New Boxxer not playing nice with North Shore Rack :(

Hey folks,

Gotta bit of a problem here. Just picked up a new Boxxer, and have realized that there is absolutely no way my bike with this fork is going to fit onto my NSR-4 rack. It's a pretty new rack, so it does have the updated "wider" cradles for the fork crown - but there is no way in hell that fork is fitting into that cradle. I thought I could do a bit of tweaking to the cradle fingers to make it fit, but quickly realized it is way beyond any adjustment I could do. The space between the lower headtube and the right stanchion of the fork is way too small. Doesn't look like NSR has any fix for this on their website. Has anybody figured out a fix?? I think I could make it work if I pretty much removed most of the lower-right finger, leaving a very short stub that would still cradle the crown a bit. I don't think I'd be worried about strength, as I'm sure the cradle is way stronger than it needs to be as it is, but I'm sure this would void the rack warranty (if there even is one?).

Big bummer.

Oh no.

I get mine in alright, buddys car he bent the little arm things apart a little more which seems to help

use a piece of pipe or the closed end of a wrench to help you get more leverage on it to bend it open a little to see if it will fit

They need to work out a new system that works around the larger head tubes of the current crop of carbon bikes IMO. Every NSR I've used has been a pain in the ass which is why I'd never buy one at the moment.

I just refurbished my gen 1 NSR (bought in 2007) and had to modify the 'tines' on the rack for my latest bike.  I used a piece of PVC pipe (as suggested by syncro) to spread them out a bit to accommodate the larger headtube.  At least for my gen 1 NSR, I think more of the issue would be how LONG all the new bikes are.  The rear wheel will hang too low to be roped in against the bottom cradle on mine.

1300mm WB 29er hangs on my NSR-4 just fine. 

Saying that I’ll look at 1Up or Recon for my next rack

The newest gen racks this year are taller to deal with longer bikes. Haven't measured but it's noticeable (I went from a 2017ish to 2019). Had some problems with DH bike head tubes on my old one, bending prongs out worked. Those bikes both had Fox 40s though.

Posted by: Endur-Bro

1300mm WB 29er hangs on my NSR-4 just fine.

Saying that I’ll look at 1Up or Recon for my next rack

My bike has a 1260mm WB and is very marginal ground clearance when entering/exiting my underground garage. If I adjust the NSR-4 rack upwards, I have only tiny amount of clearance between the handlebars and the spider web of overhead sprinkler pipes the Strata have put into the garage.

My next bike is 1300mm WB so I've swapped to a tray rack instead. Mind you, the bike is so long the wheels now extend outside the width of the vehicle so that's something I hope I remember to take into account when driving!

I find it interesting that a company, who was a forerunner in bike racks. Would miss design trait changes, that the industry has had in place for years. I got back into riding in 2012 , every bike I have had since then has been a tapered head-tube. Every NSR rack owner I have meet has had a similar issue with their rack.

My frame/fork combo seems to be a worst case scenario. I tried tweaking the tines with a pipe, but wasn't able to get it even close. I'm worried if I go much further, I'll start compromising the welds. I've contacted NSR and they're going to have a look at it next week and try to adjust it themselves. Fingers crossed....

Update: NSR was able to adjust the cradle enough to make my bike fit.

Good to hear!!

I was going to say to contact them and they’ll assist. I had problems with my Maiden and Fox 40s - I was able to bend the fingers to make it work but they also offered to do it. 

Pipe, a long socket with an extension or even a handlebar will help bend those suckers