Using Riv-nuts

[Grldtnr]

I bought a used Gravel / cross bike Boardman CX, seems a fair spec for a low end bike.
It has some braze ons, eyelets for mudguards, but nothing to mount racks to on the forks, though it does have eyelets for front guards.
I have thought of Riv- nuts, for those who don't know, they are like pop rivets, but use a threaded insert instead of rivet, I could have proper braze on mounts put in, or just bolt on a low rider pannier system, with p- clips and u- bolts, but a more simpler way would be to drill into the forks and fit these Riv- nuts.
There is the thing that the fork blade might be weak ex and I might introduce a stress fracture, but braze ons , depending on how they are fitted will likely be drilled then brazed, which might introduce a weak point anyway.
Professional braze ons will cost, with a refurb paint job needed, might just get away with a local touch up paint, P- clips and u- bolt fixings are likely to work & vibrate loose, with consequences of that.
So is there any merit in using Riv- nuts, if the bike was an old clunker I wouldn't be worried, but this bike is a clean low milage one, and worth looking after , I don't know how long I'll keep it,as might want to offload it soon ,hence my reasons not to spend too much money on it,even if I got it for a reasonable price

[rjb]

Steel forks. Riv nuts may be suitable. Someone on this forum sold a tandem with a hole in the forks having inserted too long a bolt into an internal braze on on one side only which went right through the fork and out the back. he had ridden it many miles without an issue. You may be ok but keep an eye on it initially.
Riv nuts are often used on the down tube for water bottle mounts.

[TrevA]

Aren’t the forks carbon fibre? If they are, I would be wary of using Rivnuts. P Clips are another way of mounting a rack to the forks.

[tim-b]

How are rivnuts, with your concerns about stresses, etc, simpler than P-clips?
Are the extant front 'guard eyelets not usable?

[bikepacker]

I used Riv-nuts to fit an extra bottle cage on a Mercian frame. I borrowed the riveter tool from a car mechanic who gave me a quick lesson in how to use it. Everything went okay and the never had a problem.

[Grldtnr]

Aren’t the forks carbon fibre? If they are, I would be wary of using Rivnuts. P Clips are another way of mounting a rack to the forks.

Not sure, I don't think they are Carbon fibre, but if they are fibre it would be complete folly.
I believe they are steel or alu, P- clips may vibrate loose, there are eyelets for one set of stays, but this is an off rd bike , I don't want to fit guards.
I intend to fit low rider racks.

[531colin]

Either buy a fork with the mountings you want ( with same offset and axle to crown length)
Or fit proper low rider mounts drilled through the centre of the leg and brazed in .
It’s your neck if the fork fails, I wouldn’t use riv nuts not brazed, and I wouldn’t use surface brazed fittings unless I knew for sure it’s a thick wall fork tube. ( stress raisers)
Not complex to buy the fittings ( ceeway) and silver solder them yourself …see going to try brazing in too good to lose
Tubus do some fork clamps… ugly but probably work, I wouldn’t use a low rider without a loop over the wheel, doubly so with clamps round the fork

[Nearholmer]

I used a 2016 Boardman cx as a gravel bike for years, and my BiL is still using it occasionally now, and the forks are very definitely carbon on that one.

It’s an absolutely brilliant bike with just a day bag, very quick, but I found the geometry and the inability to put bags on the forks made it a bit exciting for multi-day trips, because even with fairly light rear panniers the front wheel unloaded rather too easily. More than once I was into accidental wheelies!

[bikepacker]

I wouldn’t use a low rider without a loop over the wheel, doubly so with clamps round the fork

Used Tubus Duo front racks without a loop over the wheel for the last 20 years and around 80,000 miles fully loaded, without the slightest hint of a problem.

[Nearholmer]

Can you not get fork cages with strap mounts specifically for carbon forks these days? If you can, that might not give you lots of capacity, but it might allow you to get enough weight at the front to counterbalance the load at the back, especially if you can get a decent bar-bag on too (sometimes a challenge due to cable routing, restricted distance between hoods etc)

[Grldtnr]

These strap on racks you speak of ,which brand should I be looking at.
Certainly is a case of a balanced load, primarily looking at bikepacking weekends for the CX, enough to carry a bulky sleep mat & bag.
A saddle bag ought to cope with a bivvy and everything else. Carradice Camper longflap is capacious enough

[Nearholmer]

I’m afraid I don’t know brands - I moved onto a steel bike, with steel forks, and more little warts than you can shake a stick at before becoming aware of the strap-on cages. If nobody here knows brands, the Gravel Bikes UK group on Facebook is bound to contain oodles of people who do.

PS: quick google found this one https://www.zefal.com/en/front-bags/625 ... -pack.html. Zefal stuff tends to be a bit basic and plasticky, but equally always seems robust and good value for money.

[531colin]

I wouldn’t use a low rider without a loop over the wheel, doubly so with clamps round the fork

Used Tubus Duo front racks without a loop over the wheel for the last 20 years and around 80,000 miles fully loaded, without the slightest hint of a problem.

Tubular steel rack with tubes going both sides of the mid fork fixing point? Actually I would probably trust that without a loop….. with mid fork fixings brazed through ….but is there an effective non- brazed mid fork mount?
Much less impressed with racks made of Ali rod.