L.L. Zamenhof

I'm looking to upgrade my rear rack. Right now I have a low-end rack with V shaped brackets. I'm looking for something a little more robust, with a weight capacity at about 50-60 pounds.

I've got my eyes on this one, but I don't like that it's aluminum. I'd prefer steel, but I don't want to spend too much (at most $75).

What brand would you recommend I look at? I'm open to anything, even bumping up how much I'm willing to spend.

aggiegrads

50-60 lb rating is not just "a little more robust" than the one you have. That weight rating for <$75 is a pretty tall order.

I think that you will have to save your lunch money for a few weeks so you can just go ahead and splurge on a Tubus and never worry about it again.

Newspaperguy

That rack is very close to the one I have. Mine is almost exactly the same design, but by Filzer. I can recommend it highly. The aluminum construction is not going to be an issue as these racks are well-built and durable.

Northwestrider

Tubus Cargo, it's more than $75 however.

FrenchFit 

I can recommend Tubus and Jandd racks. The Jandd full size expedition is big and tough, rated at 75lbs.

Ciufalon

Another rack you can buy for under $50 with a 35 kgs limit is the Tortek Expedition. It is also aluminum but a very strong and nice rack. I have this model on two of my bikes. I have Tubus and Nitto racks also, and they are definitely nice, but I have not seen a better aluminum rack than the Tortek. You also have to buy it online as it is not available in the US. It is on sale here for about $40. When I bought both of mine it cost me less than $45 each including the shipping. I've recommended it before, and I sort of consider it a budget substitute for those not wanting to spend over $100 for a rack - and it is a good substitute!

MichaelW

The KOKO gets a pretty good review and comparison to a Tubus Cargo here.

andychrist

Here's another aluminum rack with a 30 kg capacity. Comes set up for 26" wheels but includes mounts for 700C as well. Also available from UK only, $40 and free shipping. Love the built-in cargo strap slots and short bottom rail, makes it easy to attach a wide variety of panniers besides Ortlieb. Bought two, they only have four left as of this posting.

staehpj1 

I don't see aluminum as a disadvantage. I think that one of the Axiom models would suit your needs well at a relatively low price.

indyfabz

Save your lunch money for a month and you can a Nitto Big from Rivendell. The nickel plated steel is quite good looking.

tarwheel 

I have a Tubus Cargo as well as a Planet Bike Koko racks. They are both nice racks and very adjustable to fit various frames. The Tubus would be my choice for loaded touring because it is so strong and relatively light weight. However, if you are trying to save money and don't plan to carry very heavy loads, the Koko is a very good value. I paid only $30 for the Koka at a LBS. Paid about 3x that for my Tubus Cargo, but it was worth the money because it is simply the best for loaded touring, IMHO.

Tourist in MSN

I have used both Surly Nice and Tubus Logo EVO rear racks. Both >$75 however.

Surly, twice as heavy as the Logo and much wider platform if you use a rack top bag.

Logo EVO, top platform worthless for rack top bag due to narrow width, but when I use panniers the small duffel that goes on top sits on the panniers and not on the rack so it is not a negative to me. I especially like the way that it mounts the panniers a bit lower and it feels very solid on the bike with a load.

Of the two, for loaded touring I prefer the Logo EVO but I have decided to keep the Surly instead of selling it off, as I may find uses for it later.

Around town where I do not carry two heavy panniers, I use a cheap rack instead of either of the above.

I have not taken a close look at the Planet Bike rack. I suggest you look at the welds to make sure they look good, even a non-welder can usually tell if a weld looks strong or not. From what I have seen, the welding quality is usually what differentiates a good rack and a not-so-good rack.

Attached is a photo of some really bad welding on a very cheap rack that I have on my grocery store bike, this is the bike I park in theft prone areas.

LeeG

That looks like a nice rack but can your rear wheel and frame take 50-60lbs? If you can mount the rack with straight seat stay struts do it.

L.L. Zamenhof

Hell yeah. Thanks for the responses everyone. I figured y'all would have the best insight for this.

I should have mentioned that this will primarily be used for commuting, with a few smaller tours each year. It's not going to be consistently heavily loaded, but once in a while it will be.

I found this one last night. Seems pretty neat.

L.L. Zamenhof

Let's just say that if I weighed another 50-60 pounds I would feel more than comfortable riding this bike.

andrew.ferrell

I have that Tubus cargo. It's solid and good looking. I like the light mount for the back of it too. I got mine through Peter White's website. He also sells the appropriate rear lights that fit onto the Tubus as well.

I appreciate a nice rack!

kpfeif

Axiom Journey is a great rack for under $40. 150lb weight limit. Your wheel is more likely to fail than this rack.

https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=3536

LeeG

Not the same thing. Dead weight on the rear wheel loads the wheel a lot more than on the rider. I weigh 60 more lbs than 30 yrs ago but I can still hop or unweight the rear wheel over bumps which I couldn't do if that weight was in panniers. That Bontrager looks like a good design. Wide platforms are nice for top loads and boxes. The lower rails free up the top for loading/unloading without removing panniers. I just saw some small Bontrager panniers, not cheap, at the local bike shop that would make nice rear or front bags. Their short height looks like it'll help reduce heel strike.
Something worth considering is the bike and whether it handles well with that big of a load and whether some kind of front rack will be beneficial. I have a CrossCheck and tried various big platform racks for small/med panniers and came to the conclusion that a very narrow Axiom Streamliner with a small front platform rack provided the best utility.

cyccommute 

I have a Tubus Cargo and a Tubus Tara on my touring bike and a Tubus Vega on my commuting bike. They are great racks and rugged as all get out. They will last, roughly, forever. Best racks I've ever owned.

However, that said, I've never broken any kind of rack of any material. I even had a Miyata 610 original rack that logged many, many, many miles from 1983 to 2003. I've owned Blackburns, Deltas, Old Man Mountains (my least favorite) and not a few generic ones. None of them were bad and some...the Delta Mega Rack...are quite good. The Planet Bike rack would probably fit your needs for some years to come and looks to be a decently designed rack. Personally, I like upper stay mounts like on that one far better then any other mounts I've used. It's a lot easier to mount than the flat metal mounts used on so many racks. And the price is right.

bktourer1

My 1 and only Jandd "Expedition"

bwgride

For inexpensive and sturdy, I recommend the Topeak super tourist dx. It's aluminum, but I found it just as sturdy as my Tubus Logo rack:

https://www.topeak.com/products/Racks...bularRack_disc

You can get it with or without disc comparability.

L.L. Zamenhof

Good point. I'm confident that the bike could handle a fifty pound load, as I'm naive and like to gamble. When I had the bike loaded up over the summer, I had maybe 40 pounds of stuff on it. It handled pretty well, and didn't effect the performance noticeably. I'm stuck with just a rear rack for the moment, as my only bike is a rigid mountain bike that has been converted into a multi-purpose machine.

ahultin

Tubus cargo , 92.89 from wiggle
free shipping and no tax should put is close to a 75 rack with shipping and tax

LeeG

Sounds like a nice big platform type would be nice. Topeak SuperTourist DX is a good value. If you go fender less the flat plate will help keep wet crud off your back. I had one on different bikes.

Aushiker

Another vote for Tubus racks here. You might get better pricing but buying them from a German retailer such as https://starbike.com or https://bike24.com.

Andrew