Ortlieb Quick rack curious

Anyone got one? Thoughts?

Sturdy over rough terrain (with the seat stay adapters rather than the bolt mounts)?

Is there clearance for a rear MTB Mudhugger rather than the optional integrated mudguard?

How solid is the dedicated pannier attachment system?

I was in Backcountry Bikes yesterday speaking to the owner there about them.
He’s got one that’s just done 3k off-road miles touring with panniers, another that’s many years and many bivvys in Scotland down.
The way they mount means the loading is not on the mechanism, but on solid steel rack structure.
I’m likely buying one next weekend from him after I check my pannier (Odd Thule mounting) fit.

Interested in this as I have 2 Ortleib rear pannier bags. Potentially for use on Genesis DayOne and Sonder Camino though both have/will have SKS mudguards installed.

Currently using a ‘hard wired on’ rack which is a bit heavy and a pain to refit/remove.

If it is as sturdy as claimed and an easy fit/remove, great.

I use one on my gravel bike. Highly rate it. Sturdy, comes on and off in literally seconds. Really nicely made and works really well with their own bags and quicklok system. I’ve no experience of the mounts for non-drilled frames, but I’d expect they will help you position the rack as you please to create clearance for guards.

Yep; girlfriends got one using the seat stay adapters; it’s solid. Not had to be readjusted since we fitted it; taken full drybag/ mini panniers down some very rough terrain over multiple days and it’s not skipped a beat.

I’ve got one. Had it on HT on Badger Divide with Ortlieb Classic Panniers few months ago worked fine. Put on my gravel bike and survived some abuse on big gravel descents in Spain. I added an extra lever holder arm thing so I had two on each pannier to hold them to rack. Worked fine no issues with dropper post. Swapped the set up to a Genesis CDF for a tour round Holland couple weeks ago with no issues.

I used the bolt mounts which are fiddly to move from bike to bike but appears bombproof. Ortlieb should sponsor me!

I’ve used one with Ortlieb gravel panniers bikepacking from Rome to UK and across Spain, both gravel type routes. Works well, no problems, prefer it to my Tailfin system. I use the rack eyelet bolts supplied.

I’ve one, highly rate it. Super easy to install and remove, sturdy enough that I removed a second clip on the pannier bags.  Looks well smart.

But to your questions, about the mudguard, not sure, I have the lightweight option and it might get a little tight, imagine the bigger rack would be ok.  Dedicated pannier attachment? Are you on about ql3? I use ql2 and it’s fine, mainly for urban and a little bit of gravel.  I think if it was MTB I’d have to put the second clip back on the bottom, so there’s one pointing forwards and backwards like their “gravel” panniers.

Slight hijack, can anyone recommend a similar quality front rack?

I use an SKS X Blade under mine. My bike has various different rack eyelets so I can position the rack higher to get the mudguard underneath.

These look good but have noticed the optional seat stay mounts say not suitable for carbon frames. It’s a shame as I am looking for something that’s easy to swap between my gravel bike and my carbon road bike (without mounting points). Tailfin looks like the only real option but struggling to justify the cost, thought this might have been the solution

If it helps, I can easily fit a Win Wing under mine, which is the non-lightweight version using the bolt mounts.

It is sturdy.. I think it’s rated up to around 20kg which I doubt you’ll get anywhere near in off-road trim.

Tailfin looks like the only real option but struggling to justify the cost, thought this might have been the solution

Not necessarily cheaper, but the Old Man Mountain racks + a Robert Axle Project through axle might be something to investigate…

Unsure of ETA but there’s a Tailfin-esque axle mount for the Ortlieb quickracks coming soon, along with 2 new rack sizes:

https://youtu.be/em6ecHlcm0c?feature=shared&t=329 (from 5min30)

Ortlieb also have a thru axle coming soon that should take the mounts.

Interested in opinions from someone who’s had both the tailfin and the ortlieb!

Oooh, that would be good. Might hold off placing a tailfin order for a bit (been holding off for about a year due to cost so probably won’t be hard!)

I asked Ortlieb about their new rack and axle mount system…they confirmed an early 2025 release date. If you can hold off, I suspect it will bw much cheaper than Tailfin’s offering.

That’s all sounding positive. Load weight wouldn’t be an issue, I’m looking at smaller setups like this:

Mounting Mini Panniers and Cargo Cages on a Quick-Rack

I was playing around with similar lash-ups on my old OMM rack back in the spring but wouldn’t be able to use that old QR135 rack on my mountain bike.

I’ve got size 14 feet so heel clearance has always been an issue on bikes with shorter chainstays.

hazmoFull Member
I asked Ortlieb about their new rack and axle mount system…they confirmed an early 2025 release date. If you can hold off, I suspect it will bw much cheaper than Tailfin’s offering.

That’s ace news!!

For closure, this rack does clear a Mudhugger over 2.35″ tyres (just):

My current small Carradry panniers seem rock solid, no hint of rattle or sway on rough tracks (actually very pleased with that aspect). Plenty of heel clearance for my size 50 feet.

I found the seatstay adapters a bit fiddly to install until I figured out what I was doing wrong. I also find the amount of plastic involved a bit disconcerting but assume Ortlieb have done their homework, and it certainly all seems solid:

Will be selling mine very soon

Uh oh. Why’s that?

Just not using it.

Was considering going down to one bike (?) so bought the rack.

all worked fine on my hardtail but decided to keep my old touring bike for commuting.

Absolute speed of installation/removal isn’t my top priority. I could imagine replacing the seatpost strap/cam with a threaded seatpost collar clamp (if only to make theft of the rack a bit trickier).

Follow up:

This STW thread (Nov 2024) mentions failure of a seat stay adapter:

Tailfins

I bought the Quick Rack in early September with a specific trip in mind, but also for odd trips when I might need more luggage capacity, e.g. taking firewood into bothies. So far it’s been fine for both usages but, like the OP in that tailfins thread, I think it’s for the lighter, more gravel end of off-road touring.

https://www.tumblr.com/tracksterman/763029984316145664/so-that-was-the-trip-600km-and-53m-shy-of-an

One point people may have missed. There are two racks. I bought the mini for my two fixed wheel bikes and downtown briefcase with QL3 tabs. The mini turned out to be fine on one bike, but on my commuter, I can’t get the pannier back far/high enough to avoid heel strike. Disappointing.

Also watch your fingers on clamping. It’s a bit snappy!

I used a Quick Rack with a set of Vaude lightweight panniers (the Aqua Front Lights) for a couple of nights bikepacking in Galloway back in April – carrying more kit than normal as it was properly chilly overnight! No problems with the rack at all, using the bolt-in points and it felt pretty secure to me.  Certainly had less issue with that than I did with the Jack Rack I was using on the front, which swayed like a bugger despite only being lightly loaded…