Ventura Universal Carrier Rack

Please read this review, this entire review, before purchasing this carrier rack.The product itself is wonderful, just as the reviews said. And like the other reviews said, the service is terrible. I've always had nothing but pleasant experiences when ordering from Amazon, so I read all the negativity and dismissed it. I thought those were unlucky people. I was wrong.First time I ordered, it took over a month to get to me. When it finally came, the box was weird/unmarked. I shook it and it rattled. I opened up the box and there was this sorry looking bit of plastic packaging, all mangled and ripped. Looks like a rat tried to eat it. Bolts, nuts were everywhere. Guess that explains the rattling, right? But I really don't care about looks, so I started putting everything together only to find that I was missing a small black bar (the "extender" bar?). I contacted Amazon and explained that all I needed was an "extender" bar. They replied promptly and told me that they do not ship parts; I would need to return the partial package once I received the replacement. I agreed.Second package comes in an Amazon box. Shook it and rattling was minimal/normal. Promising. I opened it up and found the plastic package mostly intact...except for one big, clean slit towards the bottom where it looks like they shoved parts in. Again, really didn't care about looks, so I pulled it all out and got my one stupid extender bar and I was hoping to find some bolts/nuts. I forgot to mention to them that I needed 3 bolts/nuts, but I figured hey, why worry if they're sending me a whole new replacement package, right? Wrong. This one had no nuts/bolts. But I found some that worked, so it was okay (God forbid I approach them a third time and they screw it up...again). The product didn't quite fit on my Schwinn Aluminum Comp for some reason, but I ghetto rigged it and made it fit. Kinda. For $10, it's alright.The kicker? I basically paid $20 because I was too lazy to return the other package. I just got busy and never got around to mailing it...returns are just so freaking inconvenient. And the part I find incredibly funny is this: "We never ship just parts". Oh, really? Then why the HECK did I receive not one, but TWO partial packages? Let's use some common sense here....someone got to those packages before the customer did...so they're doing something with those parts. If they stopped ripping open packages, all these problems would be gone.Friends, Amazon does a lot of things well. I love Amazon. But for some reason, they struggle with Ventura Universal Bicycle Carrier Racks. Do not brush off all the negative reviews; they are real people that got a real pain in the butt from this (usually) really good company. This is a great product, but not worth the hassle. If you choose to not heed my warning and order it for your kid's bike for Christmas, fine. Order it now if you want it for Christmas. I am dead serious. It'll take a month to ship the first time and there's a good chance they will screw up *multiple* times. And you may want to assemble it for your kid, too, like for him to go out to his bike and see it on there. Because no 6-year-old wants to open up a Christmas present only to find a ratty, ransacked piece of plastic packaging.

So I just bought this and attached it to my 27'/700cc hybrid Schwin bike (So to the previous poster who said this couldn't be used with a Schwin... you need to be smarter than the bike rack.)This rack DOES have some major issues already pointed out. The screws. I became so frustrated with the screws I ran to the local hardware shop, and for $3.00 I bought all of the screws I needed. Given how inexpensive the initial purchase was, it wasn't THAT big of a problem.There is also no instruction. BUT, since this is a universal rack, my guess is, there is no point in having a 20 page instruction booklet for every possible way you can put this thing together to fit your bike. And that can't possibly cover every bike out there. The rack PROBABLY can't cover every bike out there. But it seems pretty adaptable.I've ridden with this rack on my bike for a short while, but it does seem very sturdy. The only thing I might be concerned with is screws coming loose. But I guess that can't be completely blamed on the bike rack because I bought them somewhere else. BUT, that is my only concern regarding the rack itself. Solid metal. Once attached and the screws are down, it's pretty immovable.I DON'T have a fender on my bike. It probably would not be possible to have this rack and a fender. At least not on a 27" tire. For the 26', you can probably set it up to have enough clearance to have both a fender and a rack.Given the screw situation, I could only give this rack a 4 out of 5. Probably closer to a 3.5. But quality-wise, definitely a good investment. And even if you add my hardware store purchase of a few bucks, that still keeps this solid rack under $20. Excellent value even with the addition.

I recently got an E-bike here on Amazon and have been enjoying riding a bike again after years of not having one.I've been a street motorcyclist for about five years, and that has taught me the importance of preparedness. Since I have an electric motor helping me out on my new E-bike, I can easily ride 10x the distance than I could on a normal bike, probably even longer! So I want to have supplies with me just like I do on my motorcycle, so I looked into storage.I don't want to wear a backpack, so I decided a rack was the next best thing since I need the inner triangle of my bike's frame clear for battery installation and removal. I don't trust the racks that just clamp onto a bike's seat post, so those were out of the question. I looked at racks that cost two to three times as much as this rack, but they looked so similar. Add to that the numerous positive reviews this rack has, and I decided the $15 price tag was worth the risk.As you can see by the photo of my bike, it paid off! My E-bike, from HOTEBIKE, had bolts installed already at the various mounting points that this rack can use. That was fortunate for me, as you can see by the photo I've attached of two of the bolts.These bolts in question are among the hardware that came with this rack. Notice something off about the bolt on the right? Yep, it's hex pocket is unformed. A better quality bolt from the rack is on the left for visual comparison. I didn't notice this during the installation.To diverge on a tangent for a bit, the instructions that come with this rack are lousy, so I figured out how to install this rack without them. Thanks to my E-bike having mounting points with hardware preinstalled, it wasn't hard to do. I just loosely bolted pieces of this rack to the bike, then tightened up the fasteners when I was satisfied with the fitment.It was during this final tightening of fasteners that I caught that bad bolt. I wound up removing it and the other bolts I'd used to mount the rack to the bike and using the bike's included bolts instead.Also, my E-bike has a small crossbar between the chainstays (it's the bar where caliper brakes would be mounted normally- my bike has disc brakes) so I elected to use that as a mounting point, using the appropriate bracket with this rack. The center hole of the bracket was too small in diameter, so I did drill the hole out to let the bolt that was on my bike pass through. It was just one drill size up so it was easily done with a cordless drill and a vise.I could've easily used the two side brackets and mounted them to the sides of the chainstays, since there was again mounting holes with preinstalled bolts for the purpose. I decided that if the rack was unsteady, I would use said brackets.I haven't needed them. This rack will flex a little when forced by hand, but after that flex, I move the whole bike around when I push, pull, kick and yank this rack. I like this, since the rack being too rigid would mean it'd break easily, but it's not so flexible so as to bend and jam a wheel, it's just right. A little flex to absorb shock, but enough rigidity to resist bending. I even harked back to my old BMX stunt days and "thrashed" about on my E-bike a little (I couldn't do much, I'm out of shape and E-bikes are much heavier than BMX bikes!). The rack took it all in stride.So, if you aren't mechanically inclined and need thorough instruction to assemble and install equipment, you might be better off paying for a more expensive rack, depending on the quality of instructions. But if you're willing to sit down, figure things out and test your work before using it, the savings you get with this rack are awesome, even with sporadic bad quality with hardware!This extends to use of the rack. It has a spring tensioned clamping bar, and the rack's design is modular. Know what the bag is on mine? It's a fuel tank bag intended for motorcycle use! I wound up liking and using saddle bags on my motorcycle, so the tank bag has sat collecting dust. It has three mounting points, so with some large zip-ties in hand, I set to work. Two points were zip tied to the front of the rack, the third point at the end of the bag was zip-tied to the rack's fender mount, which I bent upwards to use. The bag is also solidly mounted, and I now have a small supply of tools and parts to take with me on rides!I'd imagine this rack will accept a dedicated bike rack bag or case just fine, but I'm happy with it's performance both in installation to my bike and holding my repurposed fuel tank bag! Again, if you're handy and want to save some money, I'd definitely recommend this rack! Just examine the bolts before you begin installing them.