Fitting mudguards and a rack to a retro steed - help

ishaw

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This may sound crazy as I have no problem in building bikes and servicing the majority of the components fitted, but I've recently bought a used set of mudguards, rack and child seat for use on my Saracen that I've just finished and I'm struggling with them.

My problem is that I'm simply not sure how to fit them as its not something I've done before. I get the basic principle, the frame has bosses/threads that correspond to the rack and mud guard fixings, but its the combination of the guards and rack that is throwing me - how do I fit both and what kind of bolts would I be best using?

The front mounting is also a bit of a pain, as the guards I'm fitting are the SKS chromoplastic ones, and the front fixings are covered by a plastic mount that to me seems to foul against the forks (chunky Saracen ones). I can probably move this around to make the angle less severe and avoid coming together with the fork blade, but again, what sort/size of bolt do I need to fix them to the fork?

I'm also assuming that as the frame mountings are threaded, I simply need to screw the appropriate bolts into them, and no nuts the othe side are needed?

Sorry if this is a stupid question, I'm just inexperienced in his area, more used to removing as many parts as possible to keep my builds sleek and sexy, not functional and practical.

I'm aching to get this finished and take my son out for a ride, so need to sort this before I can contemplate fitting the child seat (which may prompt further questions).

Cheers
 
I have the SKS Commuter mudguards on my Specialized, they came with all the bolts, and the frame should have the threaded lugs on the fork dropouts and rear dropouts to attach the "supports" to.
Can't remember the size of bolts, but maybe something like M6x20? (will have to check).

Your forks should also have a "hole" in them just below the fork crown race, this is used as another anchor point for the mudguards, min ehas a nut & botlt fitted to secure the mudguard mount.

Also the rear seatstay bridge hould have the same "hole" to receive a nut & bolt to support the rear mudguard (my Spesh didn't, I had to drill one myself).

My commuter mudguards have a clip which attaches to the chainstay bridge as another support.

With the rack, unless you have 2 lugs/eyelets on the rear dropouts (some frames do) then you'll have to try and use the same fixing point as the mudguards. You should be able to adjust the height of the rack so that it clears the top of the rear mudguard. It should also be secured at the seatstay bridge.

Clear as mud? :LOL: it may be the case that you don't have all the required parts? like trying to solve a jigsaw when there's several parts missing...

Oh, and I can reccommend the SKS "Spoiler Pro" or "Spoiler xl" as a good way of providing even better crud protection :)
 
After having a fair bit of experience in fitting such things to various bikes I may be able to help.

Bolt size - 99% of the time bolts are same size as bottle cage bolts. Simple. I always go and buy stainless bolts the right length. Make sure they use all the threads in the frame boss. If you have space the other side (depends on frame and hub type) then you can put a nut the other side for extra security (i use a Nyloc nut) but it isn't essential. I always use a washer under the head of the bolt too. Makes sense. Rack bolts will rattle loose eventually, so a bit of thread lock may be a wise move plus checking them very regularly is very wise. I had a friend who did a Euro tour and I advised him to check it every day when he loaded up. He said he had to nip them up occasionally. His riding buddy didn't and the loose bolt stripped out of the boss causing a lot of problems.

If you have 2 eyelets on the dropouts then use both. The most important one to get right is the rack. Make sure the rack stays are up against the frame, and if you are putting the mudguard stays on the same eyelet put them on the outside of the rack stays. That's best practise BUT its much better to separate them. The rack takes a lot of weight and vibration so it needs to be tightened up well - not always possible if you have to squeeze a mudguard stay on the bolt too, even if its the right length. I have used a repair washer on the outside under the bolt head so I could clamp the bolt down hard without splaying the guard stay.

Putting both on one eyelet - I've never had a problem with light day trip or commuting duties. However if I was going proper loaded touring I would possibly use P-clips for the guards or mount them onto the rack stays somehow. You can bend the guard stays any which way to suit a variety of mounting positions. If you look at Thorn touring bikes they have mounts for the mudguards halfway up the stays of the rack which is an excellent idea. I think they also have bigger bolts but the frame and racks are made to their own specification so they can do that.

Replace all nuts with Nyloc nuts I reckon. Why not?

Always better using the double stays at the top of the rack too, just sturdier!

The front racks can be a pain to be honest, better having a fork with low rider mounts for a low rider rack, miles better.

You don't have to use the plastic bits on the front mudguard where they bolt onto the dropouts but they are a good safety feature so its worth it. On chunky forks I've spaced it out from the eyelet with some washers to clear a chunky tube or two so that might work

If you want pics let me know.
 
I have done this also and agree some doubling up on one space for two fitments

i ended up using the sjs cycles thorn expedition rack http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/thorn-expedi ... prod11694/

you can see in the info part by using 6mm bolts your max load is 60kg and by using 5mm bolts they reccomend upto 40kg. Bearing in mind the kiddywink was going to be on the back I over engineered to 60kg and to fit mudguards as well I used slightly longer bolts with nyloc nuts.

On the thread parts of the bike I did as a safety again for kiddy wink, get slightly longer bolts where space permitted and run the bolt through the thread and nyloc bolted it again on the back
 
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