Nomad MK2 forks and Ortlieb QLS fork bag

[KvBCycles]

Good afternoon all,

I am trying to lighten up my touring setup and my Nomad MK2, and I recently removed the heavy Surley front rack (almost 2kg!) with the idea I could mount fork bags (like the Ortlieb 4.1L fork bag). Unfortunately it seems that the bosses on the Thorn steel fork do not line up to the Ortlieb QLS mounting bracket, but provided with the bag are 2 metal straps with rubber shrink tubing to strap it to the fork - however, I am not sure if this is more for a straight fork that has an equal diameter top to bottom, whereas the Thorn fork tapers and curves forward toward the bottom.
Does anyone have any experience mounting fork bags onto the Nomad MK2 forks without custom making adaptors? Whether it is the Ortlieb bags themselves or another product off the shelf, any advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

[Danneaux]

Apologies for lack of photo at the moment (I currently have my Tubus Tara pannier rack mounted in lieu of what I am about to describe), but the following description should get you where you need to go without needing more than a simple hacksaw and perhaps a file...

1) Go to your local bike shop and purchase two stainless steel rack mounting tangs, the long-reach kind used to mount the upper end of aluminum rear racks to the seatstays of small frames.

2) Hacksaw off the twisted end and eye, leaving a flat strap with a long slot.

3) Mount the strap spanning the dropout eye and the lowrider boss using standard socket-head machine screws and washers. You may need to stack a couple washers to serve as spacers if the mount doesn't stand proud of the fork blade.

4) Using Nylock/blue threadlocked nuts, machine screws, and washers, install the mounting hardware for your fork bags, large water bottles, cargo cages, etc onto the repurposed rack straps. 2-screw or 3-screw mounts can be easily accommodated as spacing is up to you thnks to the slotted tang. At either end, the mounting bosses are generally more secure than a downtube socketed bottle boss in the unbutted section of a frame tube and they are intended to carry the weight of panniers on a rack.

For heavy-duty applications, double the stainless straps, one over the other.

This is inexpensive, easy to make, and has worked well for me on my converted touring-to-gravel bike equipped with fork lowrider bosses and forged dropout mudguard eyes. Wishing I had a photo, but this description should help. Give a shout if it isn't clear.

Best, Dan.

EDIT: You'll rack tangs long enough to span about 165mm for standard fork blade lowrider boss-to-dropout distance. Measure yours to be sure.

[mickeg]

I do not know how much the Thorn rack weighs, I do not own one.  But that is smaller if you stay with conventional panniers.

With regular panniers, I use a different rack made by Axiom.  The rack is aluminum and does not weigh very much. 

I wanted my panniers mounted up a bit higher so I tried this rack.  And after I installed it, I did not like how it looked like it could be damaged in a crash, so I added an additional aluminum bar bracket to connect to the other side of the fork upper mounting to make sure that the rack could not easily bend if I had a crash.

In the photo I also added some plastic hose to protect the paint from chaffing.  The pannier brackets attach several inches above where the fork mounting is, which is the main reason I picked this rack.  Bottom of front pannier is almost as high as the rear panniers. 

On a different bike with the front panniers hanging down really low, I scrapped a curb with my pannier once.  Fortunately I did not crash, but that made me nervous about panniers being that low.

Top bar is not quite horizontal, but it is close enough that it does not bother me.

The extra aluminum bar brackets that I added are 3/4 X 1/8 inch, and i sprayed them black.

I have Ortlieb Frontrollers and Backrollers in the photos.

I had a Surly rack and after two tours, I donated it to charity and bought different front racks.  (I have three touring bikes, I have three different front racks for them.)

I am looking forward to when Dan has a photo of his mounting system.  I suspect it is something similar to something that I have considered doing with some aluminum bar instead of the stainless bracket that he used.  I was thinking using an aluminum bar (3/4 X 1/8 inch) and drill two holes, one hole for upper fork rack mount and one hole for lower rack or fender mount on the fork.  Then add two or three holes in it for a cargo cage.  Might be able to use the uppermost rack mounting bolt to also hold the cargo cage.  Would likely have to bend it slightly so it does not rub on the fork paint.

[mickeg]

One other thought, a gal I know used some plastic mounts that attached to her fork with zip ties and adhesive, her carbon fork had no mounting points on it so that was her only option.

I do not know the brand, but an internet search might find them.  She had a bit of a problem with it shifting in position, the adhesive did not grip it well enough.  But a Nomad fork is likely something that could use a better strap than a thick zip tie.

[martinf]

I am trying to lighten up my touring setup and my Nomad MK2, and I recently removed the heavy Surley front rack (almost 2kg!)

Not quite what you are looking for, but the Thorn Low Loader front rack is quoted at 560g. This setup is rated at 12 Kg per side, which is twice the maximum recommended load for my Raven Tour forks. The way this rack is mounted makes it very secure on a Thorn fork designed for this type of rack.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/carriers-racks/thorn-mkv-cro-mo-steel-loloader-black-powder-coat/?geoc=FR

I use this rack with Ortleib Sport Packer Plus panniers, 30L the set, but it could be used with lighter and smaller bags. And some rear panniers - I sometimes use Ortleib Bike Packer Plus, which are 40L the set.

[KvBCycles]

Hi Dan, this sounded like the simple solution right up my alley! Unfortunately, I cannot get my hands on a pair after visiting several bike shops here in Rome - while they stocked panniers and bags, none had these.
Thank you for the detailed explanation - it is certainly not something I am going to give up just yet, will extend my search to online.

Apologies for lack of photo at the moment (I currently have my Tubus Tara pannier rack mounted in lieu of what I am about to describe), but the following description should get you where you need to go without needing more than a simple hacksaw and perhaps a file...

1) Go to your local bike shop and purchase two stainless steel rack mounting tangs, the long-reach kind used to mount the upper end of aluminum rear racks to the seatstays of small frames.

2) Hacksaw off the twisted end and eye, leaving a flat strap with a long slot.

3) Mount the strap spanning the dropout eye and the lowrider boss using standard socket-head machine screws and washers. You may need to stack a couple washers to serve as spacers if the mount doesn't stand proud of the fork blade.

4) Using Nylock/blue threadlocked nuts, machine screws, and washers, install the mounting hardware for your fork bags, large water bottles, cargo cages, etc onto the repurposed rack straps. 2-screw or 3-screw mounts can be easily accommodated as spacing is up to you thnks to the slotted tang. At either end, the mounting bosses are generally more secure than a downtube socketed bottle boss in the unbutted section of a frame tube and they are intended to carry the weight of panniers on a rack.

For heavy-duty applications, double the stainless straps, one over the other.

This is inexpensive, easy to make, and has worked well for me on my converted touring-to-gravel bike equipped with fork lowrider bosses and forged dropout mudguard eyes. Wishing I had a photo, but this description should help. Give a shout if it isn't clear.

Best, Dan.

EDIT: You'll rack tangs long enough to span about 165mm for standard fork blade lowrider boss-to-dropout distance. Measure yours to be sure.

[KvBCycles]

Hi Mick, thank you for the detailed post and suggestions, appreciate it!
Personally I want to avoid mounting panniers again to try keep it as light as possible. I like the size of the 4L Ortliebs and do not really want to go bigger than that. I have the ability to carry my gear on the back, which is not very much anyway.
Here is a pic of my Nomad from yesterday on the Spoleto to Terni trail in Umbria, Italy. On the back I have 2x 20L Ortliebs and I can strap my tent on the rack if I need to, however, as this was a day trip, 1 bag was plenty.

I do not know how much the Thorn rack weighs, I do not own one.  But that is smaller if you stay with conventional panniers.

With regular panniers, I use a different rack made by Axiom.  The rack is aluminum and does not weigh very much. 

I wanted my panniers mounted up a bit higher so I tried this rack.  And after I installed it, I did not like how it looked like it could be damaged in a crash, so I added an additional aluminum bar bracket to connect to the other side of the fork upper mounting to make sure that the rack could not easily bend if I had a crash.

In the photo I also added some plastic hose to protect the paint from chaffing.  The pannier brackets attach several inches above where the fork mounting is, which is the main reason I picked this rack.  Bottom of front pannier is almost as high as the rear panniers. 

On a different bike with the front panniers hanging down really low, I scrapped a curb with my pannier once.  Fortunately I did not crash, but that made me nervous about panniers being that low.

Top bar is not quite horizontal, but it is close enough that it does not bother me.

The extra aluminum bar brackets that I added are 3/4 X 1/8 inch, and i sprayed them black.

I have Ortlieb Frontrollers and Backrollers in the photos.

I had a Surly rack and after two tours, I donated it to charity and bought different front racks.  (I have three touring bikes, I have three different front racks for them.)

I am looking forward to when Dan has a photo of his mounting system.  I suspect it is something similar to something that I have considered doing with some aluminum bar instead of the stainless bracket that he used.  I was thinking using an aluminum bar (3/4 X 1/8 inch) and drill two holes, one hole for upper fork rack mount and one hole for lower rack or fender mount on the fork.  Then add two or three holes in it for a cargo cage.  Might be able to use the uppermost rack mounting bolt to also hold the cargo cage.  Would likely have to bend it slightly so it does not rub on the fork paint.

[KvBCycles]

Thanks again Mick.
Yes, something I have been considering.
The sales team at Thorn forwarded me a link to a youtube video with a guy strapping cargo cages to his mounting point-less forks, here it is: https://youtu.be/hTpfr6JMnuA?si=Lntm1Jd2YlNpN-Xs

One other thought, a gal I know used some plastic mounts that attached to her fork with zip ties and adhesive, her carbon fork had no mounting points on it so that was her only option.

I do not know the brand, but an internet search might find them.  She had a bit of a problem with it shifting in position, the adhesive did not grip it well enough.  But a Nomad fork is likely something that could use a better strap than a thick zip tie.

[KvBCycles]

Cheers Martin, indeed, not quite what I am looking for but thanks for the suggestion - rack is pretty light compared to my old Surley one.

I am trying to lighten up my touring setup and my Nomad MK2, and I recently removed the heavy Surley front rack (almost 2kg!)

Not quite what you are looking for, but the Thorn Low Loader front rack is quoted at 560g. This setup is rated at 12 Kg per side, which is twice the maximum recommended load for my Raven Tour forks. The way this rack is mounted makes it very secure on a Thorn fork designed for this type of rack.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/carriers-racks/thorn-mkv-cro-mo-steel-loloader-black-powder-coat/?geoc=FR

I use this rack with Ortleib Sport Packer Plus panniers, 30L the set, but it could be used with lighter and smaller bags. And some rear panniers - I sometimes use Ortleib Bike Packer Plus, which are 40L the set.

[UKTony]

A few possibilities here of lightweight fork racks/cages to take strapped on dry bags, with the versatility of slotted fixing holes which should allow utilisation of the non standard spacing between the uppermost and lower mounts on the Nomad fork. Though some adaption might be needed to take the slightly larger diameter M6 screws (as opposed to the usual M5) needed for those two mounting points. The racks are aluminium so, if necessary, it should be an easy matter to lengthen the slots to accommodate the non standard distance between the upper and lower rack mounts on the Mk2 Nomad fork.
As Dan has already indicated, because those mounting points are on different sides of the fork, it might be necessary to use stand-off washers to clear the outside of the fork. Also you’d need to be sure  the rack lower shelf structure doesn’t interfere with the axle nuts. The Acid rack looks like it might be a good bet especially as the blurb says it’s ok to mount to just two mounting points whereas I think the others need 3 mounting points to get the full benefit of their recommended  weight carrying capacity. Hope this helps. Ive not tried any of these cages on my Nomad, incidentally! Hope you find what you’re looking for.
 The more expensive option of course would be to swap out the dedicated Nomad fork for a bike packing fork with the standard three mounting points in each fork.



Aluminium Bike Fork Rack for Bikepacking and Extra Storage -ROCKBROS


https://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/accessories/bags-luggage/acid-front-carrier-fork-cage-in-black__99512?currency=GBP&chosenAttribute=93995&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=14598581429&gbraid=0AAAAADKiiCJSf1WkGuMrdB58_8PWid2Oe&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqL3rudOClwMVWJNQBh2RVwGzEAQYEyABEgKRHvD_BwE

[UKTony]

Link to the third fork rack, missing from my previous post above,

https://www.accessimpact.co.uk/pelago/p/pelago-fork-rack-black?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22342697461&gbraid=0AAAAAqyNj7GbG-3APEAv0VSVny69lwpI5&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqL3rudOClwMVWJNQBh2RVwGzEAQYCSABEgKbP_D_BwE