Rear rack alignment
 

Sorry about the rookie question.

I have an older Rhode Gear (I think) rear rack that I put on my old Trek mtb this afternoon. The goal is to load it with some overnight gear and ride up into the hills a few miles from my house for an overnight camping trip - just to get a feel for what the bike can do.

The rack has two spacers at the eyelet mounts. I initially installed with the spacers on the outside since that's how the rack was installed on another bike (the rack came with it). The knobby tire was rubbing on the rack on the freewheel (right) side so I moved the spacer to between the rack and eyelet and pushed a little on the rack to move it to the right to create some clearance. When looking at it from the rear it definitely looks off to the left. I don't remember it being that way on the other bike. Could it just be the dish of the wheel? The frame is pretty solid and was hardly ridden by the prior owner.

Do I just have a bent rack?

I don't think it should be the dish of the wheel - if your wheel is centered between the brakes and fully in the dropouts, the wheel should be straight back. Kind of hard to say and those pics are making me seasick...!

I know - it's raining outside so I couldn't get a decent photo. I will take another photo from outside tomorrow and see if that helps.

something is obviously bent, my guess is it's the rack. Could be the dropouts were put in wrong. It certainly is not the dish of the wheel

I've seen new racks that were not straight. My solution is to lay it on the floor upside-down and use a square to sight it up. If necessary, a little persuasion (gentle bending) can work wonders.

I would start by moving the spacer on the other side too.

+1

Is it possible that the connection with the seatstays is uneven?

Ok - daylight and some new photos. Looks to me like the issue is definitely the rack. I'll have to take it off today and figure out exactly where it's bent.