The Best Rear Racks For Bikepacking?

While they never really went away, we’ve seen quite the resurgence of lightweight racks being used for off-road bikepacking over the last few years. Several new models have gotten more tire clearance and clever new features. In our latest video, Neil provides an overview of a handful of new racks and shares his current favorites as well as a few other noteworthy options.

Outline:
Intro: 0:00
Whats Wrong with Seat Packs: 0:57
Rack Uses: 2:42
OMM Elkhorn Rack:4:27
Tailfin Aeropack: 7:07
Tumbleweed T-Rack: 9:58
Ortlieb Quick Rack: 12:23
Sim Works Burrito Rack: 13:54
Aeroe Spider Rack: 14:45
Tubus Vega Evo: 15:23
Rack Accessory: 16:14

Mentioned Links:

BUY RACKS HERE - These are affiliate links where we get a small percentage of the sale:

#bikepacking #pedalfurther #bikerack
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::About The Host::
Geometry: 150lbs, 5'9.5", 32" inseam

[LiterallyCensoredDaily]

Cool tip: zip tie an old license plate to a rear rack. You now have a flatbed, fender, small table, etc.

[danjames]

I've been observing the whole bikepacking phenomena for a while now, and am really intrigued.
Top tube bags, stem bags, frame bags, fork bags....all brilliant ideas which have given us more versatility.
However I'm so glad you have spoken about some of the obvious flaws of these ridiculously oversized saddle packs...particularly stability.
I seem to recall a lot of bikepacking 'innovations' came about soon after manufacturers started to remove eyelets from frames. They were an answer to the problem of making frames look 'clean'. Thankfully some manufacturers are waking up to the idea that most people don't race...so a couple of extra ounces to put eyelets back on makes a bike far more versatile! We've gone full circle!

[gehirndoper]

Those prices are insane. Several hundreds of $ for some welded aluminium and a few extra clamps and screws.

[gregknipe]

maybe we can just call it touring again.

[tizzekarlsson]

As a non-ultralight bikepacker heavy duty rear racks are what enables me. It is great to see options are expanding AND that frame manufacturers are adding back mounting points for them.

[Mike-vdqt]

Cycle tourist since 1982. Back then in the U.S. all we could get were Blackburn racks, and Kirtland panniers. I've used most of the systems from Tubas, Ortleib, and Arkel. After living from your bike for two months you figure out that less is more, and simple is "more better".These days, I've completely switched to frame bags even for road tours, and especially for off road tours. I've found off the shelf Revelate Designs to be the best bang for the buck, and very durable. I ride a Brooks B-17 saddle so the Revelate Spinelock seat pack system doesn't work with the Brooks saddle, but the Revelate Terrapin worked great for 2, 000 miles off road until the plastic support started to tear out. Now I have a 7Roads seat pack from Ukraine that uses a small stainless support attached to my seat post for the seat pack. I feel that using a dropper post for long off road tours might become a problem, I had a brand new $350 dropper post fail on me after two weeks (no pack attached) which the company serviced under warranty. When I got it back, I sold it and got a Thomson post. When you have weight on the bike touring, more than likely dropping your seat to descend will be the last thing on your mind. You might even walk some downhills when presented with baby-head loose rock and erosion rutted DG. Happy trails!

[fatbikejamie]

Oh... on the seat bag/rear rack thing: those of us with short legs almost never have seat pack options. Rear racks (or trailers!) are sometimes the only functional option 😂

[erynnt]

Dude, I am so thankful for people like you! I appreciate you taking the time to research, trial, and review bike gear. Your efforts help me make better gear decisions and therefore get me out enjoying the great outdoors in a more confident and comfortable way. Thank you!

[black.raven.adventures]

Tumbleweed racks are just simple and just simply great. To address the "missing" tire-to-back-interface-platform, I just added a transparent cutting mat from a household store for 1 CAD between the rack and the dry bag - increases the lifetime of the dry bag and keeps everything a bit cleaner.

[ZenEndurance]

I found an old pannier rack in my garage the day before starting a 3 day gravelbiking trip and I was so excited. It changed EVERYTHING and I knew it would. It was missing the final attachment hardware to the seatpost, so I dug up an old reflector seatpost mount and used that to connect to, and it worked fine the entire ride. And yeah, next time I'd put less in the pannier bags and more on the flat top to be more aero. But the upside of pannier bags is really low center of gravity. You don't need to spend a lot. This one was awesome and it was a cheap one probably 15 years old. They've figured out the design decades ago. Anyway, I was able to have a fresh bike kit every day and a few more items because of it and it was so great.

[AWBabbage]

As an old bike tourist (racks/panniers) I have resisted being converted to bike packing primarily because of the increased complexity multiple bags and strapping onto the frame while simultaneously increasing the time to pack and unpack. My current system consists of a Iberia rear rack and trunk bag and two Ortlieb waterproof panniers. I can remove and replace all three bags to the rack in one minute. Each has a shoulder carry strap. The trunk bag has five zippered compartments giving immediate access to everything needed during a day of riding. I have a rain cover for it for the rare rainy days ride. This is simple, accessible, easy to live with, and doesn’t require a myriad of solutions to fasten loads all over the bike. It need improving with a front load carrier for balance. It wouldn’t be ideal for real off-road bike packing, but for any kind of touring that involves roads, it works great.

[falcoperegrinus]

I have the Tailfin, it's great!. Rock solid and so light. One thing you can also do is remove the drybag and use its internal frame as a conventional rack. While it's not necessarily designed to do this, it worked very well for carrying my tripod strapped down with a pair of voile straps.

[michaeljohnbos]

A great tip is to put a small cut in the end of your bolts that you attach your rack with, if you snap one that is a big problem but if the hole goes all the way through get out your trusty swiss army knife and unscrew it.

[jirdesteva]

Great video. I have always used racks on all my bikes and find them very convenient for lugging stuff around town or on long rides. My go to rack is the Tubus Logo Classic rock solid performance for many years.

[MegPo]

I used the Tailfin for about a year on my 46cm gravel bike and even with the extended rack stay, I still had to jam the bag under the back of my saddle, which required some creative packing and sometimes would rub my butt. Also, adding the QR dropouts raises the height of the arch which compounds this problem, so I was never able to use them. I really wanted to like it, but after my Great Divide trip, I was completely fed up with the packing issues and ultimately ended up switching to a regular rack that sat lower over my rear wheel and further back.

[matiasaravena]

The Ortlieb Quick Rack is amazing. I descended a volcano with it on summer, fill with panniers and dry bags and worked like a charm. Its an amazing product.

[gsrossco]

I have the Tumbleweed front and rear racks running Frameworks design mini panniers, just finished the Attack of the Buns ride in Australia, and racks and bags worked a treat.

[MarkBrigham]

I really like Topeak's system of rear rack and platform that accepts Topeak's rear rack "Trunk Bags." Slide the bag into the grooves on the rack platform, and click it into place. Easy to mount rear-tail light hardware too. Can fit both the trunk bag and panniers onto the rack, depending on the panniers --some have too much bulk where they hang from the rack, but others work just fine. Really well thought out.

[drvoxmentat]

I have the Aeroe with two side-by side cradles. It’s a great setup and I get full use of my dropper post.

[christopherharmon]

I installed an inexpensive Blackburn rack (Maybe $35 USD) on my 1998 Gary Fisher mountain bike. With a pair of Ortlieb front panniers, it makes a perfect commuter.