Hi,

I put rear side baskets on my bike and occasionally my heel hits a basket when pedaling. I'm wondering if anyone else has this problem with side baskets or panniers? Is this a common problem? Is it something I just have to get used to or is my frame too small?


Thanks

It's a pretty common problem, especially when fitting a rack and panniers on a bike frame not intended for touring. You might be able to correct it by repositioning the baskets - can the supports be extended at all? Or you might get some metal strips that can be bolted to the existing supports and position the baskets a little farther back.

The most common culprit is a short chainstay length, however, there are different racks that extend further back from the bike than others. I'm currently running this rack: https://www.axiomgear.com/products/ge...racks/journey/ it extends much farther back than my previous rack that I used with a wire basket. However the welds of the Axiom have broken where the rearmost stays come down to join near the axle - solved with heavy duty zip ties to re-attach them, the stays are just to keep paniers from getting caught in the spokes. Check your LBS to see what they have, compare them directly to the one as mounted on your bike and see if that works.
Also, as Prathmann suggests, try to shift your baskets farther back. Good luck.

I had to shift my wald folding baskets back a fair bit on my rack so that I wouldn't kick them, so now they're maybe only 2/3 to 3/4 at most on the rack, but they still seem to be able to hold all the weight without problem.

figure out a way to angle the basket, or raise it higher , to avoid heel strike..