Quick release rack for road bike?

So I got a new road (sort of) bike which actually has mounting points on it unlike my old one which didn’t.

For commuting I’d like some kind of rack on the back – I think to run a bag on top of rather than panniers. However this bike is my fitness road bike and also lives on the turbo so I don’t want a permanent ugly rack. I also don’t want one that holds all of its weight off the seat post as it’s a carbon bike with carbon post.

I’ve found the Ortlieb quick rack which might do the job – just wondering if there’s anything else similar that leaves a couple of small mounts permanently bolted to the frame and has qr mounts to quickly attach the rack?

https://www.ortlieb.com/en_us/quick-rack+F78104#

In terms of bags it needs to fit a laptop (14” diagonal / 12” long by about 8” wide), clothes, food and a note pad pretty much. I leave shoes at work. Bag needs to be waterproof in its own right ideally – I don’t want to have to fit a cover each time and it needs to be nice and secure without needing to tie it on with loads of knots etc etc.

Just fancy not having a heavy backpack on my back for a change as I usually start to get mild backache on a 9 mile commute with one on.

Any ideas? I’m a bit tight on what I want to spend on commuting stuff – hard to get excited about – so the cheaper the better!

Once again… Tailfin.
Expensive but brilliant piece of kit. Can be used on all your other bikes too. Fitted/removed in seconds.

Thanks @stanley – I think broadly the tail fin does the same job as the ortlieb – but costs a chunk more from what I can see. Same with the trunk bag they do – looks nice (and it’s 8 litres bigger) but £150 vs £95 for an ortlieb one.

Call me tight but I was hoping for £50 for a rack and £50 for a bag 🤣

if you want a bargain rack bag – Carradice on Sport Pursuit for £14.99. has waterproof cover.

also this looks neat:

Tour Trunk Bag – Roswheel

also for racks:

TETRARACK R2 | Topeak

The missus just fitted that Ort;ieb rack. It’s ace. The Tailfin looks a a better call for use on multiple bikes, but very expensive plus was watching GBduro on GCN+ and one of the riders snapped one, which was a little discouraging though probably untypical.

Yeah at the moment the ortlieb rack is in pole position. It looks like most of the weight is taken on the eyelets down near the dropouts and the arm that goes to the seatpost / just below the seatpost collar is mostly for stability. It says not compatible with carbon seatposts on a few reviews but if it’s not being clamped super tight and isn’t taking much weight then I’m willing to give it a go.

I might have to stump up for the ortlieb trunk bag too – looking at the ones mentioned the carradice needs a waterproof cover (and I’d want to attach a light to the back or rack) – their other one that doesn’t need a cover is too small for my laptop. The Roswheel one looks nice but is too small for my laptop sadly.

The Ortlieb rack is nice and if you get that you might as well just get a nice single Ortlieb pannier (a front one is a good size) for the side.

Looking at the panniers the front ones might be just a touch small I think. Looks like there is a 20l waterproof one for £77 that would do the trick.

Doesn’t 1 pannier unbalance the bike though with weight just on 1 side? Was thinking a trunk bag is central and tucked behind you so likely to have the least effect on the bike.

Only ever used bolt on racks but use the lomo rack bag on my front rack. It’s slightly squarer (wider when on the rear rack) than some but works well and is relatively cheap.

15L Dry Bike Motorbike Tail Bag

I saw that Lomo one and I have one of their dry bag backpacks that has been good. I guess it would have to be bungeed / strapped down somehow. The Ortlieb one has 4 feet / clips that lock in so would be easier – but then it’s double the price 🤔

riding with one pannier is hardly noticeable unless you put 50 kg in it

A conventional bolt on rack can be removed and refitted in a minute or so once set up – just 4 bolts to do or undo

The Lomo one has 4 clips round the base (the ones either side and just below the pocket in the picture) and after rolling the top down you can thread the end buckles round the rack too.
It came with a velcro base thing that you can leave on the to make it a bit more secure but I’ve never used it.

How far is the commute?
Would a secondhand second bike not be better in protecting your better bike which also lives on the turbo?

9 miles each way – mostly on cycle track. I already have 4 bikes and this one is my ‘bike to work’ scheme bike. I tend to use the commute as interval training or z2 depending on the moods. Plus I deliberately picked this frame for the mudguard and rack mounts!

slowol
Full Member
Only ever used bolt on racks but use the lomo rack bag on my front rack.

What front rack are you using?

So I’m thinking at the moment it’s either the quick release Lomo rack (need to check my frame bolts are M5 though – if not it’s a non-starter) or a generic rack and put up with 4 bolts on and off.

Then either the ortlieb trunk bag / Lomo bike pack above / single pannier.

Will have a dig around and then go for it. Cheers for all the thoughts / advice.

What front rack are you using?

It’s a fairly generic porter type rack. I think I got it from Velo Vitality (website not currently working). It’s a bit like a BLB T rack or Minora Gamoh but with only a single leg.
Pic below. NB the lomo bag is very overfull after an Aldi run in the picture. It normally rolls down two or more folds.

Yer unless lugging bags of coal etc don’t notice just using a single pannier. You can get a surprise amount in the front 12l ortliebs. If you get the std non ‘gravel’ edition they only come with a single lower hook, but you can buy a second and then makes them rock solid. Works also for the larger size panniers also if you can make two lower hooks work with your rack.

I commute with a single Back Roller Classic pannier on heavier days. As mentioned, the shift in balance isn’t noticeable and massively offset by the ease of clipping on and unclipping.

It does rattle a bit on rougher surfaces and the bottom fixing can occasionally jog itself out of the rack frame which I’ve never managed to adjust out. Looking at the pic above, maybe should try two bottom fixings.

Using two lower hooks makes them very stable even off-road, that and some tape on the rack to make the top hooks snug

Having commutes this morning and finding my back was tightening up the last few miles it confirmed I really need to sort this out! Leaning towards the quick rack and the Lomo trunk bag I think

Topeak has the Tetraracks for front and rear fitting (R1 / R2). The rear straps onto the seat stays, but may be a bit over budget. The front, obviously, to the forks, is closer to budget @£75 +5% cashback via Quidco

https://www.alpinetrek.co.uk/topeak-tetrarack-r1-bike-racks/?aid=bd72201ee66e099c1049f50eb5645e80&pid=10004

Thanks Andy – I’m loathe to strap anything into the carbon fibre seat stays – especially where I have proper mount points. Already gouged the brand new chainstay this morning when randomly the chain came off the small ring and got jammed 🤬

Ah, just noticed this

TetraRack is not recommended for carbon forks and seat stays