I am looking for some in expensive racks for my bike, a Trek 614, but do not know what to really look for. I am a tight ass, so what ever the cheapest way to do it is the best option for me. I cant just find my self going and spending 200 dollars for racks and bags that honestly will get taken off and collect dust for most of the year. I have been looking for a set of used racks locally but just havent been able to find any. What type/ brand of racks and panniers do the users in the forums recommend on a minimal budget.

Topeak rear rack, $28.00. I can vouch for this one. Ventura Universal rear rack, $14.00. Have no experience with this one, probably not as strong as the Topeak. Inexpensive front racks are hard to find. This one from Nashbar is the best I could do, $30. A front rack is not an essential but great for balancing loads.

Bags are easier. Frankly, you can use stuff sacks for everything. They can be strapped to the sides and top of the rear rack, front too if you get one. A notch up would be compression sacks. Google Sunlite for solid, relative inexpensive standard panniers. I used this one for 4 years and many, many miles. Axiom is very good and not much more.

Interestingly, your post is quite timely as there is a current thread related to your question.

Good luck.

What about just building the racks? I have quite a bit of small steel tubing, laying around, I have welders, and I have time now that gets dark at 5 30. Has anyone here done homemade jobs and liked them so well that they have just kept them.
I did see the other thread and have enjoyed reading it, but I didnt want to get it off subject.

There's a lot of bends and joints in a rack. How much is your leisure time worth? If you search, you'll find that some folks have made racks from hydraulic/brake tubing of ~ 8-10mm outer diameter. Most cheap bike racks are made from solid aluminum rod, but steel tubing would be stronger and far more fatigue-resistant, and probably lighter.

Nashbar always has deals going, and usually has a dozen craptabulous (meaning not so great) racks for sale. They had a 25% off sale yesterday.

Be aware that cheap racks are cheap for a reason, and that reason is seldom obvious from a computer monitor. Many racks fit only certain bags, frames and forks well, and vice versa. Bear this in mind when selecting racks and bags for your bike.

Peterpan made a custom rack - you might want to PM him with your questions on this topic.

https://www.bicyclinglife.com/HowTo/HeavyDutyRacks.htm has some ideas about building what seems to be a fairly "bombproof" rack. Also a bit about converting military surplus bags to panniers. I don't have much experience with building racks, but I am hoping to experiment with building my own bags from surplus bags and from scratch in the near future.

on the back, I can vouch for the Blackburn EX-1, it is a good choice IMO and not too expensive. Ditto for the front with the Nashbar or Performance clones of the old Blachburn Lowrider. All are often on sale at nashbar or performance.

On the Panniers I like the Nashbar or Performance waterproof models. Again inexpensive, often on sale and I have found them plenty serviceable. I like the fact that they are one big pocket and organize their contents in ziplocs. Some folks prefer multiple pockets, but be aware that they do come at the cost of more weight and higher cost. I have also found that the effective capacity is reduced a bit as well with multiple pockets because my stuff doesn't exactly fit the pockets. This is not a huge factor, but is worth considering when choosing the size of the panniers.

You can use Kitty litter or Ice Melt plastic tubs to make some really cheap and waterproof panniers, instructions are here.

Keep an eye on Nashbar's stream of sales. They frequently have good rear racks from Bor Yueh or Ascent on sale for around $10 (the Bor Yueh was 9.99 just a few days ago but is now back up to $18). These both have the third support leg on each side designed to go farther back and prevent even a flexible pannier from getting into the spokes. Similarly, Nashbar periodically has had their 'waterproof' and 'ATB' panniers on sale for under $30 a pair. They're pretty basic but quite functional and have served many people well on extended tours as well as commter/shopping applications.

The original equipment racks on the Windsor were unlabeled but look like the Bor Yueh to me. If I am correct about that I would recommend the Bor Yueh only if the load will be fairly light. One of our group of three used the original rack on the Trans America and it held up OK for that, but it was pretty "flexy". She was carrying something a bit under 30 pounds total split between the front and rear racks, so I am guessing she had less than 20 pounds on the rear rack.

Can anyone verify if I am correct that the rack on the Windsor Touring is a Bor Yueh or not?

I second (or third) the suggestion to check Nashbar and Performance Bike for sales. Also, if you don't mind ordering stuff from overseas, some of the British dealers sell high quality racks for very good prices. Some of the brands are not even available here. Good places to check are Wiggle, Ribble and SJS Cycles. At Wiggle, if you order about $80 or more of equipment, they are offering free shipping to the US right now. I just ordered a Tubus Cargo rack from Wiggle for about $80 with free shipping (with a discount coupon), which is about $30 less than I could find anywhere in the US, plus they had it in silver, which is not available in the US. That sounds like a lot more than you want to spend, but Tubus racks are considered the best.

Wiggle has a lot of other brands of racks that are much less expensive but still good quality. If you need any other equipment, such as tires, their prices are very good and you can easily qualify for free shipping. Also no sales tax.

Wiggle does have good availability and prices on Tubus racks and Ortlieb bags. Some of the best prices I found, actually, on Tubus.

For those in US, Wiggle ships free, and consistently faster than Nashbar/Performance. How they manage to get stuff to me faster, when I'm within 300 miles of Chapel Hill, is a bit of a mystery.

For good Campy deals, check Ribble, also an etailer in UK.

I paid $30 (on sale) for a pair of Wald folding baskets and love them as a cheap alternative for rear panniers.

On my old touring bike I bought a front rack and rear rack for $15 and 17 cdn each:
something like these ones:
https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1261089024216

https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1261089024214

Maybe check REI for similar inexpensive racks? I had no problems with these racks but now tour on a recumbent where of course to fit a specialized bike needed expensive-ish racks.

Check out axiom...they are good and inexpensive. They also offer a lifetime guarantee. My rear rack and panniers were less than $60.https://www.axiomgear.com/ I use the journey rack and seymour bags...for now. Santa is bringing me front and rear Surly nice racks for my LHT build

I think I paid like 25 for my inline rack that i toured like 2k miles on at my lbs. Most racks are pretty good as long as you install them either properly or properly rigged.

one thing about those Axiom racks with the articulated attachment like the Tubus racks. I don't think it makes as solid a connection as the typical flat ss strap attachment to the seat stays which you can do with Axioms. I think their design copy doesn't work as well as Tubus in CroMo. I got a Journey and it feels kind of flexible in the back compared to Tubus or even an old Blackburn. I put an Axiom Streamliner on a CC with ss straps because the undermounts for the Axiom cut into fender space, I was amazed how SOLID it was with the straps. I'm going to put the Journey on my gfs bike and see if the ss straps make a difference compared to the stock attachment.

No $25 rack is going to compare all that well with Tubus, but for roughly 1/4 the price there are some good deals to be had. I`ve personally used a Topeak that I consider to be a good value and the reviews from Blackburn and some Axiom models look like they`d be worth the dough too.

If you want to make your own racks, go for it. It`s a lot of fun, takes relatively little investment in the way of tools and materials, and you get that DIY fuzzy feeling. It won`t save you money though. I`ve built several from 8mm and 10mm hydraulic tubing and they just keep getting better.

Although I run a Tubus front and rear rack I can only say good things about the Blackburns I've used in the past as well. They are pretty affordable and pretty damn strong.

I am kinda getting tired of looking at racks already. There are just so many and they all seem to look alike. I just cant really figure out which ones will hold bags, and which one wont. Thats the problem living out in the middle of now where and not being able just running down to local store and looking at some.

I agree about the flex in the rack, but the price is right and I do haul a lot with that rack. I was blaming the bike for the wiggle but I can see it being the rack. My son has a topeak with straps but never really carries a big load.My nice racks arrived today and all I can say is WOW. In my opinion they are worth the $108 my lovely wifey paid at bike island. Not my money though

For the rear, looka at the Jannd "Expedition". Solid build, and one of the widest top platforms.

Nice for sure I got my surly nice racks today too front and rear same price too.Can't wait to install them this weekend

So, I ended part of my dilemma of which rack to buy. I ended up building a rear rack this evening after work. I decided to go get some different steel rod, ended up getting a 5/16" mild steel. The cost was $7.85 for a 20 foot stick. Used 4, 1/4" grade 8 nuts for the to attach the rack to the braze ons. Total cost of materials, $8.00. Took 3 hours to completely fabricate the rack. The rack is 6 1/2" wide and 17" long. Is there anything that yall can suggest to make it better.

Looks nice, MT. It`s welded? How did you manage to get a 1/4 in bolt through your braze ons? Are you going to use it for panniers, stuff on top, both? There`s everything you need to mount your model of panniers (if you intend to use any), top and bottom? I was going to try to put up some pics of mine, but the new system is giving me hell- I`ll try again from home.



My suggestions: If you`ll be using panniers, stuff them full of something and mount them. Make sure there`s enough bracing to keep them out of the spokes (it looks like you`ll probably want some more in that department), then take a ride and find out where they have to be for your heels to clear. You seem to have plenty of sliding room to get them wherever you need them, but you might want some kind of stops to keep them from sliding out of place. Also, if you plan to use the top as well as panniers, a second rail below the first will make loading easier- with a single level, it can be a pain to mount panniers when there`s already stuff tied on top or vise versa. Since you made the top high, there should be plenty of room and you`d get an added advatage of lowering the pannier weight without worrying about them dragging against curbs. If you plan to tie anythng on top, you might want a few more crosspieces (even 1/8 would work) to keep stuff from falling through and getting eaten by the tire, especially if you aren`t ging to put fenders on the bike.

Damn, that's a nice job. It looks loads better than my DIY Racks. BTW, thanks KLW2, I always get a warm fuzzy feeling when I see someone post that. Can you post a close up of the mounting points, fitting it to my bike is where my racks always have trouble.

If I had to add something, I would weld on another rod, like this rack

It would lower your centre of gravity, and stop the pannier from hitting the spokes. Oh, and it looks cool.

Just make sure you give it some nice coating, otherwise it'll rust up quickly.