Pannier Rack

mattrsa

Hi Guys

I'm after a pannier racke for my trek 1.2 that I use to commute to work on as I am fed up of having a sweaty back within 1 min of getting on the bike.

My bike is a 63cm frame so what I need to know if will all racks fit it? Ideally I would like it to be as cheap as possible.

Do all racks fit all bikes. It would be great if I could get one that would fit my road bike and also my mountain bike as I plan to do the coast to coast on the mountain bike later in the year


Thanks in advance
Matt

inkz

I've just slicked up my MTB for commuting and was looking at racks. From looking around on the net I saw loads of recommendations for Carradice saddle bags and have ordered a SQR slim from Wiggle, although from what I can understand there's usually a long wait as they can't keep up with demand.

http://www.carradice.co.uk/index.php?pa ... duct_id=57

buy_my_cookies

i had a 62cm frame and a rack from lidl fit my bike fine, so i'd guess as long as it fits your wheel size 26/700 etc you should be ok with any rack, they have a fair bit of adjustment on them.

If its any help i am sure mine would also fit my mtb with out any problems.

godders1

I would second the Carradice option. I use a bagman support with a Super C saddlebag. Expensive but much slicker than a full on rack and Carradice bags last forever.

corshamjim

The problem with most standard racks is the brackets at the top tend to be cut or bent to length to fit the bike in question so it's unlikely that once fitted to the one bike the rack will fit the other.

Other issues with racks are that full-suspension MTBs often won't take a standard rack for obvious reasons, and rack fitting can (but not always) be a little tricky if the bike has disk brakes. In summary, no, not all racks will fit all bikes. The most likely rack to fit almost any bike is a seatpost-clamp one, but they're not usually as strong as a proper rack, in my experience come adrift too easily (ymmv), and are arguably not a great idea if you have a carbon seat-post.

I'd also recommend the carradice saddlebag with bagman support option, especially for the road bike if it's not used for heavier duty lugging of stuff around. The main reason I've really taken to the saddlebag is unlike a pannier it's in the centre not on one side or the other. I rode with one pannier for a while but the difference in balance is noticeable and can get a bit irritating especially on longer rides.

mattrsa

Hi Guys

Thanks for the replies

Not sure if I made myself very clear, I already have some pannier bags which I want to use but just need a rack that is going to fit my bike.

I have looked at the Blackburn EX1 Expedition Rack as well as some tortec ones but I can't find a definative answer to if they will fit my bike.

Matt

Madproforg

Maybe not the first place most would think of but have a look in Halfords - take a tape measure along. The BikeHut Disc Brake Alloy Bike Pannier Rack would probably do the trick. The legs have quite a bit of extension on them, the Q&A says it fits a Boardman Hybrid Pro medium 2011, so should fit the trek. Will also fit the rockhopper.

The tape measure will allow you to measure how far the legs will go, so you can make sure.

Hoopdriver

Tubus racks are nice and light

MichaelW

Trek 1.2 has std rear rack threads and the eyelets are placed a good distance above the brakes so no interference.
A rack should be compatible with your bag mounting system. That sounds obvious but there are so many fancy designer racks that you need to pick with care. If your panniers have modern, quick-release locking hooks, these need a round section of tube to grasp. Many racks use long sections of twin tubing welded together or have badly placed braces or tabs that interfere with the hook.
Top plates are useful if you run without fenders but are superfluous if you have them. Open frame tops offer more options for lashing large loads.
A rear bracket for lamp/reflector is useful.
Blackburn style fully triangulated legs add stiffness. Doglegs reduce stiffness and add weight and are only needed with floppy , cheap panniers.
Blackburn and Tubus are simple, very stiff and efficient designs. My cheap Blackburn clone works as well as the real thing.

mattrsa

thanks for all the replies guys, going to check out the blackburn racks today and see if I can find a nice cheap one.

Would get one from aldi/lidl but I dont then they are selling bike stuff again any time soon.


Matt

alfablue

My gf has a Tortec Ultralight on her Trek 1.2 and has completed many camping tours with it. Her bike is smaller than yours but the rack has long and very adjustable upper arms so should fit. You can find them for around £20.



The Tortec Expedition is good too, I have one on my tourer, and a Tubus Logo on my commuter.

I have got through 2 Blackburn racks, both breaking at the lower welding, the tubes and welds are inadequate at that point. I stick to Tortec (cheap and good) and Tubus (expensive and very good) now.

optimisticbiker

I have a Blackburn EX1 on my commuter that was previously fitted to my Trek4300 MTB, and I used to move it back and forth by having two sets of the upper bars, which are just flat strips of metal bent to fit the specific bike. One set came with the rack and the other set were B&Q 'repair strips', cut and drilled to suit. The rack has been commuting and holidaying for over 10y without problems, using Altura panniers loaded up to 30kg, on routes including the Transpennine Trail coast to coast and London to Maastricht.