the fork crown very solidly so everything was carried as part of the the sprung mass therefore preserving the function of the fork.
Both the OMM and Thule options carry as part of the unsprung mass - on the moving part of the fork. This affects fork performance.
Before you go down this route ask yourself if you need a rack and if you do, do you need sus forks.
With a ‘soft bag’, ‘modern’, bikepacking bar roll you could carry up to 20L (more realistically 9-10L) at the bars of your bike. This puts the weight pretty high so you want to stick to bulky, light stuff - tent, clothes etc. You won’t need a rack for this option and your fork should work fine as long as the bag doesn’t snag on the wheel at full suspension compression.

[Jurassic]

Maybe using a bar bag as suggested by Lune Ranger and combine with some cargo cages on the fork legs if you need more carrying capacity would be an easier option? I've used Gorilla Cages mounted on Gorilla Clips on suspension forks and it worked quite well.

[ScotRoutes]

There's also the Topeak Tetrarack.

[yourguitarhero]

Bar bag/harness and two Blackburn cargo cages with 5l drybags on zefal bottle mounts worked well for me

[Dave Barter]

What stops that Topeak rack from slipping down the fork?

[ScotRoutes]

What stops that Topeak rack from slipping down the fork?

The same magic that applies to the Thule one.

(Friction)

[lune ranger]

Burn the witches ...

[Bearbonesnorm]

What stops that Topeak rack from slipping down the fork?

If you look at the way everything's positioned, weight on the top of the rack will actually push the mounts in towards the fork rather than pushing the mounts down the fork leg. It's yer angle o' dangle innit.

I like the fact it comes with a built-in bumper for those sudden unplanned stops.

[Johnhenry]

I've been bikepack racing for a few years and used a wild cat harness and it's worked well, but this tour will be 12-18 months and I just think front and rear paniers will be an easier option.
I'm gonna have a look at the racks suggested above, Thanks

[Johnhenry]

There's also the Topeak Tetrarack.

Looks like you could attach the back of this rack to the fork crown for a bit more stability.
Could be the best option.

[sean_iow]

this tour will be 12-18 months

Depending on where you're going, is a suss fork the best choice for such a long tour? My rockshox are meant to have the lowers serviced every 50 hours and the air spring and damper serviced every 200 hours. These intervals can be stretched a lot but even if you only ride for 4 hours a day over 18 months that's over 2000 hours just something to consider.

[ScotRoutes]

Looks like you could attach the back of this rack to the fork crown for a bit more stability.
Could be the best option.

Yeah- that occurred to me too.

[lune ranger]

Looks like you could attach the back of this rack to the fork crown for a bit more stability.
Could be the best option.

Yeah- that occurred to me too.

This is why the world needs Marzocchi Bombers again
Sean makes a good point. I only ever did year long tours on sus forks that really never needed to be serviced. Bombers and Magura Odur. Modern forks don’t really cut the mustard except Lauf’s maybe.

[redefined_cycles]

Looks like you could attach the back of this rack to the fork crown for a bit more stability.
Could be the best option.

Yeah- that occurred to me too.

This is why the world needs Marzocchi Bombers again
Sean makes a good point. I only ever did year long tours on sus forks that really never needed to be serviced. Bombers and Magura Odur. Modern forks don’t really cut the mustard except Lauf’s maybe.

Marzocchi Bombers... [edit: maybe too strong a term, I doubt I loved my Bombers that that much they thwy was lovely ] lovely forks... Most beautiful and beloved forks ever owned [edit: actually, well they were at the time]. Never knew Luke was a mb Fan too as I assumed they was too cheap for his high flying...

Marzocchi Bombers (walks away, day dreaming of his own pairs)... what beauties...

[redefined_cycles]

[Edit: this comment no linger required ]

[Bearbonesnorm]

You know, I reckon if they actually re-released Bombers in a few guises then they'd sell a few. I've got a pair of Z3 here that must be over 25 years old and they're lovely. Even the Z5 air sprung version wasn't bad.

[Dave Barter]

My first fork was a Girvin. It had its own gravitational system it was so heavy

[lune ranger]

You know, I reckon if they actually re-released Bombers in a few guises then they'd sell a few. I've got a pair of Z3 here that must be over 25 years old and they're lovely. Even the Z5 air sprung version wasn't bad.

You can keep yer fangled air spring, coil and oil or nowt

[redefined_cycles]

You know, I reckon if they actually re-released Bombers in a few guises then they'd sell a few. I've got a pair of Z3 here that must be over 25 years old and they're lovely. Even the Z5 air sprung version wasn't bad.

You can keep yer fangled air spring, coil and oil or nowt

Agreed... coils are the bestest... (referring to the Fox Talas... pretty sure Bombers were simple air spring were they not... pretty sure that's what i bought my first high pressure air adaptro for)...

[lune ranger]

Mine were coil with no discernible adjustment. They replaced my first generation Pace RC something elastomer forks that hot decapitated when I rode head first into a Ford Sierra

[Mr conners]

Tubus did do a typically robust front rack compatible with a sus fork. I used it to tour in S America years ago, the bags sit a bit high but it works. I think it may be discontinued.