How to install a rear bike rack

• Allen keys (4 and 5 mm)
• Spanner
• Tape measure
• Thread-locking compound (optional)

Before you start, lay everything out on a soft surface (the flattened box works) and check it against the parts list in your manual.

• Rack platform with legs
• Upper support struts
• Frame bolts and washers
• Spacers and P-clips (for frames without bosses)
• Reflector or light mount

1. 1

   Step 1: Check the rack fits your wheel size and brake type, and find the eyelets near the rear dropouts and the bosses on the seat stays.

2. 2

   Step 2: Bolt the rack legs to the lower eyelets with the bolts and washers given, finger tight, using spacers if the disc brake calliper is in the way.

3. 3

   Step 3: Attach the upper support struts to the rack platform, then to the seat-stay bosses, or use the P-clips around the seat stays if your frame has no bosses.

4. 4

   Step 4: Adjust the struts so the rack platform is level when the bike stands upright.

5. 5

   Step 5: Check the rack clears the tyre, the brake calliper and the mudguard, then tighten every bolt firmly, using thread-lock if the manual recommends it.

6. 6

   Step 6: Fit the reflector or a rear light, then load a pannier and walk the bike to check your heels do not hit the bag.

• Bolting a leg through the disc brake calliper area without a spacer, so the rack rubs or blocks the brake.
• Setting the rack tilting backward, so loads slide off.
• Loading beyond the rack's rated weight, which can bend the struts or the frame.