Originally Posted by
slide23
My one caveat about Axiom racks is that they grossly overestimate the load capacity. I have had Axiom racks in the past that I loaded to their listed rating and the rack bent. Granted, I was deliberately testing out the weight claim and expected exactly what I got. S
This. Most Axiom racks aren't necessarily bad, but they outright lie about the capacity of them in some cases, in my opinion. I owned 2 Axiom journey racks, which have a claimed capacity of 70kg. Anyone who believes that this rack will actually hold that under real world conditions is out of their minds or just gullible. Its a plain jane aluminum rack just like any other $30 aluminum rack. No magic, yet it somehow has a "rated capacity" exceeding some cargo bikes
They regularly do this. Most of their rack line is rated to the same capacity as true expedition racks! They claim that some of them will hold 20-30kg more than most expedition rack manufacturers will rate their stuff for. The truth is, these racks won't last at all if you load them anywhere near that capacity. They probably base their ratings on whether or not the rack survives that load after 10 paces around the silky smooth track of their local velodrome.
My first Axiom journey rack broke while hopping a curb with approximately a 14kg load secured directly on top. While hopping a curb with things on your rack is never a nice thing to do to a rack, that's a ridiculous disparity between the rated capacity and a real world experience!
My second Axiom journey rack failed after 3 months with a 20kg average load, but I stopped jumping curbs. Just riding through enough potholes and bumping the bike over enough icy ruts in winter was enough to bend the struts on the rack at the bottom as the weight on the rack was jarred around over time.
That's just a basic rule in life though. $35 rack that carries like its a cargo bike?
Well, if it sounds too good to be true..
As stated before, I now have one bike with a Topeak rack, and another with a Tubus rack.
Topeak claims a 55lb capacity on the model I own (Explorer MTX). I'd believe that rating, and would be comfortable commuting with it loaded right up. I wouldn't take it on an expedition tour, but it's fine for the city, and I used it on an on road tour this past summer quite fine.
Tubus rates the Cosmo at 40kg. And they rate their stuff for full on, hard use.