For those of you that aren’t familiar with Steadyrack, we’d like to start this review with a quote directly from their website to put a vision in your mind around what they have achieved within the bicycle storage world:
“Steadyrack’s unique patented design utilises the mechanical advantage of wheel turning, combined with an innovative pivoting feature, to create a bike rack that takes up the least amount of storage space and is the easiest to use.”
Steadyrack are an Australian based, family run bicycle storage company that since 2009 have been revolutionising the way we are able to store our bikes within the smallest spaces possible. Over the previous 10 years they have grown from their first prototype rack, built to resolve a niggly issue in CEO and Founder David Steadman’s garage to grow into a brand that is recognised worldwide by supplying racks all around the globe.
The guys at Steadyrack have supplied to us their brand new MTB storage rack. It was sent to us directly from the manufacturer and is currently one of only a few in the UK. It arrived very well packaged with no damage to the rack or its storage box. Apart from 2 plastic covers that are clicked into place after installation, the rack comes fully assembled and ready to bolt straight onto the wall for a quick assembly. Included with the rack is a handy instruction manual along with various fixings to suit different wall types.
The installation took around 30 minutes and was very easy to complete following the instructions provided. The fixings hold the rack solid against the wall and there are various holes in the mounting pads to suits your needs on where each bolt needs to be positioned. The installation can be completed with the rack fully built and assembled which makes life simple as it is ready to use once bolted to the wall.
The mechanism behind the rack is ingenious. With one hand on top of the metal framework it takes one smooth pull downwards and the rack opens up and clicks into place. When fixed at the correct height as advised in the instructions and with the bike on its back wheel, you simply push your bike directly towards the rack the front wheel is easily picked up, allowing it to drop inside the framework. The back wheel then sits in the plastic rest below and the whole bike can be turned nearly 180 degrees to either side.
The quality of the Steadyrack is superb. I can’t fault one part of it, and being a mechanical engineer myself that’s constantly fault finding and problem solving on a daily basis says a lot. The rack feels robust, the joints feel tight with no play and the rubber grommets are positioned in exactly the right places to stop and wear and tear damage. Even the plastic finishing covers snap into place and have a brilliant finish to them, both physically and aesthetically.
Upon removing the bike, I found that a quick tug backwards is all
it takes to remove the front wheel from the framework and the whole bike drops to the ground. You can also use your knee under the saddle to support it and bring it down slowly but a 4 inch drop is hardly an issue against what a mountain bike is designed to withstand whilst being ridden so I don’t bother. The rack then closes up through two parts; Firstly the main leg goes up, followed by the secondary support leg going towards the wall which again, clicks into place and the rack is left exceptionally tidy. When not in use, it sticks out 4.5 inches from the wall at its highest point so it’s pretty slim.
What we love about Steadyrack is that they have designed and catered for every issue that can arise when fitting something like this to a wall. Upon installation of this MTB rack, I noticed that it needed to goes directly where I have a cable running horizontally across the full length of my garage wall. I immediately thought this would be an issue but offering up the rack to the wall proved that they have allowed for this by offsetting the main bolting pads slightly further back. This achieves a small and pretty unnoticeable gap through the centre of the back of the rack which means that cables won’t be pinched against the wall when the rack is tightened against it.
Conclusion
This product is brilliant, just brilliant. As mentioned above, I love fault finding and problem solving, and here at UKMTBChat we are honest about the products we test and review so that you can be confident in what you are reading. I can’t find any faults with the Steadyrack MTB rack. The quality behind the design and build is exceptional, the mechanism is smooth, the price is reasonable and it looks the part, in and out of use. We look forward to seeing what they have in store for us all next!
