Salsa Down Under Front Bike Rack
A low-rider-style rack made to accommodate touring panniers, the Salsa Down Under front bike rack can haul up to 33 lbs. of gear, including clothing, water, food or a stove.
- Heat-treated tubular 6061 aluminum resists cracking
- Durable powder-coated finish helps extend the life of your rack
- 3-position mid-blade mount for secure and easy integration
- Maximum recommended load is 33 lbs. (15kg)
Imported.
View all Salsa Bike Cargo Racks| Best Use | Bikepacking Bike Touring |
|---|---|
| Rack Mount Position | Front Mount |
| Rack Mount Type | Frame Mount |
| Fits Wheel Size | 26 to 29+ inches |
| Weight Capacity (lbs) | 33 pounds |
| Material(s) | Aluminum |
| Weight | 1 lb. 2.7 oz. |
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So far so good
Ordered these new online, besides them coming restocked(someone purchased, tried and returned them is my guess - someone even put wrong instructions back - I got instruction manual for ortlieb panniers instead of this rack :) ) - they fit very well and look good. I bought these for Salsa Marrakesh. Time will show how they handle.
Good, but check compatibility
This rack has some really nice features: it's light, sturdy, inexpensive, and has a nice minimalist look. Maybe most importantly, it allows you to carry your bags low, close to the hub of the wheel which helps a lot with bike balance and handling. Before buying, I would check three things. First, if you have disc brakes make sure the rack will clear the brake calipers since this rack mounts right up against the fork. Otherwise your panniers may rub and affect brake performance. If you have rim brakes, you're fine. Second, make sure your bags are compatible. I first tried mine with the smaller Ortlieb Front Rollers, but the rack's horizontal bar across the center doesn't really match the bottom hook on the bag...again especially with disc brakes which block some potential points of intersection. Tubus racks have a diagonal bar which gives you a better point of intersection between bag and rack. The Ortlieb Back Rollers seem to fit the width of the Salsa rack better. Finally, if you're keen on having fenders be prepared to go through one or two beers while you figure out how to route the fender struts to the fender eyelets on your frame...again because this rack fits close to the fork. I ended up with a Surly front rack. Opposite end of the spectrum from the Salsa, but solved all the above problems.
Good solid front rack system
Installed on a 2017 Salsa Vaya. Tricky to install. Instructions said to install the inner fork screw first. I could only get it to work by installing the lower fork tang screw first. Easy after that.
Signficant compatibility issues
Thank goodness for the REI return guarantee. This page doesn't show you that you need mounting eyelets on the exterior and interior of the fork. This doesn't show that they will interfere with fender braces. Unless your bike is also from Salsa and comes with fender and racks pre-installed, I would assume these will not be compatible with your bike.
Robust and Easy to Install
I found the front racks pretty easy to install. I had to take them off and re-install them multiple times because I had to load my bike on a bus and it wasn't a problem at all. I also hung pretty heavy bags on them, probably heavier than suggested, and they were doing just fine.
Salsa Down Under Rack hardly fits
The Salsa front rack has some design issues. 1. to install the rack you must put it in the loosest geometry, set the screws and use a mallet to hammer it into a level position. 2, Either the rack is not properly dimensioned or, the braze-ons are not properly positioned on the fork. 3. The clamp which holds the top of the rack to the outside of the fork is too small for the diameter of the rack tubing making it impossible to fully close tightly. The screw threads are exposed in the gap. This is unsightly. 4. Even in the loosest position, when hammering the rack, from the back, to put it into a level position, the clamp scratches the finish of the rack as it slides through it. The rack is too either too short between bottom of the fork anchor and the middle of the fork anchor, or the braze-on on the Marrakesh are slightly further apart than the rack holes . The rack simply will not fit without forcing it. Forcing the rack in place is actually stress elongating rack (bending or bowing the metal bars to reach the screw holes positions). 5. The bottom of the rack mounts to one of two screw holes on the bottom of the fork. Of course it occupies the back screw hole which would be ideal for the fender strut. The front screw hole essentially becomes useless. The fender strut must be mounted on top of the rack with a longer screw. A better design would have been to have the rack mount to the front screw hole. 6. Once I installed the rack, I went to remove the front wheel but could not because, the rack frame prevented the quick release axle from fully passing out of the fork. I had to remove the axle entirely to remove the front wheel.