colonel corn

I have aluminium front and rear racks - a Zefal and a Tortec - and don't know if I should buy something sturdier for a South American tour. I may have to carry alot of water at times.

A pair of Tubus or Surly steel racks would obviously be ideal but it's a costly upgrade. My question is - how many of you have had a rack fail before? Is it worth worring about?

Also paint is always rubbed off at contact points - is rusting an issue at these points on steel racks?

mdilthey

Rust isn't an issue on aluminum racks. I've had cheap racks fail, but semi-cheap racks never do. I'm talking like the $45 Axiom racks or somesuch. Serious welds, serious tubing, good construction.

If you're doing a serious south american tour, you'll probably want to go with Surly or Tubus racks. Peace of mind, if nothing else, is valuable when your situation (and water carry) is inflexible. However, if price is a major concern, I'd trust my Axiom rear to a South American trip.

Check out Racktime. Tubus quality for a lot less money.

qclabrat

+1 for the racktime, I'm getting the folding version for my pocket llama.
In China where my family spends our summers, people have been using rear racks as back seats with 100-150 pounds loads. those racks are steel and cost no more than $5 but seem to hold up well, even with the rust. For myself, my daughter at 50 pounds sits in the back of a sturdy $50 AL heavy duty rack, which makes me feel better. I also think the design for the bike you are using may be more important. Adjustable racks need the weight bearing portions in the right place, the only time I've every seen a failure is due to incorrect installs.

the OP should investigate and test whether they prefer weight in the front or rear. I've heard preference for either.

chewa

I've been using an original Jim Blackburn rack since the early 80's. It has stood up to some pretty substantial touring loads and to my wife running in to it in traffic!, as well as panniers being hit by taxis and cars (commuting in London).

It shows lots of wear where the pannier clips attached, but seems as strong as ever.

fietsbob

Just that a quality steel rack, is insurance against on the road failure .. My Bruce Gordon Made racks bought in the mid 80's are still fine.

constant vibration did chip the powder coat under the Bag hooks , re powdercoating is possible , as would be using a metal foil tape

that can be replaced, under those hooks ..

we in the LBS have juryrigged peoples Aluminum racks back into serviceable function . to keep their low budget trip on the road .

rack breaks . you Cope.

bikemig 

jandd expedition is also very good.

colonel corn

Thanks all, that is reassuring. My racks are mid-range and seem well made - particularly the design of the front looks sturdier than most - so I'll stick with those.

The Racktimes look good and the the loop on the bottom for fitting panniers with a bungee attachment such as Axiom or Arkel is a nice touch but I think I'll stick with mine and save the money.

pbekkerh

How much do you expect to spend on your trip? And then you want to save a few dollars on the racks and risk a lot of bother instead of enjoying your trip?

I bought the best rack and bikebags and changed wear parts on my bike, before starting and didn't have any material problems during several trips. It cost me appr. 500$ and 3 trips later nothing is broken, I only had the rack powdercoated recently.

MassiveD

Depends whether you are seriously exceeding the weight limits. I met a guy in Toronto who was 2/3rd of the way across canada, and was carrying 150 pounds on his bike. Some people carry a lot, on the other hand, MEC has been selling Blackburn knockoffs for decades, and people regularly used to outfit everything from their shop for trans cans. A trip of a lifetime is often only a few thousands miles, compared to 20 miles a day commuting, it isn't anything serious.

Aluminum has no known fatigue limit so it can go at any time. On the other hand it is the basis of climbing gear systems, hang gliders, etc... I would use a well built one within the prescribed limits, made in china, for any 5K trip. I made my own steel rack, though... I should point out that one of the reasons for custom steel racks is that they are a lot easier to make than Al racks. It's the usual cycling thing, if it takes a big factory or at least 20K of gear to make something, the small shops invent preposterous reasons why it will fail.

djb

Another reason that you can't get a black and white answer here is connected to the comment of how much load you will have--another big factor is how you ride, tire widths, road conditions. Taking care and not riding fast and hard into potholes, or rough sections can make a big reduction of stress on a rack, you just have to use common sense. Of course actual load and making sure rack bolts don't loosen are a factor also, but not bashing through rough stuff ways helps.

Lots of variables with your question.

intransit1217

How many miles and where did the rack crack/ fail?

vespoli

I took an O.G. Jim Blackburn rear rack across the U.S. (to say nothing about my around-town trips) touring the TransAm this summer with about 35/40 lbs hanging off the rear. I had another load on the front of a Jim Blackburn aluminum rack attached to my front fork with p-clips.

Granted, most of these miles were on reasonably smooth asphalt.

Tourist in MSN

Look at the welds on the rack. If they look like the rack welds in the photo, change racks.



The welds on better racks are clearly robust and intended to not break.

I put electric tape on racks where they rub, mainly to make the rack/pannier contact points a bit quieter. Racks do not rust very much, higher grades of steel do not rust as much as cheap steel. If you were concerned about rust, you could buy a small bottle of black nail polish if the rack is black. Or a black paint pen.

fietsbob

How things are made in factories.. the other side is welded .

the Jig holding the parts to weld it, is on the top side which was the bottom in the jig.

a welder working in aluminum can add the bead on the top side if you feel like getting it done.

the manufacturer was wanting to sell a lot of units so the extra welding was skipped , you get to pay less then.

imi

Yeah, had a rack fail in the middle of Italy way back when. Couldn't find anyone with an aluminium welder, and ended up being helped by two giants of men, Enzo and his brother, who after melting another few inches of the rack actually managed to weld it together. Held up for the rest of the trip.

pataspen

I bought a Blackburn Expedition before riding cross country in 1986. Thinking that it might have worn out, I purchased another one around 1990. The two racks have since toured through every state in the Union (except Hawaii). Plus some long, rugged mountain bike tours.

Except for a few scratches they are still in great shape. I keep one on the road tourer and one on the mountain tourer/town bike. I can't remember which was the original.

They just might last forever, but I'll probably get a new one before touring South America. I'll definitley stick with the Expedition.

pataspen

I'll definitley stick with the Expedition.[/QUOTE]

I meant *definitely*

BigAura

I've had a Jim Blackburn since the 1970's and still use it. If a rack is sturdy, well designed, with good welds there's little reason to worry about it.

Ciufalon

I have a couple of Tortec Expedition racks on bikes and they are perfectly fine. Rated at something like 35 kg and very well made. I wouldn't worry at all about going anywhere with such racks. Of course, I never plan on carrying that much weight on just the rear rack.

bikebark

I had a rack fail at the welds about 20 years ago. It was probably a Blackburn. I was touring in Wisconsin at the time. I was able to hold the rack together with pull ties and ride to a bike shop that was only about 20 miles away. I have another Blackburn rack that I still use on shorter domestic tours on my single bike. I have a Tubus rack on my tandem that I use when I am doing foreign tours. I do not think rack failures are very common, but it might be worthwhile to upgrade for a major trip to South America.

ze_zaskar

I don't know about the US, but here in EU a Tubus Cargo is about 55 euros, not much more than an Axiom, etc
Aren't 10 or 20 euros worth the peace of mind?

Saddle Up

Tubus racks are 3 times the cost of Axioms racks in Canada.

veganbikes

Are the racks really a costly upgrade? Wouldn't a rack failure on tour be even more costly? Granted a Tubus rack seems expensive but you can pay now and last forever (plus have peace of mind) or continue paying for cheaper racks.

People always look at just initial cost and balk at price but if you look at the cost further in the future usually it is more cost effective plus you get more use out of it usually. People buy cheap-o bikes and they sit in the garage or basement so the money they thought they saved buying a bike they weren't as happy with is flushed down the toilet and they could have spent more and maybe just maybe gotten more use out of it because it was more the bike they wanted.

dwmckee

I have broken two racks so far. First was a Blackburn with a broken weld but finished the tour with it fixed with duct tape. Second was a mount failure and I forget the brand. Now I ride with OMM, Surly and Tubbus racks of various models. Broken rack is a pain. And cheap ones definitely can break. As important is how you mount them. I have had several stripped frame holes over the years and now at the drops I use button head screws from the inside of the frame threaded to the outside to create a mounting stud, then I hold the rack to the stud with a nylock nut and washers. You can tighten this setup as much as you want and never have to worry about stripped holes ruining your frame.