RR-1A	RR-2A	RR-3S

Overview

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RR-1A
(#1064)

Front View	Rear View	Side View

Technical Details

I acquired my RR-1A from CWC Supply in 2007.

The RR-1A is a conventional large bar, U-frame rack. The frame is 287 mm. long and made from 9.5 mm. stainless steel bent into a U-shape with a 36 mm. internal width. There are four 25 mm. diameter solid aluminum brake bars. The first and third are 114 mm. long. These two are drilled but not slotted, so they do not open. The top bar has a 25 mm. high hyperbar pin made from 7.8 mm. stainless steel set 17 mm from the frame. The top bar has a short (19 mm.), shallow (1.3 mm. deep) milled rope centering groove. The groove is not centered, but sits 14.4 mm. from the inside leg of the frame, opposite from the hyperbar pin. The third bar is plain. The second and fourth bars are 74 mm. long and slotted so that they can swing open. A stainless steel hex nut and a stainless steel acorn nut on each leg of the frame hold the bars in place.

There are no markings on my RR-1A.

Comments

The Mio Mechanical web site indicates that the frame on the RR-1A is shorter than the one on the RR-2A, but mine are identical.

The long third bar does nothing for me except to add weight. Similarly, I do not have much use for hyperbars, particularly when the top posts or nuts extend as far above the top bar as they do on this rack. If I need a more secure lock-off, a hyperbar is not going to be enough for me, and I'll use an ascender.

Mio Mechanical makes a similar model 1S with stainless steel bars that are similar to the upper bars on my RR-3S.

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RR-2A
(#1065)

Front View	Rear View	Side View

Technical Details

I acquired my RR-2A from CWC Supply in 2007.

The RR-2A is a conventional large bar, U-frame rack. The frame is 290 mm. long and made from 9.5 mm. stainless steel bent into a U-shape with a 36 mm. internal width. There are six 25 mm. diameter solid aluminum brake bars. The top bar 114 mm. long, while the rest are 74 mm. long. The odd numbered bars are drilled but not slotted, so they do not open. The top bar has a 25 mm. high hyperbar pin made from 7.8 mm. stainless steel set 17 mm. from the frame. The top bar has a short (19 mm.), shallow (1.6 mm. deep) milled rope centering groove. The groove is centered. The even numbered bars are slotted so that they can swing open. A stainless steel hex nut and a stainless steel acorn nut on each leg of the frame hold the bars in place.

There are no markings on my RR-2A.

Comments

The RR-2A is more reasonable than the RR-1A, since it does not have the long third bar, and it provides two extra bars and their oft-needed friction. Unfortunately, they did not follow the advice in my article "Design of Specialty Racks" in The Nylon Highway #9, which showed that most of the heat goes into the top two bars, and that the lower bars can be made smaller to save weight. Of course, industrial users have elevators to go up and cranes to lift their gear, so they are not as weight conscious as cavers and climbers are. They also tend to associate with lawyers, who sometimes foolishly think that bigger is better instead of "skilled is better."

Mio Mechanical makes a similar model 2S with stainless steel bars that are similar to the upper bars on my RR-3S.

The ASR and RSI are similar racks.

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RR-3S
(#1070)

Front View	Rear View

Technical Details

I acquired my RR-3S from CWC Supply in 2007.

The RR-3S is a nonconventional large bar, U-frame rack. The frame is inverted compared to the standard U-frame design, and the tie in point is a swiveling eye suspended from the lowest bar. The frame is 350 mm. long and made from 9.5 mm. stainless steel bent into a U-shape with a 36 mm. internal width. There are seven 25 mm. diameter, 2.8 mm. wall thickness tubular stainless steel brake bars. The top bar 114 mm. long, while the rest are 74 mm. long. The odd numbered bars are drilled but not slotted, so they do not open. The top bar has a 25 mm. high hyperbar pin made from 7.8 mm. stainless steel set 18 mm. from the frame. The top bar has a short (19 mm.), shallow (3.0 mm. deep) rope centering groove formed by "denting" the top bar. This gave the top bad a distinct inward bend. The groove is not centered, but sits 13 mm. from the inside leg of the frame, opposite from the hyperbar pin. The even numbered bars are slotted so that they can swing open. The bottom center of the bottom bar has a drilled hole that accepts a 59 mm. long, 9.4 mm. diameter steel rod. Both ends of this rod are threaded. The upper end passes through the center hole in the lower bar and engages a hex nut within the bar. I cannot see this connection clearly enough to know how, but it is fixed in some way, since the steel rod does not move up and down in the hole. The lower end passes through a swivel eye and to another hex nut. This nut is pinned so that it cannot turn. A stainless steel hex nut and a stainless steel acorn nut on each leg of the frame hold the bars in place.

The eye of my RR-3S is marked with "1227-2," a "B" inside a diamond, and "00."

Comments

How did someone come up with the idea of clipping into the bars of a rack instead of the frame? I don't know, but it is definitely odd. The advantage, of course, is that it provides a simple way to attach a swivel to a rack. Mio Mechanical suggests that this is an advantage for window washers who must position equipment. I find it unnecessary for caving and climbing, and I don't really like the "feel" of having my rack rotate. Incidentally, this is not the first rack to feature a swivel eye; for example, I acquired a Boris Laptev (Борис Лаптев) J-frame rack with a swivel eye in 1994. Of the two, I trust the eye on the RR-3S more.

Mio Mechanical makes a similar model 3A with solid aluminum bars bars similar to those on my RR-1A and RR-2A.

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