What are the uses of a mini rack (like Mark's)

[Ash A]

They make the bike look cooler, but can they be used for anything else than holding a basket (like Wald's wire basket) ?

[Joe Bernard]

The Riv small Trunksack fits on it, as do several not-huge-but-bigger square bags from Berthoud and the like. You'd need a decaleur for the boxy bags, or find some other way to lock it down to the rack (Trunksack has straps for this).

[Ron Mc]

yes

great light mount

great fender stabilizing mount

the saddle bag carries all my roadside and sundries, the small trunk carries my winter weather shell and layers, and the Randi-Jo bartender carries wallet, keys and cellphone

this small trunk carries my summertime roadside

and wintertime 14-l rando carries everything

on another bike, my winter bag uses the Nitto F15 handlebar rack

but back to the Nitto front mini racks, yes, you can also mount a Wald basket

[Garth]

I attached the large Trunksack to mine. I taped a wood paint stir stick underneath to support the extra length. The small Trucksack is just too tiny for me. I also have the longer "2 strut" version(that should never have been discontinued) of the rack which supports the long bag natively, but it works good enough for now so "one of these days" may never be.

[Ron Mc]

ps - when my mom was in a recovery/PT center after knee surgery, I used a John's Irish Strap to secure a pastry box to my mini rack and take her a nice dessert.  

A great sundry - each of my bikes carries a pair of these, and we've used them to strap on finds from Frankenbike and antique/curio shops.  Offhand, I can remember a buddy's rack brought home from Frankenbike.  There's just something right about a rack strapped to a rack.  

[Wally Estrella]

I've used a large-ish (6x10x11) Waxwing rando bag on my along w/ small and medium Wald baskets. 

I went with the anti-decaleur approach for the rando bag mounting (https://www.flickr.com/photos/49353569@N00/4971213280 & https://www.flickr.com/photos/37964304@N05/26532169175/in/album-72157665043762914/).  A coroplast box insert was for the backbone.  It's held up very well being loaded up with extra water bottles, food stuff picked up along the way on country rides (farmers markets, antique stores, etc).

I read, somewhere, that coroplast doesn't like tapes or glues longterm so I used plastic rivets on the corners.  Box is one piece folded up at the corners.  Image shown of just the box needs to be finished up by having some webbing stitched on the exposed edges.  To keep the edges soft and not act as dirt collectors.

Putting extra zip ties when mounting wire baskets is probably a good thing.

[Peter Turskovitch]

Some people lash their stuff directly to the rack. I  use bungees to securely attach a sleeping pad and my sleeping bag to a small rack. With a set-up like that I'm ready for a camp-out without using any bags at all. I've also seen people attach a full suit of raingear with a toe strap.

Peter

[Ron Mc]

another idea for that Peter, Leather straps (bungees or toe straps) in the D-rings on top of a small trunk

 - these straps come from Acorn

[George Schick]

I'm kinda surprised that no responder mentioned using the Mark's Mini on the rear, for a bag support.  That's the way I use mine.

[Stuart Lovinggood]

I have one on my shopping list for supporting a large Swift Industries Zeitgeist saddlebag off the handlebars. The bag fits well enough on my Joe as-is, but would be nice to have something to get it up off the head tube. 

On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 2:40:02 AM UTC-5, Ash A wrote:

[Austin H]

My Salsa Casseroll came stock with a mini-rack up front.
I've got a Zimbale bag on there. I love it and have been using it for years.
I did remove the velcro and install snaps, and it is a much better bag now.

[drew]

It seems like you are diminishing the front basket. Once you have a wald on a front rack, it
Is a complete game changer. I started with one and now all three have a basket. 2 of which are mounted to a marks rack.

[RichS]

Drew, I'm in your camp too. Wald medium baskets mounted to my Mark's racks on both Sam and Atlantis.

Best regards,

Richard 

[Ash A]

Thanks everyone for all the info and those pictures.  This thread is  a great knowledge base for anyone starting with a mini rack.

Currently (as an experiment) I have it mounted on the back with Wald's medium basket zip-tied.  I'm just loving the utility.  The combination of that basket and the Captain Red Hook Basket Net are quite versatile.  In my case this setup gets me 98% there in terms of my cargo carrying needs.

So if I'm going to have just one rack ever, is there are any reason to have it on the front instead?  

It looks better when mounted in the front. However, the bike is more stable when the weight is in the back and it is parked with the kick stand.  If I were to place some weight in the front, then I definitely need to tie down front wheel to downtime (or else bike falls).

[drew]

If you plan on touring, leaving the back open for a Bigger rack/panniers or a saddlebag is helpful. My front baskets have on the fly items, one has a cup holder. Also, if you're overstuffing it or picking up food, I kinda like to be able to have eyes on the load.

[Surlyprof]

As others mentioned, I also use mine for mounting lights (on Paul's Gino light mounts) and as a base for a Wald basket.  Never committed to the zip-tied Wald.  I use a John's Irish Strap for easy on/off.  I've come up with a few more secure ways since this photo was taken: https://www.flickr.com/photos/129545862@N03/16159037984/in/dateposted-public/

John

On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 12:40:02 AM UTC-7, Ash A wrote:

[Ron Mc]

Ash, 

A velcro strap between downtube and front wheel will solve the weight swing problem.  

Other choice is a double kickstand.  

[Ash A]

John,  that's already pretty innovative method to secure the basket!

Initially I was hesitant to commit the basket to Mark's rack with zip ties.   I did it anyway because I had a box full of them.   Been two months and haven't had a reason to cut them off.  If I remove the basket now, I will miss it big time every now and then :)

[Ash A]

Thanks Ron.  The double kickstand is not my thing.  Velcro strap will solve the problem most of the times.  

I am trying to think of solution that can be deployed in like couple of seconds.  For example when I'm at a grocery isle and have to free my hands for a minute.  I'm thinking if I turn the handlebar to the right and tie the right side of the bar to the seat or something, the bike will be pretty stable on the kickstand.  Something like a retractable phone charging cable might work :)

[Will P36]

Ash,

Velo Orange has these wheel stabilizers for this reason. They work ok when the load is light, but if your basket is full of groceries it wont do much. 

https://store.velo-orange.com/index.php/accessories/racks-decaleurs/vo-wheel-stabilizer.html  

[Ron Mc]

Will, I've tried that one, the German one, and even an OS flickstand.  None of them worked for the tight spacing on my Raleigh and/or w/ fenders, so I tried and lived with velcro strap.  

Regards.