Review: The Tailfin Alloy Rack and Trunk Bag
Tailfin is best known for their integrated rigid seatpack range of products, most notably the AeroPacks. But for the everyday cyclist, the Tailfin Alloy Rack is a more practical and versatile option.
Likes: Quality construction, highly versatile, quickness in packing, and completely waterproof.
Dislikes: It’s quite expensive and can burn a hole in your wallet, but you get what you pay for.
Tailfin’s Carbon AeroPack model is designed for riders who prioritize weight and speed, is the neatest solution with zero lateral movement and stays fully planted even on the most arduous climbs and sprints. However, for those of us who aren’t racing and don’t require every amount of weight and aerodynamic savings, Tailfin also has an extremely versatile model that provides additional mounting options in the form of triple bosses along the arch – enter the Tailfin Alloy Rack.
Tailfin Alloy Rack and Trunk Bag Overview
The original Tailfin AeroPack is an integrated solution where the bag and the supporting arch are designed to function as a single unit, and is still the lightest combination you can get. Tailfin later expanded their product line to include standalone racks with detachable trunk bags, which provide more practicality for commuters and tourers. More recently, Tailfin introduced the more affordable alloy rack with triple bosses, enabling you to attach accessories such as additional bottle cages or cargo cages, like the King Manything Cage or Tailfin’s own Cargo Cage. Tailfin also offers another model that has both triple bosses and pannier mounts. For this review, I will be talking about the alloy model with triple bosses without the pannier mounts.
Alloy Rack Construction
The alloy arch is pretty well built and sturdy, constructed from durable 6061 aluminum and can certainly take a beating during all-road and all-terrain adventures. The triple bosses have stainless steel inserts, making them much harder to damage and reduces the chances of failure. The bosses have a maximum load rating of 5kg per side for pavement, and a maximum load rating of 3kg per side for off-road.
The top stay is also constructed from the same 6061 aluminum and comes in two lengths: short (for larger frame sizes) and long (for smaller frame sizes). I ride a frame with a 495mm (maximum) seat tube length and use the longer top stay. The longer top stay length basically moves the trunk bag further behind the saddle, enabling me to use the full real estate of the trunk bag.
Trunk Bag
The Tailfin trunk bag is a fully roll-top bag that attaches to the rack via sturdy stainless steel pins at the rear of the bag. It has a volume of around 20L if it gets enough clearance behind the saddle. The bag is constructed of a high-frequency welded, fully-waterproof, high-performance laminate skin which is highly abrasion resistant. You can still tear a hole in the bag if you pack sharp pokey objects (you should avoid this in general for any bag), but it’s easy enough to patch that up with a bit of Gorilla tape in a pinch. When the trunk bag is used with a longer top stay, the bag becomes much easier to access as it provides clearance to open the roll-top closure fully while it is still attached to the rack.
The trunk bag’s two straps help to cinch down the bag further to reduce internal rattle, and also lets you strap additional goodies on top, such as off-the-bike shoes, beach sandals, tent poles or a Helinox Chair Zero, to name a few. There is also a small stash pocket on one side of the bag to keep your tools, and a direct access pocket on the other side that allows you to get into the main body of the bag without opening the roll top closure.
The rear face of the trunk bag features reflective stripes, and also clip-on areas to hook lights or additional reflective safety accessories.
Tailfin Mounting Options
The Tailfin system is highly versatile and can be mounted in many different ways. The common attachment point to any bike is at the seatpost via the quick-release seatpost connector. The quick-release seatpost connector is compatible with all seat posts, including dropper, carbon, and aero. The other attachment points of the rack are at the ends of the arch, where it can be directly mounted on the frame if your bike has eyelets at the rear dropouts. If your bike frame has no rear dropout eyelets, no biggie - there is also the option to install Tailfin’s own fast-release dropouts, which can be attached to Tailfin’s universal rear thru axle. You could also utilize Tailfin frame mounts, which are essentially little tabs that have been designed to pair with the fast-release dropouts.
I chose to go with the direct frame mounting option as it is the easiest and lightest option without requiring additional components. Since my bike has rack eyelets at the rear dropouts, this makes the most sense for me. I also do not need to quickly detach the rack during a bike trip or commute. The rack simply stays on the bike, and the trunk bag can go on and off the rack without any fuss.
Functionality
Installation of the Tailfin Alloy Rack and Trunk Bag is really fast and easy, taking less than 30 seconds to secure the quick-release seat post connector, and just a few minutes to screw in two bolts when directly mounting the rack to the eyelets on the bike. This was definitely much less hassle than a traditional metal rear rack with multiple bolts.
Accessing the trunk bag through the wide roll-top opening is obviously a much better user experience than taking things out one by one from a bike packing saddle bag with the cylindrical opening at one end. It’s nice to be able to see my entire stash of goodies all at once, and obviously makes packing and unpacking things much faster. With the Tailfin, I don’t need to spend additional time trying to remember my packing order of where things go in a bag like I do when using a bike packing saddle bag. I simply stash everything one shot, and gone are the days where I have to empty out an entire saddle pack because I forgot to pack that one thing that’s supposed to be placed closest to the seat post.
The Tailfin also stays super secure on the bike, regardless of the road surface, and I don’t have to worry about going off balance when pushing hard around a sharp corner either. With the straps properly cinched down after packing, the Tailfin is simply rock solid and stable, and it is seriously the last thing I worry about on the bike. There is absolutely no sway, no balance issues or weight shifts, nor any random moving parts during a ride.
Waterproofness
I have used the Tailfin for many multi-day bike trips in some pretty harsh weather conditions, and it has held up extremely well. There have been days where we get completely drenched in tropical thunderstorms, and also days where the heat of the sun baked us beyond 40 degrees Celsius (that’s more than 100 Fahrenheit for us humans), and sometimes both of those conditions on the same day. All of my belongings inside the Tailfin trunk bag have stayed bone dry and well protected, and it’s nice to know that I can trust the Tailfin to do the job 100 percent of the time.
Packing more beyond the trunk bag
Every now and then there will be trips where I will need to carry more than what the 20L trunk bag can hold. I can stash additional items on top of the trunk bag and cinch them down with the bag’s built in straps, as long as there’s space and the straps still have room for compression. This will usually be my spare set of shoes or sandals for off-the-bike days, or a jacket of some sort.
For anything beyond the trunk bag, this is where the triple bosses along the rack arch come in handy. Oversized items like camping and cooking gear can be carried outside of the trunk bag utilising the cargo cages.
Tailfin offers both small and large cargo cages that can be attached to the rack bosses. I opted for the large cargo cages, as they give me additional room for larger items, and they also provide more stability if I want to attach fork bags with a lot of things inside. If you have other cargo cages in your collection lying around, they can readily attach themselves to the Tailfin alloy rack as the placement of the triple bosses are standard issue for these sort of things. I happened to have fork bags from Restrap that I use in conjunction with magenta Voile straps, and these can be securely attached to the cargo cages on the rack without any issues.
Weight
As far as alloy racks go, the Tailfin Alloy Rear Rack is as light as they come, weighing around 400g if you include the frame mounting bolts. The trunk bag adds another 520g but overall is a decent trade-off considering the 20L capacity as mentioned above. If weight savings is a real issue, you’re better off getting the original Tailfin Carbon AeroPack, which is a less versatile integrated solution but weighs less than 800g for both rack and trunk bag.
price
The Tailfin Alloy Rack + trunk bag combination is the company’s cheapest option, priced at USD350. It’s not the most affordable solution, but the trade-off is acceptable considering its capacity and functionality. It is perfect for the lightweight tourer who wants a secure luggage option without adding too much weight or bulk. For those unable to opt for the direct frame mount, the axle and/or fast release dropouts will definitely add to the price. If you want to increase the carrying capacity with pannier mounts or save a bit more weight it will obviously also cost you more.
Quick Summary
Overall, I highly recommend the Tailfin alloy rack and trunk bag combo over the traditional bikepacking saddle or rear rack and panniers. Packing things into the trunk bag couldn’t get any easier, it’s super versatile and can be transferred easily between multiple bikes.
Firm believer of the N+1 bike axiom. Always in search of the next awesome route.
