Topeak Explorer Bike Rack
| Brand: | Topeak | ||
| Average Rating |
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If you are thinking of buying a bike rack, then it is only proper to take time and read about the various bike rack reviews that would enable you to choose the appropriate one for your bicycle. It is not tough to get a hold of bicycle rack reviews since almost all of the biking magazines and websites have them. In addition, they will provide you information regarding the latest bicycle racks.
This article would mainly talk about what the Topeak Explorer Bike Rack has to offer. Read on and discover if this bicycle rack is compatible for your bike. Remember, the different models of bicycles are often compatible with a kind of bicycle rack.
Topeak Explorer Bike Rack basically utilizes patented slide and click design. For best results, it could be paired up with the Topeak rear bike trunk. In that way, it would be easier for you to attach and remove your trunk. This bike rack also works wonders with the side panniers, which are both integrated or separated into the Topeak trunk
Topeak Explorer Bike Rack is a well-liked bike rack which is durable and assembled along with 100% recyclable and non-rusting material. In fact, the Topeak Explorer Bike Rack features integrated top plate to be able to quickly mount RX Quick Track and Topeak MTX trunk bags. This integrated top plate is mainly for an easy-mount Topeak MTX as well as RX Quick Track trunk bags and it comes with integrated fender top, too.
The braze-on type Topeak Explorer Bike Rack weighs 625 grams or 1.38 pounds. It comes with no spring. In terms of compatibility, it is highly compatible with MTX series bag. It fits all frames, and it has a sturdy fender top. Aside from that, it has a red light mount, as well as a tail light mount.
Basically, Topeak Explorer Bike Rack works best with bicycles with 26″ wheel.
Topeak Explorer Rear Mount Rack features an integrated top plate for quick-mount Topeak MTX and RX Quick Track trunk bags. Integrated top plate for quick-mount Topeak MTX and RX Quick Track trunk bags , Integrated fender top more info
A real sturdy rack… works great on a TREK
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This rack is used in conjuction with a TOPEAK bag and works as advertised. The installation on a TREK 7200 was relatively glitch free. It is very sturdy & we are pleased.
Excellent quality, easy install
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve had this item installed on my Trek 7.5 FX for about a month now and haven’t put too many miles on the bike, maybe 50-60 but all over tough broken concrete in an urban environment. The rack has held up great. I also bought one of the Topeak bags that slide onto this rack and its really high quality, a great value for the price!
good rack, MTX is cool, but there are better if you don’t need MTX
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
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.
Not for all bike types
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I wish I had noticed I needed a certain type of bicycle. I have a Trek mountain bike, and I am going to have to go to a bike shop to get something to mount this to my seat – otherwise it will not work.
EXCELLENT!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This rack is awesome! It installed in just a few minutes and is very sturdy. I also purchased the Wald 582 baskets for my bike and they mounted perfectly on this rack and bike. It is very strong and looks great! I put this on a cruiser bike that I got from Walmart and I also put a 2 stroke engine on it and it looks fantastic. Don’t worry about any negative reviews that you may see about this rack, just order it and I promise you that you will love it. If you can screw in a light bulb you can install this.
A good rack, but I had to grapple with two issues
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
The rack is well made, light, and the MTX system makes it very easy to slide MTX compatible attachments (baskets, bags) on and off. I ran into two issues, though I suspect they are specific to my Jamis Aurora Elite.
1. There is too much metal around the holes at the bottom through which the mounting bolts pass, and it consequently interferes with the frame – I had to file it down till it fit snugly. This may make it a bit weaker, but not enough to make it dangerous. On a bicycle with larger clearances, this would not be an issue.
2. The arms that attach the top of the rack to the bicycle front had to be bent to align them with the mounting holes on the bicycle.
All said and done, though, it’s a good rack at a reasonable price.
Sturdy and easy to use!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I looked for quite a little bit at the various bike racks available before finally deciding on this one. I had wanted a seat post mounted rack at first, so that I knew it would fit properly without frame modification or much trouble. After looking around for a while, I came to the conclusion that all the available seat post racks were much more susceptible to being stolen and load shifting. I eventually reluctantly made the purchase, and hoped for the best.
After I got the rack, I was pleased – and somewhat amazed – to learn my bike (Trek 4700 Mountain Bike) had pre-threaded holes to which I could attach a rack such as this. After that, installation was virtually a snap. Only one thing took more than an allen wrench and a little time to install. One of the curved support tubes near the bottom of the rack was preventing installation because of a mount used for optional disc brakes. It was a simple fix, however. If you simply remove the rubber end cap and remove about half of an inch of the tubing from the problem spot with a hacksaw, you can put the cap back on and it will fit perfectly. It does look a bit odd if you know to look for it, but I found it a small price to pay for such an excellent rack.
For anyone who may be interested, I bought this with a Topeak MTX Trunk Bag EXP Bicycle Trunk Bag with Rigid Molded Panels, and they work perfectly together. And excellent trunk bag (and panniers!) for an excellent rack. The bag slides and locks into place on the rack, and doesn’t move or vibrate like other mount types can.
Easy to install, works perfectly
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I had never installed a bike rack and wasn’t sure if this would fit on the bike. The rack easily installed on my girlfriend’s female mountain bike. It feels very sturdy and well built and is as good looking as can be expected for a rack. I’ve seen cheaper ones on here but i’d say this one is a good value for the quality.
Good and sturdy
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This rack, with a little bending and an extra pair of hands, was easy to install and is very sturdy.
Good rack
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Fairly easy to install. Only buy it if you plan to buy a Topeak bag as well.
Great Rack
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Easy to install. Very durable. Works marvelous withTopeak MTX Trunk Bag DX. Good value.
Great rack!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I love this rack! The only downside was that it was very difficult to attach to my bike because those two metal pieces in the front need to be bent (or at least did for my bike.) It is very sturdy and fits all Topeak products very well. I would recommend this rack over any others.
nice rack!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased two of these racks for our Motebecane “comfort” bikes. They installed very easily and look great!
Also, bought the Topeak bags that slide and lock on. They are a great addition to our bikes and will allow us
to take stuff with us on our rides, bring more home too! Recommend getting bike fenders if you like to ride
year round.
Great slide in and click design
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This Topeak Rear Bike Rack uses their patented slide and click design. Match this up with a Topeak rear bike trunk, and you’ll be delighted at how easy it is to attach and remove your trunk. This rack also works well with side panniers that are both seperate or integrated into the Topeak trunk.
Not for bikes with disc brakes
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
The only reason I am giving this a 1 is so hopefully people see that this only fits bike frames that do NOT have disc brakes. Unfortunately, this is not listed in the description of the product, it only states “fits all bike frames.”
However, amazon does sell the disc brake version of this bike rack, and I did a simple return through amazon to get the disc brake version, which fit perfectly onto my Cannondale.
Great product, amazon just needs to update the product description.