Anyone using MIK bags with a Load?

[JimAndArrow]

I was looking at trunk bags and baskets with the MIK attachment system for my new Load 75 when something occurred to me - it appears to me that the forward bar of the MIK attachment framework is far enough forward under the seat with the Load 75 rack that if I wanted to use, e.g. a trunk bag, it would not actually fit because the bag would have to be wedged under the seat to the point of actually touching, or almost touching, the seat post, and if you're not 2 meters tall, a lot of bags wouldn't fit under there even if you were ok having the bag sitting way forward like this.

Am I right? I was originally thinking about this but I think it wouldn't actually fit, especially with the lock case attached under the seat, and even if it would, 1/3 of the basket space would be under the seat and you'd be giving up all the space in the basket as a result.

And for MIK mounting panniers you'd actually have a similar problem - because the MIK aligned bars on the top of the rack are so far forward, if you used them to mount a pannier set, it looks to me like the bags would be hanging far enough forward that you'd be hitting them with your heels, and that to use a set of panniers on this rack you really need to put them further back, in line with the bottom of the pannier stabilizing triangle rather than with the MIK framework on the top. Am I missing something - does this work better than it appears it would, or are the applications of MIK on this rack somewhat limited?

 

[DiggyGun]

I was looking at trunk bags and baskets with the MIK attachment system for my new Load 75 when something occurred to me - it appears to me that the forward bar of the MIK attachment framework is far enough forward under the seat with the Load 75 rack that if I wanted to use, e.g. a trunk bag, it would not actually fit because the bag would have to be wedged under the seat to the point of actually touching, or almost touching, the seat post, and if you're not 2 meters tall, a lot of bags wouldn't fit under there even if you were ok having the bag sitting way forward like this.

Am I right? I was originally thinking about this but I think it wouldn't actually fit, especially with the lock case attached under the seat, and even if it would, 1/3 of the basket space would be under the seat and you'd be giving up all the space in the basket as a result.

And for MIK mounting panniers you'd actually have a similar problem - because the MIK aligned bars on the top of the rack are so far forward, if you used them to mount a pannier set, it looks to me like the bags would be hanging far enough forward that you'd be hitting them with your heels, and that to use a set of panniers on this rack you really need to put them further back, in line with the bottom of the pannier stabilizing triangle rather than with the MIK framework on the top. Am I missing something - does this work better than it appears it would, or are the applications of MIK on this rack somewhat limited?

Can you post a photo of the offending area.

 

[Tubbs]

I have a MIK rack with the Trunk bag it works fine but my seat post is fully extended no experience with the panniers.

 

[JimAndArrow]

Can you post a photo of the offending area.

Thanks for replying @DiggyGun, here are a couple of photos - the MIK mount, I think, is comprised of the placement of those three bars, but as you can see, the front bar is actually under the seat. Every photo I can find online of an MIK bag has the rack far enough out that the mount is behind the seat, not several cm under the seat like this.

I have the seat post set pretty low as I’m not a tall guy - if my post was fully extended perhaps the seat would just go over the top of the bag. But as it is, even if I removed the lock bag, I don’t think any bag mounting to that front bar would fit.

@Tubbs thanks for confirming - if you are using this mount, is your trunk bag tucked under the seat?

In the meantime, I’ve decided to try an Ortlieb Up-Town as these use a different quick mount system and are oriented sideways rather than lengthwise on the rack, which should hopefully leave enough room.

 

[DiggyGun]

Thanks for replying @DiggyGun, here are a couple of photos - the MIK mount, I think, is comprised of the placement of those three bars, but as you can see, the front bar is actually under the seat. Every photo I can find online of an MIK bag has the rack far enough out that the mount is behind the seat, not several cm under the seat like this.

I have the seat post set pretty low as I’m not a tall guy - if my post was fully extended perhaps the seat would just go over the top of the bag. But as it is, even if I removed the lock bag, I don’t think any bag mounting to that front bar would fit.

@Tubbs thanks for confirming - if you are using this mount, is your trunk bag tucked under the seat?

In the meantime, I’ve decided to try an Ortlieb Up-Town as these use a different quick mount system and are oriented sideways rather than lengthwise on the rack, which should hopefully leave enough room.

We use the Ortlieb panniers on both of our bikes and they are an excellent piece of kit.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

To me, what you have doesn't look like a MIK rack at all.

 

[DiggyGun]

This is from the Fully Charged website and it shows that the front end of the rack is well under the seat. Strange set up…

 

[Gbart]

Thanks for replying @DiggyGun, here are a couple of photos - the MIK mount, I think, is comprised of the placement of those three bars, but as you can see, the front bar is actually under the seat. Every photo I can find online of an MIK bag has the rack far enough out that the mount is behind the seat, not several cm under the seat like this.

I have the seat post set pretty low as I’m not a tall guy - if my post was fully extended perhaps the seat would just go over the top of the bag. But as it is, even if I removed the lock bag, I don’t think any bag mounting to that front bar would fit.

@Tubbs thanks for confirming - if you are using this mount, is your trunk bag tucked under the seat?

In the meantime, I’ve decided to try an Ortlieb Up-Town as these use a different quick mount system and are oriented sideways rather than lengthwise on the rack, which should hopefully leave enough room.

Hi. At the moment all you have is a basic rack. You still need the MIK adapter for your rack to attach MIK compatible bags to.

 

[JimAndArrow]

Hi. At the moment all you have is a basic rack. You still need the MIK adapter for your rack to attach MIK compatible bags to.
View attachment 107132

Thanks, and that’s odd, maybe this was my mistake - I thought R&M racks were MIK compatible without the adapter? (And I swear I also read someone’s review somewhere of an MIK bag going right onto their R&M rack with no adapter needed…)

@Tubbs did you need to use an adapter on your rack to get the trunk on there?

 

[Gbart]

Thanks, and that’s odd, maybe this was my mistake - I thought R&M racks were MIK compatible without the adapter? (And I swear I also read someone’s review somewhere of an MIK bag going right onto their R&M rack with no adapter needed…)

@Tubbs did you need to use an adapter on your rack to get the trunk on there?

R&M bike specs are not clear on their site but it looks like the R&M Charger3 rack is MIK compatible. It has the MIK mounts built into the rack. See pics. My Giant Explore rack is like that too so no additional adapter needed. I don’t think the adapters are too expensive though. Just a pain to now have to get one if you want the MIK capability.

 

[JimAndArrow]

R&M bike specs are not clear on their site but it looks like the R&M Charger3 rack is MIK compatible. It has the MIK mounts built into the rack. See pics. My Giant Explore rack is like that too so no additional adapter needed. I don’t think the adapters are too expensive though. Just a pain to now have to get one if you want the MIK capability.
View attachment 107182 View attachment 107184

Thanks, and I think it doesn’t matter too terribly as there are plenty of other bag options, just didn’t make sense to me. I think the answer may be just that *some* R&M racks are MIK compatible, but not all!

 

[Tubbs]

Thanks, and that’s odd, maybe this was my mistake - I thought R&M racks were MIK compatible without the adapter? (And I swear I also read someone’s review somewhere of an MIK bag going right onto their R&M rack with no adapter needed…)

@Tubbs did you need to use an adapter on your rack to get the trunk on there?

The Trunk bag has the adapter plate built into it so to answer your question yes.
You will need MIK compatible bags with built in plate or the adapter to put on your own bag. I added one to a milk crate and use it for larger items.

 

[DiggyGun]

This is my R&M Nevo3 GT Vario GX with a similar rack and the front end of this us also under the saddle.

 

[Bill G]

I was confused about MIK terminology at first. This YouTube video is concise and clear: