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RACKS
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NKracks are a DIY rear rack design. Each rack weighs 44 grams. They have been designed and made around a Surly Ogre frame dropout but can be modified to fit other steel or titanium frames.
Mini rear pannier bags have become very popular. They are an effective way of carrying the stuff you need while maintaining a good distribution of weight. The problem with rear pannier bags is that the racks needed for them tend to be heavy. Having a heavy steel frame bike myself, I’m cautious of adding more weight to it. My DIY rack solves this problem as they only weigh 88 grams for a pair, which is considerably lighter than the lightest rear racks in the market. Although this rack has been designed to fit Surly Ogre, ECR, Troll and other Surly frames (with the same dropout), it can be modified to fit many other steel and titanium, or even aluminium, frames.
The NKrack is made using aluminium flat bars, spacers, nuts and bolts.The design is based on two flat bars bolted together with spacers between them to create a gap of 3mm. This design increases the rigidity of the bars and reduces the flex of the aluminium significantly. The flat bars I used for the racks are 22mm wide and 3mm thick, cut to 150mm length. The standard bottle cage mounting holes on a bike frame are 64mm apart; 150mm cut gives you enough length to drill 3 holes with a 64mm gap between them.
These racks will fit frames with dropouts that have two eyelets. These eyelets should be positioned vertically and at least 45mm away from each other. Holes drilled on the racks are 5mm wide which allows you to use standard M5 bolts. The spacers I used came from an old chain: if you take an old chain apart, you can use the rollers as spacers. I drilled more holes to reduce the weight. You have to use spacers between the two aluminium flat bars at the points where you want to bolt the bars together or attach the rack to the frame. Not using spacers will result in the two bars being squeezed together and damaged. After building the rack using the precise measurements of your frame, you should be able to attach different cages, mounts and strap anchors to the rack and use the bags of your choice.
I have used and tested these racks extensively in different bikepacking trips. I have used them mostly to attach Ortlieb fork packs to my frame and have so far been very happy with the result. If you think you have the right frame for it, give it a try. Drop a comment at the bottom of this page if you have any questions or suggestions.
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