Customer Reviews

Surly Nice Rack, Rear (Black), Cromoly, 26"-29"

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Last summer, I started a long process of losing weight and getting fit via bicycle commuting. The process began when I purchased a Surly Long Haul Trucker. By the beginning of winter, I had finally gotten into a rhythm and was commuting about fifty miles a week.

But commuting was far more difficult than I thought that it would be. When I started, I rode with a backpack. A few miles with a backpack wasn't hard. But to do twenty-five miles a day is tougher. And during the winter, I was carrying so much more stuff - especially the extra layers of thermal base.

It became obvious that I would need something better than just a backpack or a beat up old rack. I needed a rack that could carry ALL of my stuff. So when my I had enough spare change set aside, I went ahead and bought a good rack. I chose the Surly because of its name and because of the product reviews that I found all over the Internet. And I ever glad that I bought this rack.

Installation of the rack was simple. The instructions were simple to understand and easy to follow. And all of the parts came with appropriately visible labels. So assembly and installation was very simple. Reading the docs twice took twenty minutes. Installing the rack took only ten minutes.

Once installed, the rack was very simple to fine tune. I spent about half an hour making sure that the rack was at the best angle for the panniers that I had purchased. I was very worried about heel strike problems. But they really weren't a problem. The rack is designed to ensure the maximum distance between the front of the rack and the place where you hang your panniers (or baskets). More importantly, my LHT has a much longer wheelbase. So I would have to use ginormous bags if I was trying to have problems with heel strikes.

So in the course of an hour, I had my beautiful new racks installed and adjusted to where I liked them. But the best was yet to come. These racks have been through it all. I've ridden with them through ice, snow, rain and drenching sunshine. And as of yet, there is not even the smallest indication of rust. None of the surfaces seem as if they've ever been touched. And the eyelets and moving parts are equally unmarred. I'm not certain whether their sustaining beauty (and obvious durability) is because of the great paint job or if it is the result of awesome engineering. Either way, my racks have stood up to everything that daily commuting can throw at them. After thousand miles, these racks look fantastic.

But the best part is their overall strength. It is true that this rack is heavy. But it is much more correct to say that it is heavy-duty. These things hold up to anything. They are strong enough for my daily load of stuff (incl. clothes, toiletries, towels, a computer and a handful of accessories. And these racks hold firm - even in a stiff crosswind that might strain other racks (or their mount points).

My current maximum load has been a little over forty pounds. But I would have no challenges loading these things down with sixty to eighty pounds. But I think that these racks could easily handle more. I haven't tried sitting an adult on them. But between the bike and the racks, I have every confidence that these racks could handle the load.

Bottom Line: These racks get five stars (*****). They are beautiful. They are strong and durable. And the installation was embarrassingly simple.

I bought this rack to tour from Seattle to San Francisco. At the beginning of a descent in the Redwood National Forest, the stainless steel tubes used to hold the rack to the top braze-ons slipped out of the barrel hardware that Surly uses to attach the tubes to the bike rack. The rack swung down causing me to fishtail into a lane of oncoming traffic. Had a logging truck been making its way up the passage, or had there been any cars behind me, I would have died.

This spontaneous failure also occurred after I had checked the allen bolts several times along the journey.

The rack itself is as sturdy as they come. But don't buy this rack until Surly re-engineers how the rack secures to a bike frame.