walterbyrd

Full disclosure: I'm cheap.

I have had this Walmart rear rack before. It seemed to work well. But I am thinking about panniers, and I am not sure if these will keep the panniers away from the rear tire well enough.


Blackburn 45 Lbs. Capacity Lighted Rear Bike Rack $24.97

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Blackburn...4?athbdg=L1600

Kapusta

I would guess it will work with some panniers that don’t need much support (have stiff backs) and also don’t need to hook at the bottom. My Arkel Metro would work, but my old Banjo Brothers one would not.

To be honest it does not look like a great design to me if you plan to use panniers, though.

Also, the rack looks really high.

soyabean

Have you considered used?

A used rack that is complete and intact without any broken welds will function and hold just as it was designed for.

Racks should never be fastened to both seapost and axle frame eyelets. One or the other, not both. The reason being that a seatpost is considered movable, even if it is not a quick release.

Seatpost clamped racks are the only option when a rear suspension does not allow a frame mounted rack.

Otherwise, a proper rack is to be fastened entirely onto the frame for utmost solidness.

livedarklions

$15 more, tried and true,last for decades and never fail:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Planet-Bi...Black/31986263

walterbyrd

Thanks. I don't have any rear suspension. From what I have found, used tends to cost as much, or more, than new. When I look on craigslist, I think "these people must be out of their minds."

The rear rack in photo looks great.

I am not crazy about both seatpost and axle frame eyelets, but I can get by with it.

walterbyrd

That might work. I also came across this for $27.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/261261535

soyabean

Instead of the walmart website, have you visited a local Walmart Supercenter?

They will have frame-mounted pannier racks in stock.

I've bought and installed many of them due to supply chain scarcity.

The trade-off with a seatpost rack is that your center of gravity is high and a heavy load will make your bike wonky and dangerous.

Ideally you want all cargo to be as low as possible.

But hey - it's your bike. Not mine

walterbyrd

It is not always that high. I had it on my old bike, it was not that high off the wheel at all.

walterbyrd

Thank you. That is just the kind of advice I was looking for. A concern I have over frame mounted is that my rear brake will be the way. I have caliper brakes, not disk brakes.

But, I don't want to be top heavy.

Last time I was at Walmart, their bikes, and bike parts, selection was pretty bad. It's been like that since the supply chain issues started.

soyabean

Bikes with caliper brakes have been around since the dawn of time and frame racks have always been installed on them.

Kapusta

The echo the previous post, I’ve been using a brake mount stay for 10 years on this bike:



It actually has seat-stay mounts, but one of them is blocked by the brake caliper on this particular frame size.

livedarklions

I would be extremely wary of an off-brand like that, especially because there's an exceptionally large number of parts involved in making that particular model "adjustable" and failure of any of them under load could be a big problem. If you're going to go cheap, at least go simple.

LeeG

$.02 if you’re wanting to carry panniers on a road bike with shortish <17” chainstays consider front low riders with medium to small panniers and rear rack for bulky light loads. It’s a poor fit putting lots of weight behind the rear wheel of a bike not designed for weight in that location even though most pictures and people put stuff there. Rear racks on road bike, cross bike, gravel bike, modern mtn bike, light touring bike, etc. are common but not ideal for panniers simply because the pannier has to be moved far back to clear heels. Absolutely nothing wrong with a cheap rear rack I’ve used a bunch but if your goal is carrying panniers where you have to elevate or extend the panniers far back or high then you are choosing bad handling more than meeting a budget.
If your need is a rear rack then get a good cheap rear rack that attaches to seat stays and attach it so the deck clears the tire or has room for fenders. If you need a rack for panniers and the rear position compromises handling get the cheapest front rack, low riders or small platform rack that enables the panniers to be mounted as far back as practical on the forks.

LeeG

All the racks should hold the panniers out of the wheels, the biggest problem is whether the bike handles a rear load well and whether you have to slide the panniers too far back to clear feet. Lots of people have ridden “10 speeds” with heavy rear loads and learned to live with a twitchy front end and cheap rear wheels going out of true.
Most of my touring was without panniers and rear rack holding a medium sized stuff bag plus five lbs or so on the handlebars. If you have to have a pannier sized load front low riders is hands down the best route if your rear wheel is not especially robust.

this looks good
https://www.modernbike.com/delta-mega-rear-rack-ultra

https://www.modernbike.com/racktime-...ng-clamp-black

indyfabz

Where would the bottom pannier hooks "attach" to that rack? You should consider racks and panniers as a system. If you already have panniers, you need to consider which racks will be a good fit. If you don't have them and don't have any in mind, your next thread may very well be "Cheap Panniers to Fit This Rack?"

I’ve had some experience in this area. Current setup.

walterbyrd

I don't expect to have a huge load. The rear racks that attach to the frame, not the seat post, concern me because there is little room where these attach. Most of the room is taken up by the rear brake assembly.

Polaris OBark

I got a few of the Axiom racks pictured above (post 3) for less than $30 each new. They are solid.

walterbyrd

Thank you. I thought about this Venture rack from Walmart. But maybe I'll take a look at the Axiom racks.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ventura-E...Steel/11065174

Calsun

You will want panniers with a solid side so they cannot get into the spokes of the wheel. Measure how much distance you need from your heels to the panniers to determine maximum size that will work.

Load capacity means next to nothing. What is important is how rigid the rack is with a load on it and want to minimize any sway of the rack and its load. The touring type racks have bracing to insure there is zero flex. They are not designed to fold for shipping which also makes them sturdier and better overall. Check out the design of the Blackburn Outpost Rear World Touring Rack. It is made much like the ones I have had to buy from UK dealers in the past for my own touring.

indyfabz

I think the Blackburn Outpost is a bit outside the OPs budget. By a lot.

soyabean

I think you have some very demanding needs that calls for a touring-quality rack, and may not find something worthy at Walmart.