My bike does not have any rack mounting points which limits my options for pannier racks. I like the look of the aeroe racks but they are quite expensive. I have seen quite a few of these cheap generic racks (1st picture) but can't find anyone talking about them online. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with them?
This is for commuting, with up to around 10kg of groceries / work gear
by Estebene
10 Comments
Hate, hate, double hate, loathe entirely
Don’t. They will fall apart from crappy materials, crappy quality, or just bad design, and spill all your stuff over the road at the worst time. Edit to add: look at the sks infinity rack. https://road.cc/content/review/sks-infinity-universal-mik-luggage-rack-304221
I have the rack in the first picture.
It does its job. Feels sturdy enough.
(Side note: I’m just a simple bike commuter who needs a bag to hold my stuff on my way to work and I mostly ride my $110 bike on bike paths / shared pedestrian paths).
I have a cheap one on my commuter and it’s lasted years. 50kg weight capacity but I’ve never loaded it up with anywhere near that much.
remember the old saying of “Buy once, pay twice”
Those work just fine.
My bike also lacks mounting points. I was able to use an Axiom Streamliner rack. I opted to replace my seatpost clamp with one that adds mounting points but it isn’t required. If it will work with your bike, I highly recommend it. Axiom’s quality is much better than the ones you posted.
I bought [this one ](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSC31Q6H?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2&th=1)and it has been trouble free, unlike several branded ones I tried. I wouldn’t put anywhere near the weight limit specified as it would probably damage the frame (aluminum, not disc brake ready, so very thin), but I’ve had 70 lbs on it and have not had any problems. Having 5 mounting points spreads the weight better than 3.
I have the first rack, or a variant of it. The only regret is that the “ears” or whatever you call them that hang down the side are shorter than other racks. I had to wrap the elastic strap for each of my bags under the rack to the other side to get enough tension for the elastic strap to stay hooked. But it works and if you don’t need to remove your bags then it’ll work for you, too. But stringing it all up and undoing it to remove the bag is a PITA. The rack is strong, though. I keep my bags on there and have hauled home many loads of heavy groceries without issue.
They’re pretty terrible imo. I used the first rack style for a little while, and it was just not a good experience. The seat tube clamp was so chunky I found myself regularly snagging my pants on the clamp lever when dismounting.
You can get a frame mounted rack that works well for relatively cheap if your bike has the mounting points, but there’s only a handful of companies making genuinely good quick-release/”universal” racks and they’re all expensive.