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(More customer reviews)People into light bikes will naturally prefer aluminum racks. But...
This is made out of solid steel bar, not tubing. The flat ends are forged, not flattened tube. If the $30 aluminum tube racks are rated at 40 pounds, then this one should be rated over 100 lbs. (A sticker on it says do not use over 20 kilogram, which is 44 lbs. I think) Not that I or my bike could seriously manage 100 pounds added ... but I have loaded up 50 pounds of lawn fertilizer at times.
The short bars that bridge the rack to the stays would have fit better in my case if they were straighter, so I tried to reshape one in a big steel vise, but regardless of what I did the bar only bent slightly and sprung back as soon as the pressure was off. Maybe if I put a three foot pipe on the end it would have bent, but the pressure was already crazy and I thought that was ill advised. :) That is some good steel.
The weak points obviously would be the welds, not the bars, but the welds look nice to me. I figure the weight rating has something to do with lawyers. If you load a lot of weight on the rear of a bike, the handling is completely off and squirrelly, and the rack manufacturer would get sued in the case of an accident if he did not recommend against it. 20kg is probably what stands up in court, not what the rack will hold. Since I broke a rack (from metal fatigue at the stays mount), which this one replaces, I was looking for something tough, and this looks like it. Thanks to the first posters that put up such informative pictures.
I thought the rack might slip around at the screw joints (many racks are one piece welded), but it doesn't. The whole rack flexes in a springy way if you push hard, but the screw joints do not move around. Just in case, I added some lock washers, which should take up any slack due to winter-summer thermal cycling. The rack already comes with lock nuts, but lock nuts are good mainly because when they become loose they will not rattle looser.
Since I had some experience with helping someone with a nice aluminum rack switching from one bike to another, I was aware of how hard it is to adapt to every particular bike. That rack had an array of extra screws and brackets, but it still took some home-made weirdness to make it work on that particular bike. You can see how different the rack fits on my bike as compared to the other pics.
I didn't mention in the picture notes that the gripper material under the pipe brackets is a strip of material they use in wood working to keep small pieces of wood from sliding (without a vice) when routing (which is why I have it.) It looks like the same stuff sold as kitchen drawer liner that keeps silverware from sliding around when you open and close the drawers.
The smallest pipe brackets (1/2 inch), though sturdy, were a bit too large even after re-bent, which is why I put some plastic pipe as a spacer around the stays.
Since, when I find a really good item at a really good price, either the price immediately gets jacked up, or the item disappears never to be seen again, I got two just in case. But I think my bike will give out before this thing does.(And then I'll have a new one for my new bike!) I am more enthusiastic about this item now that I have it then when I ordered it, which is practically a new experience for me.
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Product Description:
The Ventura Universal Bicycle Carrier Rack mounts to the back of your bicycle to help you easily transport all of your items. This durable steel rack can carry up to 55 lbs. and is perfect for use with panniers, backpacks, baskets, and more! It is adjustable for 26in or 28in bicycle tires and features a universal fitting set. A reflector bracket and spring flap are also included
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