A secret third variety of Nitto R-14?

[Bob]

I have a Nitto R-14 rear rack with tombstone (backstop/loadstop) and the single hole for a mounting a reflector or light. The tombstone interferes with a bag or two that I like to use, so I have considered the version with… let's call it a curb (shown here: https://global.bluelug.com/nitto-r14-rear-bag-supporter-silver.html).

But I have seen a few photos of an R-14 with neither the tombstone nor the curb and a three-hole mounting plate for a taillight. This is the version on Vaughn's custom from 2021 (https://www.rivbike.com/blogs/customer-bikes/vaughns-custom-andreas-sam-and-some-other-miscellany?_pos=1&_sid=94274944c&_ss=r). I can't find evidence of this version for sale anywhere, though. Does anyone know more about it?

Thank you.

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Bob

[Bones]

Bob, this rack does exist; I have one and it is currently attached to my Hillborne. I bought it to accommodate my large rear Sackville bag, for which the tombstone would interfere. Unfortunately, I cannot recall where I purchased it (somewhere on the interwebs, some years ago).

Bones 

[Bob]

Good to know, Bones. My tombstone-having R-14 likewise interferes with my medium Saddlesack, though it works fine with my large. I prefer to carry the medium most of the time, though.

Another member messaged me off-list to suggest that the rack on Vaughn's custom might be a prototype that RBW had hanging around. These data (all two of them) exclude neither the prototype theory nor the commercially-available theory. But there are at least two such R-14s in the world!

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Bob

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

I acquired a new silver flat  R-14  (no tombstone, no "curb") from soma fabrications just last month.

Nitto Rack Rear R14 Riv Silver | Soma Fab Shop

Yours,
Thomas Lynn Skean

[Danny]

I've got one on a bike too, bought it from a list member back in 2021.

Will mentions the no-tombstone R-14 in a newsletter back in 2020 and talks about cutting off tombstones on racks. So that's always an option if you can't find the version you're after.

This picture and specifically the old-version R-14 rack on the back reminds me of something I wanted to put in an email update: If you're having trouble putting a saddlesack onto a rack with a tombstone (that pretty rounded piece on the frame-side of the rack), it's OK to cut it off. I did exactly that to my basket rack so I could push the basket closer to the headtube for slightly better handling.

We used big bolt cutters and filed the sharp edge smooth.

Danny

Madison, WI

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[Adam S]

I have a black flat R14 with the three-hole light mount that I got from Merry Sales earlier this year. I would guess that the photos of the silver R14 on the Soma Fab site are older and that the current ones have the light mount that you're looking for.

Adam

Santa Fe, NM

[P W]

Was gonna say, if you zoom in on the photo, the back looks perhaps a little uneven, like maybe the tombstone has been hacked off and filed down…

P. W.

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(917) 514-2207

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On Jul 31, 2025, at 9:37 AM, Danny <scre...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Thomas Lynn Skean]

Here’s what I got when I ordered via the link I shared:

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

On Jul 31, 2025, at 11:53 AM, P W <philip....@gmail.com> wrote:

Was gonna say, if you zoom in on the photo, the back looks perhaps a little uneven, like maybe the tombstone has been hacked off and filed down…

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[thomasl...@comcast.net]

crap... photo-failure... if i can fix it i'll make the picture available somehow

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

If this doesn't work i'm afraid my photo will be a no-show.

[Mike Godwin]

I agree with P.W., the silver is flat in the tombstone area relative to the semi-gloss of the rest of the rack. 

Perhaps one of these  Nitto Rack Rear R10 Bag Supporter | Soma Fab Shop

Someone on 650b or this, or ibob has one posted for sale. 

Mike SLO CA

[Bob]

Thanks for the insights and the recommendations. I'll get with Merry Sales/Soma and see what's what.

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Bob

[Bob]

Have confirmation from Soma/MSC that the silver R14 "without loadstop" is indeed completely flat at the forward end of the rack platform. Unsightly bag bunching on my All Rounder will soon be a thing of the past. Another win for the collective intelligence of the RBWOB, and thank you again for that.

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Bob

[Bill Lindsay]

That completely flat-top R14 sounds useful.  I'll keep it in mind.  

BL in EC

[JustinB]

This rack is available at Soma Fab Shop right now:

https://www.somafabshop.com/shop/nitto-rack-rear-r14-riv-silver-2874#attr=4213

[Bob]

That is true, Justin! Though to be sure, they have at least one fewer than they did a few days ago, because mine arrived yesterday and is in my garage awaiting installation.

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Bob