Topeak Rack Qs

The bags hang beside the frame, there is a n elastic bungie cord to hold the bag against the frame- I assume to stop the bags swinging outwardly whilst cornering.

Thread lock/nylock nuts were belt and braces, so the bolts couldn't come undone. I bought stainless longer bolts and nuts, placed washers between all mating surfaces, applied copper grease to all threads. Some bolts I cut to give the perfect length/fit.

Slightly higher resolution
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I have used the Topeak DX racks and the MTX trunk bag on my commuting bikes for several years until recently. It is an easy system to use and has the advantage that if you don’t need to use either or both of the side panniers they fold out of the way entirely which I guess means less drag, but they  are there  if you need them. The panniers are surprisingly roomy as well. I have lugged all sorts of stuff in them. Unfortunately, all this came to an end recently when some low-life scum in a car grabbed the bag off my bike at some traffic lights. Amazingly, I didn’t realise until I got home and found it wasn’t on the bike. They must have grabbed the rear handle and waited till I accelerated  away , so that the bag just slid off the back of the bike. I only put two and two together when I thought it through later.  My contactless bank cards had been used within 20 mins of the bag being stolen. Fortunately, the amounts were small and my bank refunded them. The by-now-useless cards were found 10 miles away by a passer-by the next day. I will replace the bag when my insurers have settled the claim ( it’s covered on my house contents policy) but it’s a hassle, and I recommend fitting a second security device such as a carribeen between the bag and the rack to avoid it being slid off without you knowing. As far as centre of gravity is concerned, I would discount it entirely. You are much higher and heavier on the bike than the panniers. They don’t make much of a difference even heavily loaded.

I have the Topeak pannier rack and sliding trunk panniers on my Day One.  I think its well made and fitted easily to my bike.  Its true the fold away panniers are smaller than traditional but I dont use mine for touring but commuting type rides and the odd small shopping trip.  I do like the fold away idea, make the bike tidy and less bulky on the outward journey for shopping.  I can load up pictures later of mine if you want.    I used threadlock nuts and extra washers to space the rack off the frame.

Got one. (Super tourist DX Disc.)

Ask yourself, do you need adjustable height? Only if you want to swap between bikes with different wheel sizes I think.

Do you need the disc set up? I'm not sure that my disc configured rack is necessary to fit over my brakes.  (BB7s)

Do you need the  slide on trunk bag fixing? If you want to keep weight low, panniers would be better than a trunk bag.

The integral panniers on the Topeak bag are quite small if I recall. You always have to carry both of them, even if you only need to use one.

If you've got the panniers, will you use the trunk bag?

Lighter, cheaper (?) and more elegant racks are available, but as a system it seems quite well designed, and very solid. I'd only get one if you definitely want the slide-on bag and/or you're going to carry a heavy load.

Hope that's helpful.