Ventura Alloy SO2 A Carrier Rack

I don’t believe that you could possibly find another bike rack more versatile or easier to install than this one. I’m a 55 yo woman who happens to love tinkering with bicycles and has installed/uninstalled a few bike racks for family. Speaking from experiences, I highly recommend this bike carrier rack (my BF, another bike hands, is also very impressed with this unit).**Tools - keep a set of metric Allen keys (1st picture) handy. They are a must for any bike repair.**My installation tips - Start with the attachment point that is most difficult to fit. For my old Trek FX3, I’ve had a hard time finding the right rack for the top/front attachment point. See the 2nd picture - these horizontal bars screw nicely to the factory drilled holes in the tube (the adjustment is amazing because the bar also rotates along he longitudinal axis! No custom twisting is needed!). However, the carrier bar is in the path of the brake mechanism because the location of the pre-drilled hole is right next to the brake line. Instead, I switch to the optional clips that provide maximum flexibility (see 3rd picture). That completely solves my problem. Next, I attach the bars to the carrier rack. Use the position of the carrier rack to figure out the correct height of the two supporting posts. The rest is very straightforward and simply a matter of tightening screws.I do not use the optional U-bar in the package. It does not appear to fit anywhere on my bike.What I like about this design is that (1) height of the vertical posts can be adjusted and (2) front/top attachment is so versatile; in addition to adjustable length, it angle in any given 3D axis is also adjustable. When everything else fails, you could create your own attachment points with these clips! Many fancy, more expensive models in the market are not nearly as easy to install as this one (or simply do not fit at all).

Occasionally I ride my bike (human powered, 19 miles each way) to work but carrying a backpack that distance is an extra burden in the best of weather. That I live in Phoenix with our well known heat sometimes makes that burden too much to bear. Being able to use this rear rack to hold my backpack allows me to cool off better and it lowers my center of gravity on the bike making for better riding characteristics.The instructions are very minimal and only just sufficient. All of the parts, fittings, and fasteners were included with the only exception being that the last two screws meant to attach the vertical struts were too large for the threaded holes above my rear axle dropouts. I picked up two more metric screws identical to the ones that attach at the top of the vertical struts from Ace Hardware and it attached perfectly. It may differ on your bike but this is how mine worked out.If you can put together Ikea furniture you can put together this bike rack.

There's a lot to say on this one...Firstly, the rack is advertised as 1 lb, but it's 1 lb 6.5 oz. If you remove the spring-clamp and bungee hooks it's 1 lb 3 oz, which is what I did as the rack is only going to hold a bag or a crate, so there's no need for the clamp. Either way, that's very light for the benefit it provides. To take the clamp off you squeeze it (pic 2).The rack is dark brown, not black. My bike is a charcoal color. In pic 5 I show the rack next to my saddle which is black - you can see the dark brown color there. Black and brown don't go together well, so I spray-painted the rack matte black to match. I used a wire hanger to hang it with so I could get all of it and so it could dry easily. I tapped off the little sticker on it before painting it. -This rack was $26 when I bought it, and the other aluminum racks that can handle panniers are around $35+, so it's a very good value (in fact it's the same rack). -Installation was an issue. Modern bikes that handle wider tires have a bigger rear triangle and the rack is made from aluminum which doesn't bend.. The way I handled it was to reverse the legs on the rack so the adjustable bit was towards the outside which gave it a little more space, then tightened the bolts with slack last so they absorbed the difference (pic 6). That makes it so you have to tighten the nut from the opposite side, through the spokes. Also, the rack doesn't come with an allen wrench or a wrench for the nuts. -Overall, the rack is very solid and holds a trunk bag very well! We are watching weight on this build, so it matters that it's one of the lightest offered - being able to trim a little more weight off was an added bonus. It's very inexpensive for the benefit it provides.. I can use a crate for light shopping, large pannier bags for bikepacking or picnicking, and a smaller bag for a day to day commute.. -I'd love to give the rack 5 stars - but it didn't come with tools which might be an issue for someone without allen wrenches and a crescent wrench or wrench set - and because the fit wasn't exact and needed an little engineering. The fitment might be that way on purpose so it can fit as many models as possible. -Either way - great rack.. Really impressed!