How to Attach a Bicycle Rear Folding Basket

For people who are giving up their cars in the name of lowering operating expenses, or environmental awareness, bicycles have a lot of appeal -- they're zero emission, easy to park and give you a moderate workout while you are going about your day. Bicycles have one drawback -- a lack of cargo capacity. Fortunately, there are a number of vendors (Wald and Summit being the most common) who sell folding side mount baskets that go over a back wheel rack on a bicycle.

Things You'll Need

  • An adjustable wrench (some models use Allen wrenches to secure the bolts instead; examine the parts that come with your folding basket to see exactly what tools you'll need.)
  • A bicycle with a back mounted rack over the rear wheel
  • A side mounted rear folding basket
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Instructions

    • 1

      Secure the bicycle so that it won't move while you work on it.

    • 2

      Release the latch that holds the basket in the folded position and open the basket up; make sure the bottom of the basket is pointed down so that gravity does some of the work for you. When open, the basket latches open, and you'll be doing the first part of the installation with it in this configuration.

    • 3

      Locate the two clips on the top edge of the basket; these will go over the outer rail of the luggage rack. Slide them over the rack (you may have to press down hard to get them to go over), and then use the screwdriver or wrench and provided nut and bolt to fasten the bottom edge of these clips. Leave them loose for now -- you'll want to be able to slide the basket forward or backward along the luggage rack for the next step. (Each of the clips has a hole where you can put a nut and bolt to secure the bottom edge of the clips so that the basket can't be jostled up and off the back of the bike).

    • 4

      Use the third clamp to press one of the vertical rods of the basket against the nearest downward strut of your luggage rack -- you may need to slide the entire assembly forward or backward until things line up. Thread the bolt through the hole in the clamp, and tighten it. When trying to determine how far forward or back the baskets need to go, rotate the pedal on that side of the bike so that it's pointing straight back; open the basket -- if the back of the pedal comes within eight inches of the basket, slide the basket back. You don't want your heel to hit the basket when you're riding.

    • 5

      Tighten the other two nuts on the top clamps. Try tightening each nut about a half turn in sequence to make sure that you're providing equal tension on the mounting brackets.

    • 6

      Repeat the process for the matching basket for the other side of the bike.