Wren Cargo Rack

When you think of Wren Sports you immediately picture their sweet inverted fat bike fork. Those of us who run them know exactly how good they are.

When you stop drooling over the fork . . . Wren’s ultra-light stem, carbon bars and carbon seatpost would next come to mind.

However, when you think of Wren Sports do you think of cargo racks? Well they do have one . . . and they were kind enough to send one to Fatbike Republic for a closer look.

According to the Wren website the “Wren adjustable cargo rack, fits tires 1.0″ to 5″ and wheels 26″ to 29″, aluminum, powder coated black.” A pretty concise and clear description.

The Wren Cargo Rack arrived in a standard shipping box, flat packed in some pretty heavy duty plastic bags. As the rack is able to fit many different bikes, it comes partially assembled and therefore takes up less volume when shipping.

Opening the exterior bag you will find the deck, pre-assembled sides and a smaller bag containing nuts, bolts and attachments.

Opening the smaller bag you will also find some pretty detailed instructions on how to assemble the rack. As with any project where assembly is required, it is a really good idea to do a complete inventory of the parts and at least one reading of the instructions. Twice is always better.

Dropping the complete kit on the scales, the Wren Cargo Rack weighs in at 808g.

It was easy to see how the design of the rack can accommodate many different bicycles - the sides attaching to the deck in many different widths and the pre-drilled legs accommodating many different heights. It would be hard to imagine a bike that this would not fit.

After loosely assembling the sides I did a quick test fit to see if the legs - attaching the rack to the lower part of the chainstays - were at the correct height. 

I wanted about 1.0 – 1.5 inches between the tire and the bottom of the deck.

I’m not a fan of metal on metal so I made these crude washers from some plastic I had kicking around the shop. These will go between the legs and the lower chainstay attachment points, and between the rack stabilizer arms and the upper seatstay mounts.

Sliding the silver front stabilizer bars into the clamps mounted to the deck, it was back to the bike for installation. Having the parts loosely assembled allowed me to make tiny adjustments when mounting it to the 2020 Bigfoot 1S. I knew the height was correct so my attention was focused on the front stabilizer bars and the sides.

I felt that 1.25" distance was a sufficient width for the sides, and with some slight bending and trimming of the stabilizer bars the deck was perfectly level.

Tightening down all the bolts, this cargo rack was extremely solid. It was now time to hit the trails.

It is not uncommon for me to run a rear rack on my fattie during the winter. I really like having the extra gripping points when loading the bike into my SUV or when dragging myself or the bike out of a particularly nasty snowbank. 

It also makes for an additional camera mounting point when looking for some interesting shots.

The additional 808g was not noticeable during riding, nothing loosened or shifted and the rack did not impede me in any way. 

While the rack does have a maximum weight capacity stamped into the deck of a very generous 27kg (60lbs), I decided to sit on the deck during a trailside chat . . . far exceeding that weight limit. Nothing on the rack was tweaked or damaged, but I certainly would not recommend carrying 79kg on any bike rack.

I did head out on a solo ride in early spring and anticipated that I might be doing some ice crossings. I took the liberty of strapping an axe to the rack so that I could easily check the thickness of any sketchy looking ice. There was no shortage of mounting points on the Wren Cargo Rack.

Once the snow disappears and bikepacking season starts I will get to test the Wren Cargo Rack with panniers. I briefly mounted up a super old pannier and a new super tech Axiom Monsoon 32+ (review coming up). The Wren Cargo Rack adapted to both quite well.

So if you are looking for a solid cargo rack for your fattie - whether its a 26" or 27.5" - and is highly adaptable to a broad range of bicycles, be sure to check out the Wren Cargo Rack by Wren Sports.


RIDE FAT!