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SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING
LATEST UPDATE NOVEMBER 14th 2025
HOW DO WE REACH THE OVERALL RATINGS FOR PRODUCTS WE REVIEW?
M Part Summit Rear Rack
715g £49.99
The M Part Summit Rear Rack is a rugged, nicely engineered, seemingly rugged design that is surprisingly easy to fit and capable of lugging 25kilos. Standards of welding and finish are excellent throughout. The top platform is narrower than some, which theoretically provides the best profile for loading but can also be a little slender for some rack top bags. The side rails will manage 20 litre panniers but, in my view, copes best with taller, leaner designs. Similarly, while easily adjustable, The Summit is best suited to 700c and 26-inch mountain bikes, which may be a deal breaker for some.
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Pros: Solidly made, 25 kilo payload, two tier design, easy to adjust and fit.
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Cons: Less adjustable than some designs, top rails a little narrow for some rack bags.
Specification
The summit is made from 10mm hollow 6061aluminium alloy, which is typical of this genre and for good reason. Its rigid and offers excellent tenure to a wide range of luggage mounts, although particularly the Rixen Kaul types. TIG welds are neat and uniform throughout and though the satin black powder coated finish on our sample showed some “orange peel” but it wasn’t unsightly and is otherwise very hardy.
A bolt-on lower foot continues this sturdy narrative and in the event of breakage, makes effective repair realistic. A 5 year no quibble warrantee inspires further confidence, although I’d be surprised if you needed to call upon it. It’s not a disc specific model but may be a realistic proposition for frames with flat or post mount.
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Dimensions-wise, it measures 300 (280mm useable) x100mm (top), 350mm tall (eyelet to top) and 143mm wide.
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Two tier design means panniers sit lower for improved centre of gravity when hauling heavily laden pannier, it’s also more convenient when pairing panniers and a top bag. Talking of which, the triangular shape takes its lead from other engineering, civil and otherwise to create a very rigid structure, distributing stresses evenly, so theoretically lessening fatigue. Interestingly, there are two maximum payloads cited. 25 and 30 kilos.​
The top section is open plan, so if you’re riding sans guards in the wet and without top mounted luggage, you’ll get a soggy derriere, but arguably, from an aesthetic perspective, it’s a more sympathetic fit with older training, Audax and touring bikes. Unlike some, there’s no dedicated light mount, which wasn’t problematic for me, since quite a few lights will either fit on luggage, or with a suitably short strap, or O-ring, to the rack tubing.
Mounting Hardware & Fitting 3.25/5
The rack comes partially assembled, with a separate set of feet and M5 fasters to attach it to the frame’s eyelets and seat stay bosses. On the one hand this takes the mystery out of tings and all things being equal bargain on getting it aboard, aligned and snugged tight within 25 minutes. However, stock this also means it lacks the adjustability of some designs, Topeak Uni Super Tourist 2.0 Non Disc Rack and its disc-specific sibling being prime examples that will entertain bikes with wheels between 24 and 29inches. For example, while the arms will accommodate wish bone/mono stays, Muffin would be incompatible with the M Part Summit, given the rear Mudhugger Gravel Hugger’s voluptuous profile. Similarly, while the M Part Summit should fit bikes with post and flat mount rear discs, I’d still check with your local dealer. Before I change tack, though P clips definitely have their place, especially if you’re not lugging heavy loads, I’d be inclined towards a seat collar with integrated threaded eyelets. M Part produces a nice, wallet friendly example.
Test Bike
Denise …yes, I know I’d initially tuned my nose up at running a rack, given the gravel narrative. However, while bike packing luggage has a definite advantage in terms of aerodynamics and (all things being equal), weight, I also like the rigidity of a rack, especially with bigger loads. Besides, the frameset had the full complement of braze-ons. It’s also based around a mountain bike frameset, running 700c wheels. As the photos illustrates, were I running full-length chrome plastic mudguards (fenders) I would’ve need the second, alternative set of feet to ensure sufficient clearance.
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That aside, no issues. I've applied a little medium strength thread lock to the M5 bolts and snugged the down to 4nm, double checked alignment with a spirit level and headed off.
Performance 3.5/5
Compatibility with luggage is generally excellent, thanks to the 10mm rod. Rixen Kaul type luggage mounts, such as those found on this Altura, and Oxford Aqua Evo 20 litre pannier were particularly secure, meaning I could hoss along unmade roads, gravel paths and forest trails without any fear of slide and clipping my heels, let alone bounce, or ejection.
This narrative continued with the Lomo Zephyr's sprung, clutch-type system. Predictably, wanted, intentional release is similarly effortless. If like myself you tend to wrap electrical tape, or scrap butyl where luggage touches the rack, you may want to slacken the tension screws very slightly and double check nut that goes for racks per se.
The two-tier design helps keep the centre of gravity lower, which is obviously welcome when hauling heavier loads, since the bike requires less effort to keep on track, especially off road. Soft panniers also help in this regard, since they’ll compress slightly if you’re snaking through narrower sections of singletrack, green lanes, or indeed, alleys and canal paths. That said; while it’s been compatible with these big panniers, the side rails are better suited to taller, leaner designs such as the Oxford Aqua V20 Single Pannier, or boxier patterns around the 15 litre mark. Wider rack bags, including my long serving Carradice can also defeat the two-tier design’s intended convenience.
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Generally speaking, in the everyday sense, much past ten kilos and I'm bringing out my Bob Yak homage trailer. However, aside from the need to assess Madison's claims of carrying capacity, given Denise has recently been upgraded to a more 'touriste' 2x10, it would be rude not to go for some extra heft.
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Even at 20 kilos, the rack hasn't felt remotely whippy, allowing me to concentrate on turning a brisk cadence, which was particularly welcome when tackling a mix of fast descents, long climbs and sections of unmade road.
The two-tier arrangement has, as expected, made pairing panniers and rack bags infinitely easier and also helped with weight distribution.
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The narrower top section has meant my Carradice rack top bag measures 16cm wide and was hanging just proud of the top rails, which wasn't overly problematic.
Just a matter of ensuring the bag's Velcro straps were pulled very snug and keeping an eye on them- I needed to re tension slightly every few rides, especially if I'd been venturing off road. This also made mounting and panniers a little trickier. Not a deal breaker for me but I wouldn’t go any wider, which rules out models such as Topeak MTX Trunk Dry Bag, or indeed, the MTX EX counterpart (which can be fitted to standard racks, courtesy of the brand’s Quick Track Adaptor).
Durability/Care 3.5/5
The 5 year no quibble warranty certainly inspires confidence and short of encouraging an elephant to sit on it, I can’t see any reason why, save for a rogue model, why you’d need to call upon this. I tend to give fasteners a quick wipe with an oily rag to prevent taint and tarnish, and as with other racks, it’s best not to lean the bike down on the luggage. Remove the latter when you’re giving bikes a wash to dismiss potentially abrasive grit. Several weeks down the line, its satin black powder coating is largely unblemished but in common with other powder coated racks, the satin finish has turned gloss in places where the mounting hardware has sat. Easily fixed with a little electrical tape and no worse than competitors.
Value 3.25/5
A penny shy of £50 is loosely speaking, the going rate for this genre of rack, you can pay less, you can also pay quite a bit more. Much depends on your needs and bike(s). Topeak Uni Super Tourist DX (disc) is disc compatible and with a comprehensive fitting kit, adjustable to accommodate bikes with wheel sizes between 24 and 29inches, which might be a better option if you were looking to switch between bikes of different genres, or indeed, were planning on having an IS or similar disc mount retrofitted to coincide with a re-spray.
Tortec Epic Alloy Rear rack is £49.99 comes with long and short stay mounts to cover a wide range of frame sizes and a disc mount kit and will entertain tyres up to 8.5cm (3 inches) wide catering for the more extreme fat tyre fraternity. In common with the M Part summit, it has 10mm thick rods, boasts a 30-kilo maximum payload and also has a 5-year warrantee and employs a narrow top section, which I have found also means wider top bags are a little trickier to secure compared with the Topeak.
Staying with Tortec a moment, their Transalp Rear Disc Rack is slightly cheaper at £44.95 and as the name suggests, designed specifically for framesets with disc brakes, has a maximum payload of 25 kilos, a five-year warrantee and a broader top section, which makes a more stable platform for larger rack top bags.
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Axiom Journey has a whopping 70 kilo payload, extra-long arms to entertain a wide range of frame sizes and is compatible with 26-inch, 27 inch and 700c wheels. The top plate doubles as a splash guard and is 135mm wide, so will entertain bigger rack top bags. IT also carries a lifetime warrantee. However, it is a single tier design, which gives a higher centre of gravity and makes the marriage of panniers and top bag less harmonious.
Oxford HD Alloy Luggage Rack is a good bit cheaper at £34.99 and has a maximum payload of 27kilos and is disc compatible. Steve was impressed by its build quality and overall performance. However, being a single tier design, it is arguably less convenient for heavy duty, kitchen sink tourists - or just folks like me who like to combine panniers and rack top bags. (Note: it does have a curved lower rail which can be used for mounting bags, but Steve felt it was not very convenient and less secure.)
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​Then of course, there's Blackburn EX1 Rear Rack, which has been around since 1975 and says something about the design's integrity and longevity. I had one break in Forest Gate late one night in 1999 and Blackburn wasted no time in authorising a replacement. It comes complete with a lifetime warrantee and there's also a disc specific version. However, the 20-kilo maximum payload, which is slightly lower than the M Part Summit and Topeak discussed here.
Summary
Given some of my comments, it might sound like the M Part Summit could be considered an “also ran” and this would be both unfair and inaccurate. True, there are better choices for extended, kitchen sink tours, and it also lacks the adjustability of some discussed here. However, for lightweight touring, Audax and day-riding, the Summit performs capably and is also slightly lighter.
Verdict: 3.5/5 Solid, dependable rack but less of a universal fit than some competitors.
Michael Stenning
Madison.co.uk – The UK’s largest cycle parts & accessories distributor
PUBLISHED JULY 2025
