Lesser racks are often rated higher, but a higher rating doesn't make them stronger, it just means the ratings are less conservative. Tubus racks are great...I have used them, I totally trust them, but they are much thinner than Nitto racks (lighter tubing), and they are not triangulated at the joints, where racks break. We know exactly where a Tubus rack is likely to break if it breaks, which is unlikely in the first place...because we have one here, off a demo bike, broken. That doesn't mean it's defective, but it did break. Last week I was thinking hey let's get some Nitto tig versions of the same racks. Nitto sez: The tubing's too thin to TIG, it would have to be much thicker. Even tho EVERY TIG'd rear rack is made with thinner-walled tubes than Nitto.
I am sure all rack makers test their racks. In 2013 they'd be insane not to, but they aren't tested to the same conservative standards. About 12 years ago I asked Nitto to make a 220g drop bar, knowing there were several 220g or lighter drops out there, and naturally theirs would be the strongest. They said they couldn't make one that passed their tests, and I said what about the ________, ________, and __________---they're made in Taiwan and you can beat that, right? And NITTO said (naming names privately, telling me not to go public with that) all those bars failed their tests quickly. Nitto also says---and this may scare you---that even a handlebar that's not crashed should be retired after ten years, because aluminum doesn't last like steel does. Now, this doesn't mean that your 35 year old Cinelli #66 is a better bar than Nitto, it just means Nitto is more conservative. Rack capacities (back to them) are funny things, because --- you can put 70 pounds on a rear rack, but it's held there by tiny braze-ons, and that's a lot of stress even when everything's tight. Bolts often come loose, and when a bolt is even slightly loose, the stresses go haywire. The tight bolt's eyelet is overstressed, and if the bolt works out it imposes a lot more leverage on that one dropout. Loose bolts break racks just like heavy loads do, but they leave no trace, like stabbing somebody with an icycle (sorry, making a point). Check your bolts! And...stay away from Nitto racks if you know yourself enough to know that you'll likely overload them and you never check your bolts. Sometimes somebody says how come the Nitto M12 is so much lighter than the Mini you sell? It's much thinner, and is made to be a handlebar bag support, not an actual front rack for carrying stuff. It's a good bag support, but it's not a rack-rack. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
