Aftermarket Rear Rack for Radrover 5- Suggestions

[George3]

@George3

Thank you.!

I would greatly appreciate photos of the install. How long did you have to wait to get the extender cable?

Thanks again. 

I ordered my cable September 18th. Amazon says delivery will be Nov 12th to Dec 2nd.

Jim

WoW..... that is awhile.  Try Bolton bikes, they have one for the Rad at $ 15.00 just remember to order the blue, 4-pin one for the Rad....

https://boltonebikes.com/collections/electrical-accessories/products/sondors-lcd-extension-cable

George

[jbfoster]

Bolton cable is 15" and is currently out of stock. The one I got off Amazon is 23".

Jim

[George3]

Jb,

The 23 (60cm) is the way to go. I guess you could use the 15, using the existing Rad cable plus the 15 from Bolton but it seems to me that would be a tight fit.  I guess that might depend on what rack you get and what size it is.

On Amazon iI see its 18 Nov-10 Dec delivery with a 2–5 Nov "Fastest Delivery."  That still is a long wait. I guess I must have just gotten lucky not that that happens often.....

George

[jbfoster]

I ordered the Ibera rack from Amazon. Will be here October 1st.

Jim

[jbfoster]

Wow my rack showed up today From Amazon.

[George3]

Don't you wish your Rad had been delivered that quick.... did you get the break extension?

George

[jbfoster]

Don't you wish your Rad had been delivered that quick.... did you get the break extension?

George

No not yet. I'm looking at another month or two

[jbfoster]

Those of you that have this rack and installed it on a Rad Rover, did you use the spacer on the lower mounting bolt? I read on Amazon reviews that the bolts break there. My guess it's because the bolt is cheap and or because of the spacer. I bet being the screw sticks out and the weight of the rack is on the end of the screw it puts more stress on the screw than if you didn't use the spacer. I really don't understand why the spacer is used. Any reason I can't install the rack without the spacers? I will be going to the hardware store to purchase some screws just in case.

Jim

[George3]

Jb,

I did not use the spacer.  I believe the bolts provided with the rack are of good quality although I have no intention of loading this rack down with any serious weight. It's just there to carry a pump, tube, my binoculars and a few tools in a bag.  The screws do not stick out to any significant degree at all.  I think the Topeka rack got ripped on Amazon for cheap screws but I was happy to use just two screws that Ibera provided.  On the arms from the brake housing I just reused the RAD screws. 

A couple of threads back you can view the photos I posted and that should give you an idea of what I am talking about. 

George

[RadJohn]

...I really don't understand why the spacer is used. Any reason I can't install the rack without the spacers?...

This is just a guess, but they may have included longer bolts and spacers to address possible clearance issues with the frames on some other brands of bikes, where the rack support arms didn't have a straight shot down to the mounting points on or near the dropouts, or maybe to allow the rack to also be used on not so fat/wide rear ends.

If it mounts solidly without the spacers and without having to bend anything excessively, that would seem to be the preferred mounting method in my way of thinking.

[jbfoster]

Rack installed fine on my Rover fine without the spacers.  I think using the spacers put to much stress on the bolts.


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[George3]

As I mentioned, there is no need to use the spacer on a Rover.  You are only using four screws to bolt to the bike, two of which come from the brake bracket, two from Ibera. I used lock-tight sparingly just because I have it in my tool box. 

[jbfoster]

Jb,

The 23 (60cm) is the way to go. I guess you could use the 15, using the existing Rad cable plus the 15 from Bolton but it seems to me that would be a tight fit.  I guess that might depend on what rack you get and what size it is.

On Amazon iI see its 18 Nov-10 Dec delivery with a 2–5 Nov "Fastest Delivery."  That still is a long wait. I guess I must have just gotten lucky not that that happens often.....

George

Got the cable today. It came sooner than expected. I'm glad I got this 23" one. I don't see how the 15" from Bolton would be long enough for my RadRover 5.

    Jim

[George3]

Happy it arrived early....as I mentioned the 23" gives you a bit extra in length just in case a rack is a bit long...
For my Ibera rack it was perfect.  Now, I would like to get the optional front bike light but that puppy has been out of stock since July and I check twice a day and either I missed an opportunity or they are just not available. 

George

[jbfoster]

Happy it arrived early....as I mentioned the 23" gives you a bit extra in length just in case a rack is a bit long...
For my Ibera rack it was perfect.  Now, I would like to get the optional front bike light but that puppy has been out of stock since July and I check twice a day and either I missed an opportunity or they are just not available. 

George

I got a Ibera rack also. I just looked, didn't know RAD had a premium light. You think 500 Lumens will be bright enough?

I have bought 3 lights from Amazon. I have returned the first two. Just got the third. It says it's 2400 lumens but no way it's that bright. I wonder how many lumens the RadRover 5 stock light is.

Jim