The Tailfin Alloy AeroPack is a bundle that includes everything you need to mount the rack with trunk onto your bike. Tailfin offer both carbon and alloy Aeropack with or without pannier mounts.
- Brand: Tailfin
- Product: Alloy AeroPack
- From: tailfin.cc
- Price: £275.00
- Tested: by Amanda for 2 months
Things I liked:
- Ease of fit/removal
- Secure fit with zero noise
- Reliably waterproof
Things I would change:
- Shorter ‘easy access’ zipper so I can stick my hand in without undoing the top straps
- Same for the stash pocket the other side
- Include the option to add a light mount solution during checkout
This review is for an alloy Tailfin AeroPack where the trunk bag acts as the top bar of the rack as opposed to the rack with a top stay and the trunk added on top. This means that to remove the pack, I have to take the entire rack off, but thanks to it being three-point quick release mounts, this is a piece of pie. My rack doesn’t have pannier mounts. My setup would cost £275.00 for everything you see in this review.
Getting Started – How to buy
If you are purchasing a Tailfin rack and AeroPack you have several options at checkout. The choice of frame mounting or axle mounting is one of your biggest decisions, but I’ll be bold and say that you want the QR axle mount. Why? Well, frame mounts will sit the pack higher up which I doubt is useful unless you have a humongous bike frame. Axle concentric keeps everything tidy, and it’s really satisfying how neat the pack fits even with the QR mounts. For such a stable fit, you’d expect bulky connections, but the engineers have somehow worked magic around that.
You also need to weigh up the benefit of being able to remove the AeroPack without taking the entire rack off (Buying the rack with topstay and adding the bag on costs £339.00, so the convenience will cost you £64.00). If you’re bikepacking it’s more likely you’ll want to take the pack away from your bike, but I have just used a dry bag to carry items away with me and then quickly stuff them back in.
Another main choice is carbon vs alloy, which is on you and your bank balance. My setup switched to carbon would save roughly 130g and costs an extra £50.00. I’d really hate to drop my bike with a carbon rack on it, though…
Fitting the rack
How does it perform?
So you’ve spent all of 10 seconds attaching it to your bike, and it’s time to pack. The base of the trunk pack is sturdy and flat, so you can be quite neat with your items if that suits you. You can access the main pocket via a zip on the none drive-side, so for something you might want to grab in a hurry (waterproof?), make sure it’s near that zip.
The roll-top closure makes it easy to squeeze excess air out and get the pack as tidy as possible. There’s a buckle front and back to hold it down, and then you secure it with two straps over the top with ease, as your other buckles have securely closed it already.
The drive side zip pocket is for your multitool, cash, keys or whatever you want quick access to. Annoyingly, both of these zips are covered by the top straps so you still need to unclip one or both to get in these side entries.
Optional Extras
When you checkout there is a £6 upgrade option for the extended seatpost connector. To buy this separately it costs £15, so it’s worth making sure you know whether or not you’ll need it, and to make it easier I’d say that smaller bike frames need the extender (or, less than 100mm of exposed seatpost). The shorter your seatpost, the more the rack will tilt forward, so you need the extender to get it level. I initially fit this with the standard connector and couldn’t figure out why it nosed down under the saddle so much, but then I discovered they have the extender and it fits perfectly.
The rear of the AeroPack has twin light mounts that work well for many lights that band or clip on. For any other lights, such as Exposure, you’ll need to buy a light mount. The options are a seatpost mimic mount (£20, 34.8g) or a fixed mount directly on the trunk bag (£20, 23.3g).
Is it overpriced?
No. We know that well designed and manufactured products come at a price. I can’t stress enough how incredible the design of this rack and accessories is. Rubber grommets in connecting parts to silence and secure them. Precision fit between all connecting parts, without an abundance of bolts. The quick release design somehow fits silently on any bike.
Tailfin knows its market. All products have a listed weight, right down to a 3g locking wheel nut. The website is clear and offers a visual of every option to help you choose the right solutions for your bike and needs. The instructions are equally as clear, but if you had any issues, the after sales support is excellent and there are plenty of YouTubers riding with these packs which is actually really useful for finding how it might fit on your bike.
Overall
I can’t really fault the Tailfin Alloy AeroPack and rack. It’s a breeze to fit, it can be removed in less than 10 seconds and goes back on just as quick. It doesn’t interfere with the ride, as it’s streamline and totally silent. Whether you need a good chunk of storage for a big adventure, or you just want the luxury of a bobble hat and insulated jacket at your café stop, if this is within budget, I can guarantee you’ll be relieved you have it. Another huge selling point is that this exact setup will fit my mountain bike, too.
P.S. Spiralling down a bikepacking YouTube hole, it seems the Tailfin AeroPack and rack are so aerodynamic they technically make you faster… Here’s a windtunnel video for anyone who actually cares about aerodynamics.
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Review Info
| Brand: | Tailfin |
| Product: | AeroPack Alloy |
| From: | tailfin.cc |
| Price: | £275.00 |
| Tested: | by Amanda for 2 months |
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