UD Racks: a modular system for canti and disc bikes
After 2 years of R&D, we’re excited to introduce the UD-2 rack in a version for cantilever brakes. All you need to fit this rack on your bike is a hole in the fork crown and cantilever brakes.
Handlebar bags are popular for touring, randonneuring and bikepacking, because they offer a lot of capacity in an easy-to-access location. They don’t extend beyond the outline of the bike, making it easy to pass through tight spots. Handlebar bags work best when they are supported by a rack.
The Rene Herse UD racks are part of a modular system that uses the same platform, with different struts, to fit bikes with disc and cantilever brakes. Attach it to the canti posts (canti model), to mid-fork eyelets or even to the dropouts (disc model)! And best of all, the struts are available separately, so you can move the rack from one bike to the next.
The new canti-specific UD-2 rack comes with 150 mm struts that fit on bikes with a post-to-crown (PTC) distance of 70 – 98 mm. That specification includes most touring bikes and a lot of mountain bikes. Later this year, we’ll offer longer stays that fit bikes with very generous tire clearances.
Why did it take 2 years to develop the UD-2 rack? When we introduced the UD-1 for disc brakes, we figured it would be easy to modify the stays so they fit on cantilever posts… But a bend in the struts where they connect to the canti posts weakened the tabs, and they kept cracking in our testing. We went from an aluminum to a stainless steel strut, and finally to CrMo steel and a different design that eliminates the bend. Now the UD-2 is strong enough for heavy loads on rough roads. It’s been tested on Nitto’s fatigue testing machines for 10,000s of miles without problems. (Nitto makes Rene Herse racks to our own superlight specifications.)
The new rack joins the UD-1 Disc rack, which attaches to eyelets on the fork or to the dropouts. Both use the same platform…
… and the struts are available separately. This allows you to move the rack from one bike to the next.
Both UD racks are compatible with our innovative light mount: It uses the weight of the light to keep the attachment bolt tight – no matter how much your bike vibrates, the light mount will never come loose. And out on the open road, you’ll appreciate that the angle of the headlight is adjustable by hand.
In other rack news, our ultralight CP-1 rack for centerpull brakes is now available with an elegant light mount for ‘hanging’ SON Edelux lights. The location of the light has been optimized to be close to the rack for optimum protection and elegance, yet it does not cast a shadow on your trajectory during right turns.
At just 168 g, the CP-1 is one of the lightest racks ever made, yet it’s strong enough to carry a heavy handlebar bag on rough roads. (You need a fork with centerpull brake pivots for this rack.)
The CP-1 rack is also available with a ‘standing’ light mount that allows you to run most headlights, or with simple eyelets in case you don’t always want to use a light.
To complement the popular Berthoud saddles, we now offer two Nitto seatposts. The S-65 is a lightweight single-bolt seatpost made to Nitto’s famous quality standards.
The S-83, better known as ‘Frog,’ has two bolts to clamp the saddle ultra-securely. Both are available in 250 and 300 mm lengths.
The Berthoud mirrors, both in the standard aluminum version and with leather inserts (above), have been so popular that it’s been hard to keep up with demand. Now all models are back in stock.
Click on the links above to learn more about these products, or click here to head to the Rene Herse Cycles web site and browse the entire program.
