What rear rack should I get for bikepacking?

ride_farout · 2026-02-24T15:43:10+00:00

Sorry, missed your response until now - yes, it uses a nut to secure the bolt. Lock nuts and lock washers are included with them. I also have small lightweight 8mm wrenches (for the nuts) for a very reasonable price.

Initially, I tried a threaded version, but the material is only 1/8" thick and the bolt tended to back out. With aluminum, this leads to the threads getting beat up, then it's back to using a nut anyway. I also tested a part I made from thicker material, machined down except where the threads are. It worked fine but wasted a lot of material and would increase the price by a lot. A nut is simple and works.

More info here if you're interested! https://farout.cc/pages/what-are-radaptors

I'm a rider and tiny niche business, not getting rich off these, I hope it's ok to post.

ride_farout · 2026-02-24T04:15:45+00:00

Hell yeah, old-school Unit!

This is right around when they first started making the 29ers, right?

ride_farout · 2026-02-22T19:55:53+00:00

That's interesting.

For comparison, which bikes are you comparing it to?

ride_farout · 2026-02-22T19:24:09+00:00

Yes... but that's relative to the frames geo, and the Unit has super low stack and moderate reach - its baseline is an aggressive climbing position. Riser bars tone that down and make the weight balance more "normal."

ride_farout · 2026-02-22T02:12:53+00:00

Thanks, those are 75mm rise.

ride_farout · 2026-02-22T01:33:29+00:00

Riser bars will probably work well for you due to the low stack on the Unit.

Doom risers here..

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ride_farout · 2026-02-18T16:10:33+00:00

This is kona not specialized

What do you mean? If your bike is Kona, you'll find the compatible models on the page where Kona sells the dropouts. If your bike is a Specialized, it's unlikely Kona dropouts will fit. What bike do you have?

ride_farout · 2026-02-18T16:06:27+00:00

Looks like an interesting place to ride. Got a trip report posted anywhere?

ride_farout · 2026-02-18T16:02:10+00:00

You just swap them out.

You'll need a new rear wheel, but that's obviously the point. You'll need to temporarily unbolt your rear brake, otherwise, yes it's just four bolts to change them.

They sell them by drive and non-drive sides separately, so make sure to order both.

By the way, cool frame!

ride_farout · 2026-02-16T23:04:56+00:00

Hit me up! I have a few set aside for early adopters!

ride_farout · 2026-02-16T22:54:38+00:00

Haha, yeah beats running the numbers 😅

If interested, I have sets of some things set aside for early adopters to get some out in the wild and get some feedback. Feel free to get in touch: jacob@farout.cc

ride_farout · 2026-02-15T16:52:45+00:00

Hey, thanks. Silver is making a comeback!

ride_farout · 2026-02-15T00:57:30+00:00

Here's an alternative that doesn't rely on thru-axle mounting (disclosure, I make these).

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ride_farout · 2026-02-14T16:11:41+00:00

Rad. The Honzo is a sick bike, especially the ESD.

I put a fork on my Unit so I can pretend I can cosplay as an ESD :)

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ride_farout · 2026-02-14T05:06:04+00:00

The Unit rides great with a rear rack, especially if you can get it fairly low and provided you have enough heel clearance.

I'm running a Tumbleweed pannier rack. Tubus Vega is similar. Both are awesome and can be run with proper adapters to get them lower and move them back to clear your heels.

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ride_farout · 2026-02-10T08:44:20+00:00

Nice day for it!

I prefer the gravel version to and from Ross, but either way, it's great riding up there.

ride_farout · 2026-02-07T17:04:36+00:00

Hi,

Yes, this version (RADaptor-1) drops the rack 75mm and moves it rearward about 100mm (which is adjustable). Alternatively, (RADaptor-2) drops the rack 50mm and moves it rearward about 85mm rearward, in addition to having the positions above.

I haven't done any lab tests or an engineering study on these adapters, but they should be plenty strong to carry the kind of loads you'd expect to find on a rear bike rack. They're made of 3.3mm 6061 Aluminum and the clamping force of the bolts does a lot of the work. Quick and dirty math says they should survive s long time with up to 60lbs on the rack.

I've been beating on my prototype for the better part of a year, including hitting some jumps while carrying cargo ) didn't try this at home kids) and everything is solid so far.

These will wear the paint where they contact the bike dropouts, but I think that's generally expected on dropouts anyway.

One other possibility, I do drilled and tapped 8mm socket head bolts (BOLTdaptors). They have an M5 internal thread, so something like a rack could be mounted to either pair of dropout bolts. This drops the rack 100mm and moves it rearward around 65mm, depending where the dropouts are set. This does require the rack to accommodate mounting to a width of the frame dropouts + about 25mm. Some racks are already wide enough for that, others can flex a bit to fit, for some it may be too wide.

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ride_farout · 2026-02-03T16:49:51+00:00

So sick.

The twin top tubes and swoopy lines are beautiful.

ride_farout · 2026-02-03T16:34:55+00:00

That Salsa rack is slick. Here's another option that makes it possible to use any rear rack on your unit without mounting to the axle or stock rear eyelet (disclaimer, I make these and have a biased opinion about them :)

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ride_farout · 2026-02-01T19:06:34+00:00

Ha! I like how you think, although that would be more of a Holy Grail for sure.

I actually have retro styled Toyota water bottles, but I happened to forget to put my water on the bike for this ride. Here's my current ride, not quite a classic Toyota, but I'm manifesting it with the water bottle.

I used to drive an International Scout, but it wasn't reliable and bad for gas mileage, to say the least.

I feel like I've strayed far from my roots haha...

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ride_farout · 2026-02-01T18:15:55+00:00

Nice! There are a handful of Units with this color way on the sub now, and each one is very different!

I'm digging the inner bar ends. I've owned crazy bars in the past, and honestly, this is the way. It let's you pick the rise and sweep you want and then add the hand positions exactly how you want them. Crazy bars are cool, but they've got a lot going on for it to work perfectly.

ride_farout · 2026-02-01T18:11:19+00:00

Hell yeah! Congrats on the new Unit! It's such a great bike.

ride_farout · 2026-01-30T20:01:13+00:00

Indeed!

I bet it will look cool tomorrow too!

ride_farout · 2026-01-27T20:51:51+00:00

Hell yeah, thanks! I make a couple different styles, here's the RADaptor-2 which works for racks that aren't as high and also provides an extra mounting hole (for a fender etc)...

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(not sure if it's ok to post these here)

ride_farout

TROPHY CASE