Ibera Bike Rack - Bicycle Touring Carrier Plus+ for Disc Brake/Non-Disc Brake Mount, Fat Tire Bikes, Frame-Mounted for Heavier Top & Side Loads, Height Adjustable for 26"-29" Frames

This bike rack is really good. Way easier to attach than others I’ve used, far fewer fail points, and very sturdy. Requires some tightening once in a while but that’s to be expected and is t too frequent. Will be buying this one again when the time comes.

A few weeks ago I bought an old school Gary Fisher steel mountain bike. The intent was to turn it in to a cheap and effective commuter. One of the first orders of business was to find a rear rack. After looking at a lot of different products including the Topeak Explorer, I wound up going with the Ibera PakRak Bicycle Touring Carrier Plus+, Frame-Mounted for Heavier Top & Side Loads, Height Adjustable, Fender Board, for 26"-29" Frames. Installation was super easy on my bike. I’ve also used it with a pair of Ortlieb Back Roller Classic Panniers. The rack and panniers work very well together. The instructions are a bit sparse but really, the steps needed for installation are pretty obvious. The hardware that was included with this rack seemed to be good quality. Some of the significant factors that caused me to pick this rack are as follows. It is height adjustable which allowed me to get it as close as possible to the rear wheel (whit out hitting). It has bars that extend back and down. This was important to me as I don’t want any type of pannier or bag I carry to swing into the back wheel. These bars prevent that from happening. It has a load capacity of 55 lbs (as noted in the Amazon ad). From what my research indicated, this is a substantial load capacity for any rack in this price range. Last thing I would add is it is priced very reasonably, given the quality. All in all, this rack is a good buy in the price range. The only thing I can see steering someone towards another product is if you want a built in, proprietary method of attaching panniers/bins/etc. The Topeak rack seems to be tops in that category, granted it doesn’t have the bar that extends backwards (which was of more importance to me).

I purchased this rack for my Hybrid Norco bicycle. Rack itself is great. I loved that the legs were adjustable so that it could accommodate a variety of tire/frame sizes, or could be moved out of the way of a rear fender. It attached smoothly with the nuts, bolts, and washers provided to the frame near the tire spoke. An allen wrench is required for assembely (and is not included). You also need an ordinary wrench or a pair of pliers to ensure all nuts are tightened properly. The shiny metal pieces that attach the rack to the main body are the sole reason I didn't give this rack five stars. I have a small bicycle (I'm only 5'5" and can ride some large children's bicycles comfortably) and they would not reach the pre-drilled holes they were supposed to, no matter how much I lowered the legs or bent the pieces. Also to note: the metal coating on the pieces will come off very easily. I cut myself on a raw piece when I was trying to bend the pieces and ended up having to dig a sharp scrap of metal out of my finger afterwards. So please use caution! I ended up having to use a rubber-coated p clamp on my seatpost to attach those pieces. I used a 1" clamp, but I think a 3/4" clamp would have also worked for my purposes. I also needed an extra nut to make the p clamp work, but that literally cost me six cents at the hardware store. I tried to bend the pieces so that they were parallel on each side of the clamp, but only succeeded in cutting my fingers on more raw metal. I ended up scratching up the pieces quite a bit, but managed to make it work overlapping the pieces slightly. In the end, it was very stable. I am glad I made it work with the p clamp, but really wish those pieces would have been a bit longer so I didn't have to hassle with it. I ended up having to visit three hardware stores to find the part I needed. Still, a steal for the price. Would have paid near twice as much for an almost identical rack at the bicycle shop.

This review is intended primarily for owners of lightweight “road” style bicycles which do not have rack mounting eyelets. The Ibera PakRak is a great bargain. I purchased mine from Amazon for $39.34. I found this rack to be sturdy enough for any use I can reasonably contemplate. My particular concern however is mounting on a road style frame which has no rack mounting eyelets either on the seat lug or the dropouts. I have a collection of such bicycles, any one of which I might wish to use for day trips. If I wish to transport anything more than the repair tools which fit into an under the saddle bag, I must resort to the use of a fanny pack or a backpack. Think wallet, cell phone, U-lock, rain jacket, lunch, etc. A luggage rack mounting a “trunk bag” is my preferred solution, with the option of adding panniers for any greater load requirements. Amazon will sell you a rack made expressly for road bikes for a somewhat higher price – the “Axiom DLX Streamliner Road Cycle Rack.” This rack comes with a very clever set of mounting brackets which mount to the axle – an effective is somewhat cumbersome arrangement when the wheels must be removed to deal with the inevitable flat tire. Unfortunately, the upper mount is designed to attach to the bridge for the caliper brake. Adding another spacer, in effect, to the caliper brake mount would appear to increase the likelihood of loosening and brake pad dragging, not a desirable arrangement. More importantly, for my purposes, this rack is designed to mount panniers only. The top platform is way too narrow for a trunk bag – my preferred carrier. See comparison photo of PakRak next to Axiom DLX. So, how to attach the PakRak? With cable clamps (“P-clamps”). These ingenious devices are in wide use in the construction trades for mounting cables and pipes. Amazon will sell you an array of stainless steel clamps with rubber “cushions” (to protect your paint) for as little as $16.79. One clamp to attach the rack to the seat tube and three more on each side to attach the rack to the chain stays and seat stays. See photos. Is this arrangement secure enough for my trunk bag? Yes. The rack is perfectly stable after an all-day ride on fairly bumpy roads. Would it be secure enough for fully loaded panniers? I don’t know yet.

cheap and good

What I can I say about this rear bike rack other than I really like this thing. It works and it fit on my Schwinn 700cc perfectly. Installation was easy (less than 10 minutes) but this is not my first bike rack and I am rather mechanically inclined. It came with all the hardware required to attach it to a bike with the required fixation points. The only negative I have to say about this rack is that the "P" clamps that came with it were too small for my bike but that was easily solved with a seat post clamp with attachment points which is a better solution anyway. Check your bike to ensure you have both threaded attachment points on the drop-outs (near the rear wheel hub)and near the brakes or on the seat post. If not you will not be able to use this rack without modifying your bike. As I stated above, I use this rack with a seat post clamp with attachment points for the forward stabilizer bars of the rack. This is the preferred solution for me as it is more secure than the "P" clamps and easier to deal with than the single bolt options that connect to the bar between the brakes in my opinion. I used the M-Wave seat post clamp sold by Amazon M-Wave Seat Clamp with luggage Carrier Fixation and love it. It can hold significantly more weight than it is rated for. I have stood on this rack to reach into a tree and I weigh ~180 lbs!! Not that I would recommend placing that much weight on it for an extended period of time but for a short time it held just fine! This rack is not the lightest rack available so is not for the weight conscious rider but is perfect for the commuter or the recreational rider. I bought this with an Ibera Quick Release Trunk bag Ibera PakRak Bicycle Quick-Release Commuter Trunk Bag and could not be happier with the combination. I have not tried it with panniers yet but will update my review when/if I do.

I just bought a second Ibera PakRak Touring Carrier Plus because I have been using the first one for over a year on my primary/daily ride, and I needed a second rack for the backup bike I'm preparing mainly for travel on trips where I don't want to worry about my primary bike to end up at risk of being ost or stolen. This won't be the best choice for everybody, but It is definitely one of the stronger, lighter, yet cheaper solutions to pack for anything from daily commutes to international tours. The main problem with this rack will be for those who want to pack other brands of panniers, not all of which will fit without added modifications. My solution for using my preferred Axiom panniers & Rackbook Pro case (with Rixen and Kaul Flip Lock attachments) has been to add a couple small 'P' clamps, screwed down with the same bolts that connect the bottom extension posts, to which I then add 1-inch key rings. The key rings give me sites on each side of the rack to attach the lower pannier hooks in order to keep everything tight and riding securely. I'm sure these racks are great as is for Ibera panniers, but it would have been nice for Ibera to include attachment sites for those using other pannier solutions, especially for those like me who don't want to spend more than necessary on panniers, but who aren't especially enamored with the Ibera quick-release system (I prefer to make my panniers a little harder for people to remove (steal), since I most often ride carrying an expensive notebook with me. Especially appreciated are the facts that (1) this rack mounts back far enough to keep my panniers well out of the way of the heels of my big feet -- even when I'm wearing boots and using toe clips, (2) the rack protects my wheels from being hit by the panniers, and (3) the rack has a fairly large, stable area with plenty of potential attachment points for carrying top loads. So it's great for carrying all my camping gear, including tent, fly, pad, pillow and sleeping bag on the top, while I use relatively small panniers to carry everything else on trips.

This will be the second bicycle rear rack that I have tried in the past few weeks. Previous brand have some major flaws. I have to admit this unit took way less time to install, but it also have some issues that I noticed during my first rides with it. 1st, the mount width is a bit thinner than my frame, so it takes a bit of effect to pull it wider to fit. Now this might only be with my giant defy frame, but it makes it hard to remove the rear wheel for any services, since it claims down on the rear hub. 2nd, I found that the adjustable mount is rubbing my rear brake line near the seat post. And I have tried to bent the arm in different places to make this fit, but I simply can't and will now try to use this unit with only one arm connected to the seat post. Will see if the lack of mounting arm will cause any issues when my pannier bags are connected.