Updated: 15th April 2024
Front racks come in myriad designs and are essential for both bicycle touring and bikepacking setups. While some purists argue that bikepacking eschews racks, modern designs from bike brands include panniers and racks engineered specifically for this purpose. Whether you’re looking for a solution tailored to rugged bikepacking adventures or traditional touring, there’s a rack to suit every need.
In this guide, we’ll explore popular bikepacking front racks as well as those favored for bike touring. Selecting the right front rack involves several considerations, starting with your specific requirements. Are you planning to attach bulky panniers for an extended tour, or do you need a flat platform rack for a randonneur bag or a substantial handlebar bag suitable for bikepacking? The racks featured here cater to these varied needs.
Determining how you’ll use your front rack is just the beginning. Next, assess the rack’s durability and capacity. It’s crucial to understand a rack’s load-bearing ability—while many can handle standard loads, brands like Surly are renowned for their robust racks that withstand the demands of adventurous cycling. Material choice also plays a role; steel racks offer superior strength but tend to be heavier.
The balance between weight and strength can be tricky. A lighter rack might not always be the most robust option available.
Another factor is your bike’s compatibility with a front rack. Most bikes, especially touring and adventure models, come equipped with the necessary eyelets for rack mounting. However, if your bike lacks these, don’t worry. Check out this page for compatibility solutions, no matter your bike. Although not ideal, there are ways to install racks on bikes without eyelets—I’ll be covering this in a forthcoming article dedicated to mounting solutions, so stay tuned.
For bikepackers reluctant to use a traditional front rack, consider alternative setups like cargo cages with dry bags. These provide a lighter, albeit less capacious, alternative to front racks and require your fork to have mounting eyelets.
If you’re still on the fence about which front rack to choose, here’s input from seasoned bike adventurers on their preferred racks. These recommendations cover both bikepacking and touring setups, offering insights without bias to help you make an informed decision.
Here’s our top pick!
This is not a sponsored article, but we’re genuinely excited to share our experience. We’ve been using the Elkhorn by Old Man Mountain for over a year, and it’s safe to say we are impressed. It stands out as the ultimate minimalist front rack for bikepacking, allowing you to add micro panniers effortlessly.
The Elkhorn remains as stable and secure as more traditional racks, featuring 3-pack mounts on the uprights for your favorite cargo or bottle cages, plus additional tie-down points on the deck. It’s versatile too, capable of mounting to almost any bike type—from suspension forks to full-suspension mountain bikes, and even tri-bikes—both front and rear ready.
It supports up to 25lbs / 11.4kg, making it suitable for road, gravel, full-suspension, or fat bikes. Plus, with Fit Kits available for both thru axle and QR skewer mounts, compatibility issues are a thing of the past.
Weighing just 650 grams (1.43 lbs), the Elkhorn is available in two sizes:
- The Short version fits tires up to 27.5 x 2.8″ or 700c x 50mm.
- The Tall version offers maximum mud clearance for tires up to 29 x 3.25″.
This rack pairs perfectly with OMM’s Manything Cage, Sea to Summit Dry Bags, and the Juniper Truck.
For those seeking a tougher touring solution, the Divide is ideal, designed for heavier hauling with capacities of up to 55lbs / 25kg when eyelet mounted and 70lbs / 31.75kg when axle mounted.
Having met Erik from OMM, I’ve learned firsthand about the dedication behind their products and their 25-year journey in the industry—truly awesome people creating epic gear.
These racks are universally fitting, thanks to innovative Fit Kits that work great with any bike setup—from solid axles on eBike hub motors to bolt-on hubs, complementing even the Pizza rack on a fixie. They’re also compatible with RockShox Rudy forks, elevating your gravel suspension adventures.
OMM’s mission is to make every bike suitable for bikepacking.
They also offer the Axle Pack, a thru-axle mounted 3-pack adapter that prevents spinning or slipping. Weighing just 73g per side, it fits any fork type and adds robust 3-pack mounts without compromising fork integrity. Unlike standard mounts which limit you to 1.5lbs each, the Axle Pack can carry up to 22lbs (10 kg) in a low and stable position, protecting your fork’s eyelets from damage.
Blackburn Outpost Front World Touring Rack
A low-rider pannier-style front rack that’s designed for world tours and to fit a variety of bikes. This “top shelf” rack is the perfect match to the Outpost Rear World Touring Rack. The top rack is removable and allows you to go stealth, or keep it on for extra carrying flexibility. Weight carrying capacity up to 45lbs or 20.5kg weighing in at 645 grams
Tubus Duo
These Tubus Duo front racks are essentially really only good for bike touring. They do have some restrictions and are not the best racks out there. They are not suitable for mounting on spring or carbon forks without eyelets for example. But they do serve a specific purpose. Your bikes forks is required to have eyelets on the inside and outside for this rack to be the right choice. Tubus make some of the strongest racks systems and this rack is no different being able to tolerate extreme loads and fit almost all panniers. It features a longitudinal hole for optimal fit and increased flexibility. These are a lowrider rack that allows for room when installed on your touring bike to run a additional front rack like the Nitto Mini Front Rack which is next up. This low ride brings the centre of gravity of the panniers lower to the ground which is said to make the ride more stable. Priced from $84.09 on Amazon You get a load capacity of 15 kg and the weight of the rack comes in at 560 grams.
Nitto Mini Front Rack
Depending where you look for this Nitto Mini Front Rack it is sold out in most places. Please note that this rack has a 4.4 pound weight limit or around 2Kg. This is a strong rack, however it is recommended to use a tether to loop around the tongue of the rack and the handlebars. If you look closely a the photo above you will see a red tether. This rack is not for every bike and if you’re using V-brakes you may want to consider the Mark’s Rack instead. If the v-brake arms aren’t tall enough, they’ll block the rack mount from entering the fork crown. Best for a bike with cantilevers where you are looking for a smallish rack up there for a bag or basket or stuff-sack. This is a rack that is also used for mounting Rando bags.
Tubus Tara
The Tubus Tara another Lowrider rack option. This particular front rack has been around for over 25 years and over that time it has made some slight improvements here and there. Three individual holes were turned into one longitudinal hole. The entire mounting to the fork has been improved, making the TARA even more compatible with various forks allowing a more Âflexible positioning. And in addition, they also upgraded their classic lowrider with a light attachment. A straight forward design that is rather easy to install. With a loading capacity of 18 kg or 39.6 lbs. The weight of the standard rack is 500 grams or 17.6 oz and for the Big Apple 510 grams or 18 oz. Priced from $120.00 on Amazon.
Surly Touring Front Rack
These kind of front racks are my favourite, the design I mean. Like on the Trek 520 these racks allow for many different mounting options. You can run panniers low and high. With a top platform above the wheel for attaching a tent or sleeping bag. Made from Surly you can have certainty that this rack is strong and durable just like their bikes. Made from tubular Chromoly steel these racks have been used on expeditions all over this planet for years. This rack fits on many of Surly’s forks and fits some other manufacturer forks as well. It includes all the stainless steel hardware you need for installation. It’s both height adjustable and can fit a wide selection of wheel sizes, allowing you to keep the center of gravity as low as possible for a stable ride. It is a beast of a front rack with the ability to carry a capacity of 32kg (70lb) and weighs in on the heavier side at 1,382 grams. Priced from $145 on Jenson USA.
Blackburn Bootlegger
Blackburn make some more budget friendly bikepacking and touring gear. Their Bootlegger front rack is one of a couple that they make. This one is the more popular with the bike adventurers I asked for this article. Offer a useful flat platform it mounts with attachment clamps to your bikes front fork. And requires eyelet mounting near the axle. Allowing you to carry up to 45 pounds or around 20 kgs of your gear. And the rack weighs in at 917 grams. It also includes a cargo net and light mount. Made from a Aluminum construction. The rack is priced at $65.00
Bontrager Carry Forward Front Rack
A similar designed rack to the Surly Touring rack is this Bontrager Carry Forward Front Rack, it is the same rack that comes with the Trek 520. A versatile front rack that mounts to fender eyelets and lowrider mounts for confident stability when loaded. Has a max load of 15 Kg. Priced at $89.99 on the Trek website.
VO Randonneur Platform
If you are looking to get a Randonneur handlebar bag for heaps of space to carry what your need, then this VO Platform front rack is perfect. It is similar in design and purpose to the Nitto rack mentioned earlier. Velo Orange are know for making some really tough gear. Made from stainless steel this front rack is perfect for a handlebar bag, tied-down dry bag, or basket. All Velo Orange racks are made from polished tubular stainless steel, so they will never rust, flake, and can be re-polished to a mirror shine even after years of use. The platform is 20.7 cm long and 10.2 cm wide. The tombstone (backstop) is 9.5 cm tall. At $85.00 this rack has a max capacity of 12lbs or 5.4kg.
Pelago Commuter Front Rack
This is the front rack that is used with the Restrap Rando bags. With a large flat platform it offers heaps of usability, with the option of additional attachment points for panniers. Made from a Stainless steel construction it fits most bicycles. It is great for anything from commuting to touring, allowing for you to easily carry your school books, sports gear, camping equipment or a late night pizza. The Commuter rack comes with mounting piece for a front light. Priced at €99.00
Pass & Stow Five Rail
A well made and heavy duty front rack option that is again very similar to some of the previous rack options when it comes to design. It offers a flat platform. Unfortunately there was not that much that I could find on the sale page for this rack. but it was recommended by a couple bike travellers. Very expensive options at $280.00 they are custom made. One of the better designed racks in this list.
Specialized Pizza Rack
The last Pizza style front rack in this list comes from Specialized, they actually named this one the ‘Pizza Rack’. For obvious reasons. This rack is able to hold sizeable cargo, up to 15 kilograms (33lbs), rather comfortably. They also considered room for panniers, allowing your to accommodate any side panniers with hooks that fit on 13mm or larger rails. Priced at $90. It is a nice little touch that it comes packed in a box that resembles a pizza box.
Hellraiser Rack
The last rack for this blog post is rather different then most the other mentioned here. If you are after a front bike rack that is different then this might be for you. A very stylish front bike rack that is a great addition to your bike. It is best for someone who is a commuter. Although on their site they mention that this rack has survived car crashes it seems like a rather tough rack.
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