How can I get a long rear rack with flat deck?

Question

Is there a rear rack that has a long platform (over 16in/40cm) where there's a flat space to set things on top (as opposed to just tubes)? With a two-leg kickstand to position the bike relatively level, the rear would serve as a tiny table.

There used to be a commercial option:

• The Jandd Expedition Rear Rack was the closest, but it's been out of stock for a while.

Several others aren't quite right:

• The Old Man Mountain Divide is too short
• The Topeak Super Tourist is too narrow.
• Several on Amazon attach to the seat tube but I'm avoiding this.

So what options do I have to get my hands on a rear rack with a long flat platform that would be suitable for touring?

Answer 1

There's the Wald Woody for example, with a plywood top, and I've seen a few similar ones, but I suggest you get a rack that suits you and DIY the top plate.

I'd probably use 6mm plywood, well varnished after drilling the mounting holes, or 3-4mm aluminium sheet, with the edge nicely smoothed. If you're feeling fancy, 2mm aluminium sheet and a sheet metal bender (try to borrow one) would allow you to fold the edges over for extra stiffness and protection. If there's a lot of overhang, you might want to go slightly thicker, or reinforce the deck. Wood is rather hard-wearing, while aluminium will fail through flexing due to vibrations (I've had a custom mudguard bracket snap on the first day of a long trip and that was aluminium)

To fix it down:

• If you can handle protrusions use U bolts sized to fit the top rails of the rack. U bolts with 8 and 10mm gaps are sold for clamping wires, with a backing plate you'd omit. Example with a fairly stable website but you can find them for far less.
• If you want it easy, just use heavy duty cable ties.
• Fixing dead flat is a bit trickier but pairs of countersunk machine screws in the top deck with either aluminium plates and nuts forming a bridge under each rail you're attaching to, or the backing plates from the U-bolts I linked above, again with nuts.

If you want it long only when stopped, halve the length and put a hinge forwards of the rearmost support, so it unfolds, like this (click for full size):

DIY has the advantage that you can really customise it to fit your load, use, and bike. You could, for example, make it fairly wide and drill holes near the edge for tie-downs, or add a recessed cup holder as in the arms of folding camping chairs - it's really up to you. Just make sure everything is rock-solid and no one will walk into the bike if you want to put a stove on there (or better, cook on the ground).

If you use rather box-like panniers, resting across the top of those may work with a hinge running along the length, but forget that if you use roll-top panniers.

This all assumes bulk rather than really heavy weight, for which you might need to use a stronger construction - but you'd also need a heavy-duty rack in that case.

Answer 2

If your goal is to carry reasonably long but light items, another DIY way would be to take an adapter for a known attachment system and screw a plywood plate on it — or you can also go more custom.

The picture below shows the example for a RackTime Snap-It rack, but there are other systems (for example, KlickFix — if someone knows another one, just write it in the comments).

The advantage of this approach is that it's super easy to remove your attachment when you don't need it. But you may need to change your rack to have something with the system you've chosen.

Note that there are many available attachments for these systems, maybe there's one that could fit your needs.

But for very long or heavy items, there's a risk of going too far off design specifications. A (longtail) cargo bike might be a better solution.

Answer 3

I extended a rear rack I had by popping off the aft-most plastic part, and fitting some scrap metal tubes of a suitable ID. Worked well enough, photos below. I also "decked" the carrier with some tough plastic, forming a serviceable mudguard up to about the seat stays.

One problem with widening a rack is that you may suffer from thigh strike if the platform is wide enough too soon.

Lengthening a rack can put any "clamp" mechanism in an oddly "forward" position, as pictured. Some modern racks have fancy proprietary clamp/rail systems which may get in the way or not work.

Another option is to fit a front rack/basket to your bike as well, and carry loads there where you can see them.