Customer Reviews

Topeak Explorer Bike Rack

5 star:		(124)
4 star:		(53)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It seems to me a very good choice, Hard, good paint.

You can atach the painners at the sides of the rack, and in the top, the sleeping bag, a mattress or something else
It also hace a special atach point for your RED BACK LIGHT


A very very helpfull accesory for your bike when you travel

PAY ATENTION if you need it For DISC BRAKES BIKE or NOT, there is a diference in the way you atach it to the bike and also in the PRICE There are two models, almost exactly the same
Be carefull!!!

If you need a rack for your bike, this appears to be a decent rack. However, I honestly have to say that it's not quite as nice as my old Bontrager "Back Rack 2" that this one is replacing. Let's start with the good:

- STURDY. My old rack only had two vertical supports, this one has three. Feels much more substantial. That's bad if you're a weight weenie, but good if you want to carry stuff and feel secure that it's not going anywhere.

- MTX track system is awesome. This is the whole reason that I got this rack, so that I could use a Topeak trunk bag. This is also one of those good/bad things however, as the Topeak trunk bag forces you to use the Topeak rack - there are no attachments on the Topeak trunk bag at all other than the MTX rail (if they still included velcro tie-downs, you could strap it to *any* rack, which would be nice if you had more than one bike, wanted to loan it to a friend, etc.) I haven't actually used it yet (so I'm holding off on reviewing the bag) but it was highly recommended by someone who uses it every day and I was so impressed with his that I had to get my own - both because it looked sturdy and useful and also because you can literally remove it in seconds and just carry it with you, rather than leave your tools, spare tube, pump, etc. out on your bike when you lock it up somewhere. Trek/Bontrager has their own similar system, and I was tempted to go that route and keep my old rack, but reviews of the security of the attachment were not as good as of the Topeak, and just the bag alone cost as much as buying the Topeak bag and rack together. Also I was unable to find a store that sold the Trek bags, while several stores near me sell Topeak.

- a nice byproduct of the MTX dovetail mount is that it covers your rear tire somewhat, so if you don't have fenders, it'll still catch some of the road debris that would otherwise be flung onto your back even without a trunk bag.

But then there's the bad:

- no height adjustment, which my old Bontrager rack had. This would be nice to be able to "tune out" slight heel strike if you happen to have panniers that are a little too long/far forward for your particular bike/rack/pannier setup. If you have a touring frame this is probably not going to be an issue for you, but if you have a road bike that you just want to put a rack on, it may be a problem.

- screws and washers provided appear to be plated steel, not stainless. They're stamped "9.8" which means that they're high strength - this is good, but I hope the plating is good too. Rust = bad.

- Only comes with one pair of straps to mount to your seat stay braze ons. And they're LONG. I'm either going to have to whack these down or just make my own out of some thick stainless sheet. I don't really need that long bit of steel hanging out over my rear tire not doing anything useful.

- Lower mounting points are really chunky - good for strength, but they interfere with the heads of the screws that mount the derailleur hanger to the dropout, so I am going to have to get some more 5mm washers to space them out slightly so that they can be fully tightened down. Obviously I have not yet mounted the rack on my bike, only test fit it to see what I'm going to have to buy/make to make it work. If you don't have a bolt-on derailleur hanger this won't be of concern to you.

- because of the lack of height adjustment, I'm going to have to put a really interesting bend in the straps to clear the straddle wire for my rear cantilevers (or again, just make my own) If it were height adjustable, I could just raise it another half inch, but...

- taillight mount for a standard two bolt taillight is nice, which my old rack didn't have - it just used a single bolt for a reflector. However, you can get an adapter from Peter White for less than four bucks to convert the single bolt reflector mount to a taillight mount, and the Bontrager rack has tubing that overhangs the taillight to keep it from getting beat up. The Topeak rack on the other hand hangs the taillight mount way out in back with no protection, and in fact when the rack arrived the taillight mount was already slightly bent. It bent back OK and the powdercoat held so no real worries, but I'll have to be more careful not to knock it into things.

So in short - if you want to use the MTX system, you need to get this rack (or other Topeak rack.) However, if you aren't mechanically inclined, you may want to just buy it from your local bike store instead and have them deal with fiddling with it.

If you aren't buying MTX bags and don't think you will in the future, and just want a light duty rack, I'd actually recommend the Bontrager Back Rack 2 instead. That's the only rack I've seen with adjustable height and it can really solve some problems. I'm hoping that I'll like the MTX feature enough that I won't regret not keeping my old rack and buying a universal trunk bag instead.

I love this rack. Sturdy as all heck once installed properly. Unfortunately I didn't realize the rack was made for bikes with seat stays which my Trek didn't have. After a couple of trips to the local outdoor store, I finally stopped by a proper bike shop and picked up a Blackburn Monostay Rack Adapter. It took me nearly an hour to get everything properly installed but once installed the rack didn't move. I use this rack with a Topeak DX bag (with panniers). The bag has QuickTrack and is super-sturdy on this rack. Highly recommended.

I bought this rack to put on my wife's beach cruiser with the Topeak rear basket. It is adaptable to all bicycles as advertised, but is designed to fit bicycles with threaded seat-stay bosses. If you're bicycle does not have threaded rack mounts, installation will require some type of adaptor. My wife's bike is an Electra and Electra sells a seat clamp with rack mounts which installs easily; other companies might sell a similar item. Installation was easy. Rack is very sturdy. The rear basket goes on easily with the MTX track system.Topeak MTX Rear Bicycle Basket

A great value! Detailed directions. No extra parts - don't drop any of those tiny washers. I was lucky - my bicycle has threaded attachment points. If yours does not, be prepared to make a trip or 2 to the hardware store.

Also, the rack does not come with an Allen Wrench. Hopefully you have a set of Allen Wrenches on hand.

I recently purchased an entry-level Schwinn bike to ride to work and to run errands in the face of $4 a gallon gas. I bought this rack because I liked the idea of the bags that slide and lock into place. It took about half an hour to install this rack on my bike. My seat post was pre-tapped but at an odd angle, so I had to bend the silver brackets slightly. Once attached it is solid, I have been riding about ten miles a day for the past week with it and I harldy notice it is there. I have not tested the 55 pound weight limit yet but I bought one of the smaller bags with no panniers. This is a great everyday rack, especially for this novice.

Use this in conjunction with MTX bags. It has lips on either side of the center platform to accept and hold the plastic bottoms of the MTX Bags. Compared to other racks by other manufacturers, this is a dream to use. Just slide on your bag and snap it into place. It is very sturdy and strong, not to mention it is priced like other bike racks. You can't use panniers with this rack. Becareful with the included braze-on screws, one broke easily when I installed it. I'm sure it was just a dud.

The other reviewers really cover the quality of this product. The installation was a snap. The hardest part was bending the support arms to exactly the right angle, but even that wasn't difficult at all. I'm glad that I had 5MM allen wrench, a 5/16 crescent wrench, and two pair of pliers (to bend the support arms). If your bike already has the threaded holes on the arms below the seat post and on the fork by the back tire you shouldn't have any problem at all.

I have a Hybrid bike and I wanted to be able to carry purchases I make during my rides. This manufacturer offers a bag that slides on the racks designed track. The bag is a bit expensive. I gave this rack 4 stars because, 1- I had a hard time figuring out how to mount it to the bike post. Which the instructions only show mounting installation on bikes having pre-tapped seat posts. My bike did not have that. My choices were to return the rack, or drill and tap the seat posts. . BUT, I tried to figure out if the seat's quick release bolt, could be used instead. Luckily, the angle/height of the seat's bolt was proper and the seat-bolt long enough to accommodate for the front mounting brackets to be attached. 2- I am starting to see some rust spots on areas that I could not have scrapped/scratched the plastic coating. In general, it is sturdy and helpful rack. I would buy again.

I've purchased two racks from Amazon. This one, and the Sunlite Bicycle Welded Spring Rear Rack, Black.

They are both the same price to within just a few cents. For the money, I think I would rather have ordered the Sunlite rack again. The Sunlite rack has an adjustable height to accommodate different size wheels, has a nice spring clamp for holding down small items, and a longer rack length by about 2.5 inches. It also has sturdier attachment arms, although the directions for attaching those arms are not very clear and take some time figuring out.... once they are secured properly, they are fine.

By comparison, the Topeak seems to be one size, which works well for bikes with a 26" wheel. The attachment arms, which in the picture you see sticking straight out, will need to be bent to the position for attaching to the frame. I did not like adjusting it this way, if you have a vise you may be able to get some consistent good-looking bends. There is good quality hardware, but depending on your brand bicycle, you may need to buy differet bolts for attachment to the frame. Good points are the fact that this is lightweight aluminum, with a good finish, and some additional hardware that may help you attach reflectors or lights to the rear of the rack.

So that is my comparison and review, hope it helps.