Bontrager BackRack Disc MIK

The Bontrager BackRack Disc MIK is a sturdy rear rack with a simple and effective design tweak to help it clear disc brakes, though its top strut design can make it fiddly to fit.

The BackRack Disc MIK has two tricks up its sleeve compared to regular rear racks. First, it's compatible with the MIK system that makes it very easy to fit and remove a top bag. (For more about the MIK system, see my review of the Bontrager MIK Utility Trunk Bag.) Second, its lower mounting points are designed to clear a disc brake.

Where the rack attaches to the eyelets on your dropouts there are small tubular extensions that step out the rack so it doesn't interfere with a seatstay-mounted disc brake calliper.

This is a bit of a niche application since most disc brakes have moved to the chainstays where they don't interfere with racks. There are still some seatstay-mounted callipers around, like the ones on the Carrera Subway I reviewed recently, but if you've got a bike with chainstay-mounted brakes and want a MIK-compatible rack, buy the Bontrager BackRack Deluxe MIK instead of this rack.

Why? Because, as with many MIK racks, the bag interferes with easily mounting and removing panniers. Some panniers get completely in the way and prevent a MIK bag from mounting at all, others leave room for a MIK bag, but you still have to take it off to mount them. I found that panniers with their hooks right at the top of the back board worked, but if the board extends above the hooks you're out of luck. The Deluxe rack has an extra bar for your panniers to get round these issues.

I didn't have quite the level of hassle fitting the BackRack MIK Disc to a bike that Matt Lamy did when he tested the Deluxe version, probably because the bikes I put it on had rack eyes right by the dropouts. Nevertheless, the clamps that the top struts pass through do make adjustment awkward. You have to assemble everything loosely, then wiggle the rack into place so the top's level, then tighten up the frame bolts and the strut clamps.

As you can see, I didn't bother to shorten the top struts. I always reason that leaving parts like this at their original length allows for changes later even if it doesn't look pretty.

Incidentally, there are two ways Matt could have made fitting that Deluxe rack easier. The first is to replace his seat clamp with one that incorporates rack mounts, such as this from M Part or this Avenir one. The second would have been to move the strut clamps to the rack's uprights so they work like those on the Blackburn Expedition 1 Disc (and the discontinued Central).

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Matt found the coating on his rack wasn't very durable. I didn't have the same problem, but I do wonder why everything (racks, spokes, rims etc etc) has to be coated black. It's often just less hassle if things are left plain.

Once the rack is in place it's plenty sturdy thanks to its tubular aluminium construction. The plate out back for lights is a great feature. It'll take a standard dynamo-powered rear light or you can do what I did and improvise an angle bracket to take a mount. Either way, it's a lot less hassle than trying to clamp a light mount round a rack's tubing, which never seems to work very well.

Value

Price-wise it's cheaper than the £55 Blackburn Expedition 1 Disc, which is arguably an overall better design but lacks MIK compatibility. The Bontrager Deluxe MIK rack is the same price but doesn't accommodate seatstay-mounted disc callipers; if you don't need that capability in a MIK rack, it's probably the one to go for. But if you want a MIK rack that clears seatstay-mounted callipers, this is pretty much your only choice.

Who should buy the Bontrager BackRack Disc MIK?

Get this rack if you have seatstay-mounted disc brakes that foul standard racks, the patience to mess around with the top strut fitting system, and you want a MIK-compatible rack.

Verdict

Solves the problem of carrying a MIK bag on a bike with seatstay-mounted disc callipers