Tortec Epic Alloy rack

The Tortec Epic Alloy is the non-ferrous version of their highly adaptable touring rack designed to withstand similar hardship without failure, albeit with a 30kg, rather than 40kg maximum payload.

Made from 6061 rod and available in a choice of anodised silver or black powder coated finishes, it's a subtly clever set up designed to fit a full range of frame sizes, shapes and types.

The most obvious benefit of a rack with two levels of pannier attachment bars is faff-free access to trunk or sleeping bag with panniers on. It also sets luggage further back, improving heel clearance on bikes with short chainstays. My mile munching Univega tourer proved an obvious guinea pig. Ready in thirty minutes flat using the bog standard fitting kit and some precautionary licks of threadlock to fasteners, we were ready for some heavy hauling.

Neatly executed TIG welds unite 6mm rod for an aesthetically pleasing and moreover, super rigid effect that still entertains most popular Klick-fix hardware with two-second tweaks. Despite the five year warrantee, I wrapped good quality electrical tape round the contact points as experience says wear here can lead to premature failure.

The Epic Alloy's lateral stiffness is vastly superior to similarly priced competition, especially when loads sneak past the twenty kilo mark. This isn't immediately obvious on shorter runs but I've felt noticeably fresher after thirty miles or so with a halfway supermarket shop on board, since less rider effort is required to keep everything on course through hairpin descents, granny-ring climbs and dirt road short cuts.

The generous top plate affords better support to the more capacious Super C type rack bags than competitor models I've run recently, preventing annoying slouch or rear lighting being obscured. Similarly, there's been refreshingly little heel contact-even with my size nines and 20 litre expedition panniers en tow. A few weeks and 400 miles later, everything's looking extremely rosy.

I wouldn't subject this (or indeed any aluminium carrier) to continent-crossing blue-yonder stuff since warrantees are cold comfort in the event of failure in outer Mongolia. Its costlier Inox sibling (complete with 10 year warranty) represents better value for those determined to carry the proverbial kitchen sink.

Verdict

Rugged alloy rack with bundles of charm particularly suited to smaller/compact frames.