Customer Reviews

Wald 198 Front Bicycle Basket (14.5 x 9.5 x 9, Black)

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

 

 

This basket is sturdily built and the gloss black finish is of exceptional quality. However, the mounting hardware looks like it was designed for a 1968 Schwinn Typhoon. All the hardware is English, not metric. There are no locknuts. There are lockwashers on the screws, but of courses there they do no good. The supports are not long enough to reach the mounting holes on the fork of my Electra Townie, and they will work only on forks that are tapered in thickness at the bottom, which will leave out mountain bikes and many hybrids.

As it stands, you will probably have to run to the hardware store to get locknuts and various pieces of metal to adapt the basket to your bike. Updating the hardware on this otherwise fine product wouldn't cost this company much or require much effort.

I purchased this item several months ago and it is a high quality steel wire basket that mounts rigidly to the front wheel forks if you use the struts that come with it. This basket is sturdy and can carry much more weight than the cheapies I've see at local sporting goods stores. However, it is critical to note that when you mount the basket using the strut as indicated on the instructions you LOSE YOUR FRONT SHOCK ABSORBERs if your bike has them. I realized this the hard way when I installed the basket and realized that the rigid strut prevents with two piece front forks (an upper and lower half) that are intended to move relative to each other (to absorb shocks when your wheel goes over rough surfaces) from moving. You not only end up with a rigid front wheel, but a bike basket strut that is constantly getting unintended loads from road inputs. It appears that this basket was designed before bike front wheels had shock absorbers. However, all was not lost. I was able to modify the struts using some basic tools and purchased fasteners so that the struts attach to the upper part of the fork so that the relative motion of the front forks can occur. Viola! I have my front shocks back and still have a sturdy front bike basket.

For the price this is a good front bicycle basket. I would suggest one of the Wald mesh baskets instead,though, because with this item you'll need some kind of liner for smaller things. Although usable, this basket was too small for my needs. Also, even though it is designed to be a "multi-fit" basket, I could not get it to seat so that the bottom was level. This tilt caused items being carried to fall towards the back of the basket--not really a problem, but it made it difficult to use the volume of the basket efficiently.

I use 3 of these, one on a surly LHT, one on a 1986 road bike, and one on a beach cruiser. All were fairly easy to mount and work well.

As another reviewer said - the hardware is really not quite sufficient and you'll probably want to get some lock nuts to better secure the bolts from vibrating loose, but after that it is a sturdy basket.

I bought this basket for my dog. The measurements were for the top of the basket instead of the bottom. The dog fits, but it's a little cramped. The basket is good quality, if only the measurements were more accurate.

I like this basket, but it needs about a dollar's worth of hardware to make it excellent. Other commenters have noted that there are no lock washers on the nuts, and it certainly needs them, but there's another issue: It needs two more screws (and nuts, and lock washers). This is in order to secure the connection between the supporting rods at two points each. One point of support just isn't sturdy enough.

The supports use 8/32" x 1/2" machine screws, so buy a set of those with matching nuts and locking washers, and you'll be fine.

Bought this in order to give my dog a ride and carry the occasional grocery item. Installed very easy and well finished. Not sure ehow it will handle the weather but works fine.

EXCELLENT DEAL!!! Fast Shipping & easy to install. Makes my trips to the store for smaller items so much easier & saves me gas in the car. Heavy duty & durable basket! Highly recommend for any bicyclist!