A luggage carrier, also commonly called a (bicycle) rack, is a device attached to a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

to which cargo or

pannier A pannier is a basket, bag, box, or similar container, carried in pairs either slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to the sides of a bicycle or motorcycle. The term derives from a Middle English borrowing of the Old French ' ...

s can be attached. This is popular with

utility bicycle A utility bicycle, city bicycle, urban bicycle, European city bike (ECB), Dutch bike, classic bike or simply city-bike is a bicycle designed for frequent short, moderately paced rides through relatively flat urban areas. It is a form of utility ...

s and

touring bicycle A touring bicycle is a bicycle designed or modified to handle bicycle touring. To make the bikes sufficiently robust, comfortable and capable of carrying heavy loads, special features may include a long wheelbase (for ride comfort and to avoid ...

s. Bicycle luggage carriers may be mounted on the front or rear of a bicycle. The rear mount is more common. Racks on the front are mostly reserved for

utility In economics, utility is a measure of a certain person's satisfaction from a certain state of the world. Over time, the term has been used with at least two meanings. * In a normative context, utility refers to a goal or objective that we wish ...

and

cargo bike There have been many human powered vehicles designed and constructed specifically for transporting loads since their earliest appearance in the history of the bicycle, 20th century. They are referred to variously depending on the number of wheel ...

s. A special type of front rack is a

low rider "Low Rider" is a song written by American funk band War and producer Jerry Goldstein, which appeared on their album '' Why Can't We Be Friends?'', released in June 1975. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' R&B singles chart, peaked at nu ...

which is mainly used for

bicycle touring Bicycle touring is the taking of self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure or autonomy rather than sport, commuting or exercise. Bicycle touring can range from single-day trips to extended travels spanning weeks or months. Tours may be ...

. The term luggage carrier can also refer to a device with two wheels used to wheel luggage or something of similar weight from one place to another, similar to a dolly (

hand truck A hand truck, also known as a hand trolley, dolly, stack truck, trundler, box cart, sack barrow, cart, sack truck, two wheeler, or bag barrow, is an L-shaped box-moving cart, handcart with handles at one end, wheels at the base, with a small ledg ...

) but lighter and usually able to be folded up.

Mounting

Bicycles may have eyelets, tapped with a standard thread, at the dropouts on the rear chainstays, and on the front fork blades. Mounting a bike rack is possible without these eyelets, but requires additional hardware. A style of rack clamps only to the

seatpost A bicycle seatpost, seatpin, saddlepole, saddle pillar, or saddle pin is a tube that extends upwards from the bicycle frame to the saddle. The amount that it extends out of the frame can usually be adjusted, and there is usually a mark that indic ...

, does not require eyelets or additional hardware, but has a limited capacity. Luggage carriers can be mounted on

recumbents A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position, and often called a human-powered vehicle or HPV, especially if it has an aerodynamic fairing. Recumbents are available in a wide range of configurations, ...

and on

folding bicycle A folding bicycle is designed to be compacted into a smaller, more manageable size or shape, making it easier to store or carry . When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings, on public transportation (facilitating mixed-mo ...

s, but may require customization or additional hardware. Additionally, specialized or customized luggage carriers are often required on bicycles with (rear) disc brakes or full suspension. A common type of child seat designed for carrying an infant on a bicycle mounts to a rear luggage carrier. Some models of child seat are not attached to a luggage carrier but are fixed to the

seat tube A bicycle frame is the main component of a bicycle, onto which wheels and other components are fitted. The modern and most common frame design for an upright bicycle is based on the safety bicycle, and consists of two triangles: a main triangle a ...

. Some luggage carriers come in more than one size to accommodate different sized frames. A common variation is for there to be a different model for

road bicycle The term road bicycle is used to describe bicycles built for traveling at speed on paved roads. Some sources use the term to mean racing bicycle. Other sources specifically exclude racing bicycles from the definition, using the term to mean a ...

s and

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

Capacity

Rear-mounted luggage carriers are typically designed and tested for a maximum load of 25 kg (55lb), some models even for up to 40 kg (90lb). For front-mounted carriers, a typical design load limit might be 2×10 kg (2 × 20lb). Most luggage carriers are not designed to withstand the weight of an adult person.

Construction

Luggage carriers are commonly constructed from

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

, or some combination of the two. Components may consist of tubing,

extrusion Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross section (geometry), cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a Die (manufacturing), die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing pro ...

s, or

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or ...

s. They may be

welded Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, primarily by using high temperature to melt the parts together and allow them to cool, causing fusion. Common alternative methods include solvent w ...

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylinder (geometry), cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the deformed e ...

ed, or

bolted Bolt or bolts may refer to: Implements and technology ''Etymology: "to strike", see for example Thunderbolt'' * Bolt (fastener), a threaded shaft, used to clamp two components together * Bolt (climbing), an anchor point used in rock climbing * ...

together.

Panniers A pannier is a basket, bag, box, or similar container, carried in pairs either slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to the sides of a bicycle or motorcycle. The term derives from a Middle English borrowing of the Old French '' ...

may be mounted to front and rear luggage carriers. Removable panniers hook onto the top edge of the carrier and then are held in place by a spring or elastic cord that hooks near the wheel axle at the bottom. Some luggage carriers have an extra, lower, rail to hang panniers on, this provides better stability and more space on the platform. Some bikes, such as longtail bicycles,

porteur bicycle There have been many human powered vehicles designed and constructed specifically for transporting loads since their earliest appearance in the 20th century. They are referred to variously depending on the number of wheels — typically two, th ...

s, or the Dutch typical ''transportfiets'', may be built with an integrated front or rear luggage carrier. These are usually tested to a higher weight capacity. In Europe, it is common for rear racks to have a mounting point for a

reflector Reflector may refer to: Science * Reflector, a device that causes reflection (for example, a mirror or a retroreflector) * Reflector (photography), used to control lighting contrast * Reflecting telescope * Reflector (antenna), the part of an ant ...

or rear light. It is common for the mounting point to have 2 holes which fits M5 bolts, spaced 50 or 80 mm (2″ or 3″) apart.

Standards

* European Standard EN 14872: Bicycles – Accessories for bicycles – Luggage carriers,

British Standards Institution The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the Standards organization, national standards body of the United Kingdom. BSI produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services and also supplies standards certification services ...

, 2006
''EN 14872''
* International Standard ISO 11243: Cycles – Luggage carriers for bicycles – Concepts, classification and testing,

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. M ...

2016. In this ISO carriers can be fastened an EN 14344

child seat A child safety seat, sometimes called an infant safety seat, child restraint system, child seat, baby seat, car seat, or a booster seat, is a seat designed specifically to protect children from injury or death during vehicle collisions. Most c ...

, using the seat fixing brackets
''ISO 11243:2016''
* The MIK profile luggage carrier (an acronym for "Mounting Is Key") is a standardised luggage carrier pattern marketed as an "open platform", which enables attachment of accessories with MIK compatible carrier plates. The plates are mounted to the accessory and clicks onto the carrier, and is marketed as a "revolutionary" system enabling secure attachment of and easy swapping between accessories such as for example

shopping basket A shopping basket is a basket provided by stores for shoppers to carry around items before purchase. They are the smaller equivalent of shopping carts. Some sources also use the term ''shopping basket'' as a synonym for shopping bag Shoppi ...

s, bike crates or dog baskets. The MIK luggage carrier form factor was developed in collaboration between the Taiwansese brand Massload (Tsai Jung Enterprise) and the Dutch brand Basil, and in 2023 over 50 brands participated on the MIK standard, including

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...

Kalkhoff Kalkhoff is a German bicycle manufacturer based in Cloppenburg; it was founded in 1919 by Heinrich Kalkhoff (* 30. November 1903; † 25. September 1972) as a family business. Founded as a first small workshop in Kalkhoff's parents' house, the c ...

KOGA Koga may refer to: Places Japan * Koga, Ibaraki (古河) * Koga, Fukuoka (古賀) * Koga Domain Elsewhere * Koga, a town in Tanzania * Koga (crater) on Mars Other uses * Koga (surname) * Kōga-ryū, a school of ninjutsu * Koga clan, Jap ...

, Merida, and Trek.Brands that participate with MIK (2023)
/ref> Competing mounting methods include KlickFix and Snapit.

Image gallery

File:Brosen city bicycle.jpg, A Dutch

with a rack attached over the rear wheel. File:Front rack.jpg, A

mounted on a

for mounting panniers. Image:Bike_rack.jpg, A cast aluminum rear rack with integrated spring-loaded clamp. File:Luggage-rack-front-rear.jpg, A bicycle with front and rear luggage rack that mounts to the frame.

References

{{Bike equipment Bicycle parts