Rack mounting

[Jamie Hascall]

Hi all,

I'm just about ready to start actual brazing on my first frame. I visited Dave Porter a couple of weeks ago to run some ideas and questions past him. In looking at my tube set and all, he commented on the truly homely Campy dropouts that had come with the 531 set and immediately started rooting through a spare parts box to come up with some lovely Columbus and Gipiemme ends to work with. (Thanks again Dave!) My quandary and question involves the fact that these dropouts have no eyelets forged on them and this bike will have both fenders and racks.

I've read to never braze eyelets onto a dropout for racks, but only do so for fender struts. My sense says that I should be able to put them on with brass well enough for fenders and light rack use, but where do people stand on really solid rack attachments? Spool type mounts on fork blades and seat stays with silver or only with brass? Eyelets fully drilled and brazed through a fork blade? Can 6mm eyelets be properly fitted and filleted onto dropouts?

I also look at rack attachments brazed into the top of the fork crown but have read they can be problematic as experienced in the Oregon Manifest Trials as reported by BQ, as well as being aesthetically compromising. Front rack attachment to the crown always seems difficult or squirrely. I'd love to hear thoughts on your favorite ways of solving this problem.

Thanks,
Jamie

[marten]

Either TIG weld them on (with some braze over the weld to fair them in) or get some more brazing area by filing a half round notch in your dropout and fitting a fully circular piece

[cement shoes]

make a small notch in the drops as Marten indicates. That will give you more surface area for brazing. It's also handy for holding the eyelets in place. brass braze them. The eyelets will break before the brass gives way, assuming proper brazing.

[Eric Estlund]

I also look at rack attachments brazed into the top of the fork crown but have read they can be problematic as experienced in the Oregon Manifest Trials as reported by BQ, as well as being aesthetically compromising. Front rack attachment to the crown always seems difficult or squirrely.

I haven't read the BQ article, but crown mounting need not be squirrely or otherwise problematic (nor, in my opinion, aesthetically compromising).

[Jamie Hascall]

Thanks to Marten and Tom for the comments. I felt that brass brazing an eyelet into a filed notch should work but needed a little confirmation.

Eric, thanks for the comment. In looking back at the BQ article, I found that the rack in question was trying to make due with a single strut to the top of one side of the fork crown without a balancing strut to the other side. this was done to provide clearance for a side pull brake. The resulting oscillation was unscrewing the fastener securing the rack strut. I don't think crown fastening is inherently a problem or ugly, but was looking for people's favorite ways of doing it. The racks I've made with a single point of attachment tot he crown have been a little less solid than I wanted and now that I'm making the fork I'm just trying to design in a good set of attachment points. I'm still deciding on center pull or canti brakes and that will factor heavily in the design.

Jamie