travelinhobo

I need to replace the rear rack on my bike as the Axiom panniers I've had on it has damaged it greatly thru, I think, vibration. However, with a search online, I've discovered that the rack I have they no longer make. I actually don't care about it being Axiom. The rack is heavy duty, able to hold 50lbs max. My rear gear probably weighs at least 30lbs total. I would like to have some recommendations on sturdy racks that my Axiom 55 liter panniers will work with. I've attached photos here of the rack that I'm now using. I live on my bike and travel enough, so it needs to be a rack which will last a few years. Thanks for your positive input. One note: When I went to buy a rack last year and brought along a pannier to size, I noticed that not all racks have the same height/length from bottom eyelet/hole to top of rack. And I need a rack which is on the taller side as the 1/2" makes a difference.

Tourist in MSN

I think the most commonly recommended brand of racks on this forum is Tubus.

I am real happy with my Tubus Logo EVO. Specifications for height is on the graphic at:
https://www.tubus.com/fileadmin/user...Evo_TZ_2.0.pdf

More info here:
https://www.tubus.com/en/products/re...oduct/logo-evo

Note that it mounts your panniers a few inches lower than your old rack, the panniers are mounted on the lower bar.

But, if your panniers are really tall, that could be a problem if the drive side pannier hangs down where it could interfere with your rear derailleur. Panniers that are 55 liters are unusually big. You would need to assess how far down the pannier extends below the hooks.

If your pannier hooks have to be mounted higher than on the Logo, they have other models like the Cargo with higher pannier mounting.

Are your pannier hooks adjustable to allow the pannier to be moved fore and aft? If not, if the hooks are riveted onto a backboard then you would need to worry about whether or not the hooks are exactly the wrong distance apart. The drawing dimensions should help.

Photo below is my Logo on my heavy touring bike with one Ortlieb Backroller on it.



This bike has 26 inch tires, 57mm width, so it is a smaller diameter tire than a 700c bike. You can see there is plenty of clearance.

They are not cheap, but if you are living on your bike, it is like making sure your home has a good foundation.

mstateglfr 

OP- your current rack is a Bontrager rack...the B is right there on the top platform of the rack. Not sure if you thought it's an Axiom rack or not, based on your post.

Anyways, here is a rack that is well made, not wildly expensive, and well designed. Easy to mount and adjust and it securely holds weight.
https://www.axiomgear.com/products/r...racks/journey/

veganbikes

A huge +1 for Tubus for so many reasons. One reason is they have the best support if you have a warranty issue and will even within the first 3 years send you are replacement rack anywhere in the world (or something like that) which is super awesome, not that you are likely to need it.

Axiom racks are fine racks but nothing special and I don't ever believe their weight rating but I haven't yet seen any issues but Tubus is my top choice for rear racks and front pannier racks. They are very light but quite strong and well designed and built and fairly easy to install.

indyfabz

Nitro Big rear rack. Nickel plated steel. I’ve had mine for 13 years. Looks almost like new. Performs like new. Has a plate for bolt on rear light mount.

Steve B.

Axiom makes good stuff as does a UK company called Roswheel

Yan 

Roswheel isn't British. It is from Shanghai China.
https://m.made-in-china.com/company-b4fe64c24d95dd11/

The reason Tubus can afford to ship you a replacement anywhere in the world is that when you pay the mega bucks for a Tubus, you're actually prepaying for three racks.

Try these guys for 1/3rd the price.
www.racktime.com

Tourist in MSN

Just curious, are you aware that Racktime is part of Tubus?

Racktime makes racks with aluminum, Tubus uses steel and a few other metals.

tcs

Tall, heavy-duty rack? Burley Moose springs to mind.

robow

Seems this just came up, but anyway. I own both an Axiom Journey, (three of us use this model and have had no problems) and the Tubus. Both are very strong and will probably get the job done. You can buy a few of the Axiom racks for the cost of one Tubus.
One rack that I used to own but gets little airplay around here, is the Jandd Expedition rack, which is a real beast, and they have it in a tall version.
https://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FREXPTB

gerryl

If you're seriously shopping around have a look at Blackburn racks. They've been around forever, their racks tend to be of excellent quality.

RCMoeur 

I've used many racks through the years, often with substantial loads. I did have an early-generation Blackburn rack fail at one of the welds, but wire wrap and JB Weld brought it back to functional condition. If I had to pick one for maximum capacity and durability, it would probably be the Jandd Expedition, which is unfortunately out of stock at the moment. I have a couple Expeditions squirreled away for future builds or to replace racks if they eventually break.

I have the rack in your first photo (Bontrager) - it hasn't greatly impressed me in terms of capacity, and the seatstay arm fastening system is a pain (I replaced the tubular members with aluminum straps), but it is light. It came with the proprietary bag which snaps to the top of the rack, which I like as a racktop bag.

veganbikes

You aren't very knowledgeable in racks and it shows yet you seem to want to be involved with the conversation. The reason why Tubus costs more is not because you are buying three it is because you are buying one rack that weighs very little and can hold 80lbs and is highly unlikely to have issues and last and last and last and last some more. It is a well supported and engineered product. In fact my 3 Tubus racks (because the front rack is technically two separate racks) weighed less than my single Surly Nice Rack and carries the same amount of weight and I don't trust it any less. High quality things cost money initially but when they last for a long time the cost is quite low. My Cargo Evo rack probably cost me about $10 a year in the time I have had it at full retail price for the time. Not that expensive and have had zero issues with it granted no big expedition level touring but it has been on two different bikes.

As someone else pointed out Racktime is made by Tubus it is their aluminum commuter racks with all sorts of neat accessories that just click in and out. Really well made stuff. They also own Hebie, which does kickstands and chainguards and probably some other stuff as well that I cannot recall at the moment.

cyccommute 

There is no way that the Journey rack can hold…checks site…154 lbs! Axiom is very bad about over-rating their load capacity but that claim is wildly off the mark. I would doubt that it can hold 70 pounds, much less 70 kilograms. I’d be dubious that it could hold 50 lbs. Tubus racks say they can hold 57 lbs and they are made of steel. They say they have been tested to 88 lbs which I can also believe. But an aluminum rack can’t hold nearly twice what, arguably, is one of the strongest racks around.

cyccommute 

I have Tubus on nearly everything that has a rack on it which is 8 Tubus rear racks…3 Airys, 3 Cargos and 2 Vegas. I also have three Taras which I use when I need them. One of the cargos was purchased around 2003 and has been running strong ever since. It’s carried a lot of load over a lot of road. Worth every penny I’ve paid for them and they will last for years to come.

MAK

I have Racktime Add-It rear racks on my LHT and Gary Fisher Hybrid bikes that I use for touring. I've done a number of week long tours on both pavement and gravel and the racks have held up very well with zero problems. I'm pleased and see no reason to change.

Tourist in MSN

To clarify something on weigh ratings, I learned a few months ago on a different forum (thus the source is not 100 percent reliable, but in this case I trust it) that Germany came out with a new rule requiring a certain weight rating for racks used for child seats. Tubus/Racktime did not want their racks used with child seats, so they lowered the weight rating on them to below the threshold in that new rule. If any of the Germans on this forum can confirm or refute this, I would appreciate it since I never 100 percent trust what I read on forums.

My Tubus Logo EVO is labeled 40 kg. Now they are rated at 26 kg, but I suspect that they have not changed and are still good for 40 kg (or roughly 88 pounds). I am not sure if I exceeded 40 kg or not with my Logo, but I might have in the photo at the bottom of this post where I had over two weeks of food on my bike.

My Racktime Addit rack that I use on my light touring bike is rated at 30 kg (roughly 66 pounds) but they now are rated at 25 kg, below that child seat threshold.

I like the Racktime Addit, but I did not recommend that rack to the OP in this case for one reason, he said he had 55 liter panniers, and he said he lives on his bike. I felt the Logo EVO (or Cargo) which have greater weight capacities might better suit someone with that much gear on the back of a bike that gets a LOT of use. Thus, my previous recommendation for one of those racks.

I originally bought the Surly rear rack (I think they called it Nice). But I really did not like the size, shape, and I found it to be less stiff than I wanted. I bought the Logo EVO to replace the Surly. I still have the Surly, it is on my heavy touring bike for use around town, but for touring I remove it to put the Logo EVO on that bike. The sole reason I use it for around town use is that the wide platform works very well with an older rack top bag I use around town. I had the Surly front rack but donated it to charity over a decade ago.

Axiom has always rated their racks at stratospheric capacities. Initially, I thought the ratings were typos, but after I saw the numbers several times I started to realize that they were not typos. I use one of their front racks on my heavy touring bike, but I added reinforcements because I did not trust it to hold up with some lightly loaded panniers.

Thorn rates their expedition rack at 40 kg when M5 bolts are used, but increase the rating to 60 kg when M6 bolts are used. I have never owned their rack, I cite this because they appear to believe that the M5 bolt is the limiting factor. They also suggest lowering load capacity in rough terrain.


Tubus Logo EVO in back, M6 bolts were used in the photo below. An Axiom rack is used in front but I added reinforcement to it. I did not weigh the bags (I did not want to know what they weighed), but this is the heaviest load I have ever carried. I think I had over 30 pounds of food on the bike in the photo.




I also use Tubus Ergo (discontinued) and Tubus Tara front racks on my medium and light touring bikes, these are front low rider racks.

In the photo above, one of the reasons that I used the Axiom rack in front is that it gave my front panniers several additional inches of ground clearance and I use this bike off road in difficult terrain. I have avoided the other low rider racks for that reason on this bike, but use them on other bikes that are used in more civilized terrain.

mstateglfr 

Sure, the listed weight limit may not be correct.
That doesn't change the fact that it is structurally solid, a good value at its price, long lasting, and versatile.

It easily handles fully packed touring weights in multiple mounted configurations and doesn't noticeably twist or sway. That's really all that is needed here.

Tourist in MSN

One more example came to mind. I met the gal in the photo below 9 years ago, she was on year 7 of a LONG tour. She said her bike had over 100,000 km on it. Most components had been replaced at least twice. But the racks were original. The front rack (Tubus Swing) was no long made, so she kept having it repaired because it could not be replaced with the same model.

That looks like the older Tubus Logo (not the EVO version) on the rear.



I can't think of a better recommendation for a Tubus rear rack than this. She started in South Africa, rode up through Africa into Europe, then east to Asia, south to Austrailia, north again to China, then across the Pacific to where I met her going south on the Pacific Coast route in Oregon.

One of her two pairs of Ortlieb panniers were also original.

bktourer1

MY Jannd "Expedition" has been good for many years

Expedition Rear Rack

Product ID: FREXP
Description: The Expedition Rack is the rack of choice for cyclists who require exceptional durability and expanded size, measuring a full three inches longer than our standard rack. Built from 3/8" 6061 aluminum stock, the Expedition Rack is intended to be used primarily with our Large Mountain and Expedition Panniers where additional rear clearance may be needed for large loads. However, the Expedition is also a good choice when more room is needed for carting the evenings firewood or portaging large containers of water. The secret to this racks tremendous strength is a third support strut which angles back 21 degrees from the main load bearing strut. In addition, the rear support strut offers a 6" long section for attaching the lower portion of your panniers suspension system to enable precise positioning of your load. All stress points are double-welded.

Yan 

Wow, no, I had no idea.

And I had no idea aluminum was that much cheaper than steel.

Yan 

I'm touring with a Tubus rack at this very moment actually.

They are good racks, no doubt. Not the best price to performance ratio though.

robow

I think this is also the reason the Axiom Journey rack is so solid and can hold a lot of weight is the second complete loop to the rear.
One other thing I consider when buying a rack is does it have a top panel on it. Since I don't run fenders, the top panel on the Journey, the Jannd, and that Bontrager keep mud, water and debris from splashing up on my bag that rides on top of the rack and makes sure no material likely slips down to rub on the tire.

djb

travlnhobo--I hope that you can get to a big bike shop that has numerous rear rack brands and find a reasonably priced, well built option--they exist, but it depends on the store.
Here in this part of Canada, a good strong rack should cost around $50, but depending on where you are in the world, and the bike stores available, prices and what is available will vary.
If you do buy a rack at a store and they install it, ask them to put some "loctite" on the bolt threads, this will stop them from loosening over time--especially if as I assume, you are carrying a lot of weight in your panniers given that you are living on your bike.

where is the problem with your rack? Is there a broken weld? It appears to be in good shape.

Paul_P

I bought the Roswheel rear rack earlier this year for its construction, low price and especially the lower bar for panniers. Its form is excellent.

But it came with a manufacturing defect : the threads in the hole of one of the two little 'blocks' that recieves a screw on top were stripped for the length of the screw. The screws in both blocks are screwed in very tightly by the manufacturer and the hole is a bit too big for proper thread formation.



I replaced the screw with a longer one to get to undamaged threads, but you have to be careful since its length is limited by the secord screw in the same piece. The threads in the other block were in better shape and I consider the rack to be sufficiently safe for the time being, though I wouldn't go around the world with it. It's carried 30-40 lbs on gravel for hundreds of km with no problem.

Even with the manufacturing defect, due to nice design and low cost (nothing else as good for the price) I ordered another one for my daughter. It had exactly the same problem, which I took care of again. So I don't recommend this rack unless you're good at fixing things. And even then use locktite and a light touch.

Ortlieb sell a nice little kit E219 (~20$) that replaces the problem parts with much better quality with no work necessary.