Originally Posted by rnagaoka
Did you make the baskets themselves or buy them? They really look oversized lengthwise and might hang too far in back of your axle, causing your swaying problem. You can try to scoot them forward if you don't have a problem with heelstrike.
I'm not sure what kind of rack that is, but it looks mightly long. This might also compound your problem if it is not rigid enough (a Jandd Expedition rack is long and rigid). Try holding the back of the rack and pushing it side to side...it should barely flex if at all.
I got them for $20 at one of the bicycle shops. Not seeing any on display, I asked about rear baskets and he pulled out a nylon, mesh, folding rack bag. I'm not sure of the brand, but they were $40 each. I told him I was looking for rigid baskets and he said, "I've got these ones in the back that are built onto a rack. It's this whole bulky contraption. They won't fold down."
I told him that was exactly what I was looking for. Next thing, I saw him in the back, climbing up into the rafters to pull these out from behind some other retail snail items. He said he'd never sold a set of these before.
They are pretty long and I've set them back as far as my big ole clown feet will let me.
They are rigid. There's not much flex to them.
Another thing I'm going to try is bungeeing the load up toward the front of the baskets. Maybe it will at least give me a smoother ride home, where I can experiment with some other stuff on them.