RSP Adjustable Pannier Rack

You can change the height of Raleigh's RSP Adjustable Pannier Rack so it will fit better over different wheel sizes, hence the name. It's a bit agricultural, but it works well.

The adjustability comes from a thick metal strip with holes drilled through it that is bolted to the bottom of the rack. It's not exactly elegant – in fact, it's more like Meccano – but the M6 Allen bolts, 10mm nuts and slotted guides for the drilled strip make it nice and sturdy. This rack is rated for 40kg, while many racks are rated for 25kg.

There's about 50mm of height adjustment. As it fitted fine on its lowest setting on my 700C workhorse bike, the benefit is the facility to fit this rack on a bike with really big wheels. Got a Salsa Fargo 29er adventure bike with two-inch tyres? This rack will fit.

Making the rack taller will make it a bit less stiff, since you're lengthening the distance from where the strip is bolted to the bike frame and where it's bolted to the rest of the rack. I reckon there's enough metal here that that won't be problem. Similarly, while I'd prefer that the rack had some lateral triangulation – which you would get if the two rear struts joined the top of the track inboard of the pannier rails – the lack of it here is offset by the strength gained through sheer mass of metal. At 1.1kg, this is a hefty rack.

Rack weight is a moot point when you fit heavy panniers, but it's always there when you're riding without panniers. So this rack is better suited to a role where the bike will often be burdened with big, heavy bags, or to a bike that's already pretty heavy. I'd use it on a utilitarian transport bike so I could haul groceries and stuff. It also ticks the boxes as a budget-priced expedition rack. In either role, the facility to fit the bags lower down will aid stability and free-up racktop space. The rearward rack struts will keep big bags out of the back wheel.

The rack is made from 10mm stainless steel tubing, so any panniers will go on okay. There's a mount for a rear light; lights with bolts from 45-80mm apart will fit. There's plenty of adjustability with the rack arms, and the aluminium rod that they're made of is stiffer than the thin strips that some racks use to attach to the seat stays.

Being stainless steel, it looks nice and should go on looking nice. A passing touring cyclist asked me if it was a Tubus rack. It isn't Tubus quality, but then again it isn't Tubus price either. If you want a sturdy, inexpensive rack for a workhorse transport bike or budget expedition bike and don't mind bolting over a kilo to your bike, this fits the bill – particularly if that bike is some sort of 29er or other balloon-tyred 700C bike.

Verdict

A sturdy stainless steel rack for bigger loads and bigger-wheeled bikes.