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Home > Basil Cardiff Rear Basket, Black
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Basil Cardiff Rear Basket, Black
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Show more by Seattle Bike Supply
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Product Description:
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Removable , Steel mesh. , Hooks for suspension on side of luggage carrier, handle with nylon grip, , Dimension: 33*24*33 (CM) , Fastening system: Hooks
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Customers' Reviews:
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 Unrivaled Ease/Looks/Usefulness, November 14, 2008
By The Happy Hermit (FLA USA)
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If your bike is your only mode of transport as it is for me, you don't have the luxury of leaving it stripped of accessories and gleaming in its native simplicity. So if you have to put shopping baskets on your bike then I highly recommend these. I've been through many a pannier in my days and I must say I find myself wondering why on earth someone here in America never came up with such a simple design before. I've had the nylon fabric collapsible kind with the diagonal support rod inside that catches on your shopping bags as you try to pull them out, and I've had the slide-on style that attaches to the rear rack which to me was such a pain to put on and off I just left it on all the time. In desperation I even modified two white wire front baskets by adding hooks to hang on my rack but since the hooks were short I needed small bungies at the bottom of the baskets to anchor them to the rack and not bounce off when empty. With these rear baskets all you do is hang them from the rear rack, it is THAT SIMPLE. The hooks are long enough to prevent the baskets from bouncing off. When you get home you lift the filled baskets off the bike using the comfortable handy-dandy handles and carry them into the house. No straps, no buckles, nothing to have to unhitch or loosen. I installed the baskets on my Forge Sconset Beach Cruiser Bike - Skyscape Blue with Sunlite Bicycle Welded Rear Rack For 26" Bicycles, Black and can bring home a bunch of groceries and other supplies with total ease.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful
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Basil Cardiff Rear Basket - Almost Perfect, December 17, 2008
By Stacy D. Rosenstock (New York, NY)
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I spent months looking at various baskets to carry groceries. In addition to shopping, I use my bike for a variety of purposes including fitness, and centuries, so I wanted something that would hold a fair amount of stuff but easily detach for times when I want to travel light. These hang on baskets looked like the ideal solution, and they might go fast, so I ordered two.
The basket is about the size of an old-school paper bag with a handle on top. They're easy to attach to a bicycle luggage rack and can be lifted off and carried into the store. That's particularly helpful if you're uncertain about how much groceries you can carry.
The first time out, after balancing the load, I was able to carry 40 pounds of groceries home with little more effort than it would take to ride the bike unloaded. The best part is that the basket leaves the top of your rack free for more items.
I just hang them on the side of a Blackburn EX-1 Bicycle Rack which is rated for 50 pounds but you'll want to attach them towards the rear and perhaps secure them a bit with a bungee cord. I've noticed the baskets can slide forward or back a bit on hills. I ride a 51 cm Sirrus with a compact frame and I've found that even with my size 6 shoes I sometimes hit my heel against the basket, particularly when they move forward going downhill. Even so, this is only a minor inconvenience easily resolved with a bungee cord to secure the basket towards the rear of the rack.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful
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Just the Right Basket for Grocery Shopping, June 24, 2010
By Karl Moffatt
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I was looking for a shopping basket that I could be easily attach and remove from my bike's, rear rack for just when I go to the grocery store.
These were perfect.
The carrying handle is strong and comfortable and folds down out of the way. The wire mesh basket is plastic coated and is sturdy but light.
The hanging hooks slip perfectly onto my Topeak rack and the baskets remain secure, loaded or not.
The baskets (I got one for each side) don't interfere with my riding or balance and don't stick out very far at all. I found that using just one didn't upset the bike's balance either.
They're a breeze to put on and take off and best of all you can take a basket into the store to do your shopping with too. You can easily haul a 12-pack in one of these baskets or a gallon of milk, a bag of sugar and anything else that you can fit into a standard shopping bag.
This is a great product at a reasonable price and the retailer shipped it off with no problems at all.
I couldn't find anything close to it at the local bike shops and the Amazon shopping experience for this product turned out to be the easiest and most satisfying way to go. I'm in no way associated with the company, just a serious biker who's found a quality product I'd recommend to others with the same needs.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
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Just what I wanted, July 19, 2010
By Barton Avenue Books (Evanston, IL USA)
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Our family does not own a car, and all summer long I really enjoy doing my marketing by bike. We have had other baskets, and folding baskets that could not bear the weight of everything that fit in them, but these are the best baskets I've ever owned.
First, they just slip securely right onto the bike rack, easy as pie. I love them so much that I'm afraid someone will steal them, so I take them into the store with me and put them right into a shopping cart. This keeps me from buying more than I can easily pack. The carrying handle is comfortable and I can easily walk around with a basket doing errands after locking up the bike. The baskets are light, and there are no raw edges to scrape against a knee.
Also, we move bikes in and out of the house a lot, and it's great to move the baskets off so easily to get into doors, etc. I am very pleased with this purchase, especially that they were so affordable.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
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 Great, BUT!!!!!, November 11, 2010
By Peter Somers (Chapel Hill, NC United States)
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The idea behind these baskets is GREAT!!!!! However, when I first put them on my bike, I knocked them both off with my heels before riding ten feet, because they were too far forward. So, I tried tilting my rear rack/carrier back to keep them from sliding forward, and this worked until I slowed down on a downhill, at which point they slide forward and I knocked them off with my heels again. So, I tilted my rear rack back even further and I also rigged up some stops so that the baskets wouldn't slide forward and now they don't get kicked off.
I want to refine the stops further but this product would work much better if the company were to list some rear racks that they work better with, or if they made their own rear rack for these baskets, i.e. rear racks that had the supports spaced such that the baskets wouldn't slide forward.
FYI - I bought the Sunlite Alloy Rear Carrier for Bicycles (26") and this is not a good match for these baskets.
On a final note though, I would rate these baskets with 6 stars (i.e. better than perfect) if I had a rear rack that kept the baskets away from my heels (and my feet are only average sized (11) for a male).
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
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Perfect!, July 10, 2010
By Henry's Mom (Lynnwood, WA)
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It's not very often that I search for a product and end up with exactly what I wanted, but this is one of those cases. The Basil Cardiff baskets absolutely rock. I use them with a Topeak rack, and they slip on and off easily. They don't rattle, and though they do slide a bit, they don't slip forward far enough to impede my peddling. They hold a large amount, but they don't feel awkward or heavy. Using one is no problem. They even have a comfortable carry handle. I just can't find anything I don't like about these baskets!
The seller shipped them quickly and they arrived in perfect condition.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
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 Just perfect.... but one little thing, July 16, 2011
By B. Bubier (Atlanta, GA USA)
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I LOVE THIS BASKET, a perfect size, nice and deep, the mesh is small enough to hold very small items. I used to use a panier, but this rigid basket has different applications and between the two I am ready to cart just about anything on my bike.
This works just great but with one minor issue that was easily remedied in less than 5 minutes.
This issue is not the fault of the basket's design, materials, or workmanship.
The hooks that connect the basket to a rack have to connect it to a variety of rack styles and sizes, so this was bound to happen on some racks, like mine - but it's NO BIG DEAL.
With the rack that I have on my bike, the basket would slide a bit back and forth on the rack if I was going up or down hill. This was remedied by putting a brace across the rack so that the rack would not move. I used a length of "galvanized pipe strapping", 1/2" wide strip of metal with holes in it.
for a picture of what pipe strapping is:
[...]
I wrapped the "pipe strapping" around the rack in the place where the hooks would be if positioned as far back on the rack as possible. Then I nut and bolted it together to prevent it from moving. To prevent scraping I then wrapped the metal pipe strapping with duct tape. Now the hooks on the basket fit snuggly between the back of the rack and the strapping I added. It took 5 minutes and the basket stays in place. Also, with the basket securely placed at the back of the rack, my heels don't bump the basket.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Perfect, November 17, 2010
By Frank E. Seipel
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I ordered this on Amazon, but because they had to back order it at the time, ended up getting it at a local bike store. These baskets fit perfectly on my Bontrager BackRack. Sliding is not an issue with this rack as they fit in-between crossbars on the rack, thus they cannot slide. I got two baskets. I can use only one and not notice any issues with balance. For grocery shopping, I use two. I can take the baskets into the store, and know that I will not get extra items that won't fit.
The baskets are light weight but seem tough. I use them all the time, and wish I had found them even earlier. They fit the large reusable grocery bags you buy at the grocery store no problem.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Does the job well!, November 5, 2010
By Lynnis Jameson (Kansas City, MO, US)
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I bought two of these for my Trek Allant bicycle and they fit perfectly on the back rack. They are easy on and off, have great carrying handles and expand my shopping capacity substantially and easily. I do a lot of my grocery shopping now on my bike. You just have to remember that with the baskets, you are a little wider.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Does the job well!, November 5, 2010
By LJameson (Kansas City, MO, US)
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I bought two of these for my Trek Allant bicycle and they fit perfectly on the back rack. They are easy on and off, have great carrying handles and expand my shopping capacity substantially and easily. I do a lot of my grocery shopping now on my bike. You just have to remember that with the baskets, you are a little wider.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Roomy, sturdy, and very useful!, June 28, 2011
By specktt (Los Angeles, CA USA)
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I'm so happy with my decision to buy this basket! As an owner of a Basil dog wicker basket, I knew to expect quality from this maker. I got two of these to take with me on a bike tour of wine country. These are so roomy that I only needed to take one, not both. Very deep, tall, and roomy, yet it doesn't feel or look huge at all. One basket is roomy enough to carry my purse, lunch, water bottle,and an extra layer of clothes with space to spare. I love the ease of hanging it on and off the rear rack - no straps, buckles, or clips to mess with. You just set it down and go, or pick it up and shop! I did not experience my heel hitting the basket while pedaling - it's perfectly positioned and very stable on the rack.
I bought it for a trip, but now the basket has become a necessary accessory to my commuter bike. Cool baskets you'll love!
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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handy bike basket, June 3, 2011
By Gordita (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
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This basket hooks and unhooks easily from my back rack. The basket is well built, stylish, and the perfect size for toting around the supermarket. I love using it!
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Perfect for shopping!, June 1, 2011
By dwinks
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I tried a more "multipurpose" set of panniers for errands and shopping and was sorely disappointed. Soft bags just didn't cut it when you have a gallon of milk or anything else dense and heavy to transport. They sagged horribly, and the ones I tried, also from Basil and likely wonderful for lighter/less dense things, just didn't work at all. So I got 2 of these baskets and they are WONDERFUL.
They simply slide down on the edge of your rack with long "hooks" on the backs, you can see the "U" shaped hooks in the picture on the back. They are about 4" long, so in order to remove them, just lift them up about 4-6" and they just lift off. By having the hooks so long, it makes it very very hard to have bumps knock them off, they'd have to raise up a large amount in order to fall off, and in anything remotely approaching normal riding, this will never happen.
When you get to the store, simply slide them off and take them in, they make wonderful shopping baskets. What I do is hook them over the inside of the cart, so I don't have to carry 2 of them around in the grocery. This lets me put my items directly into the baskets as I pick things out, which is ABSOLUTELY a necessity. When I first tried panniers, I overshopped a bit and ended up carrying 2 bags of groceries home on my handlebars, not fun at all. With these, I never run the risk of buying more than I can transport.
As for build-quality, they are superb. The mesh is welded along the entire length of all the reinforcement wires. They are extremely well built, for the price and weight. Sure, you could easily make a similar product much much stronger, with heavier bracing and mesh, but it would weigh much more and cost much more. I fully expect these to hold up to at least a year or two of heavy heavy use, and at ~$28 each, I am perfectly content replacing them in a few years if they ever fail. I would pay a bit more and deal with the weight of sturdier baskets, but I've never seen a product quite like these ones, every other rear basket attaches to the rack and is not easily removable, so until someone makes a heavy-duty version of basket exactly like these ones, I'll be using these.
If I could rate these as 6 stars, I would.
Update: Nearly 9 months has passed since I first reviewed this item, and I have to say, they are still holding up well. Many many trips to the grocery store and other places and they are still in acceptably good condition. I've made dozens of trips from the grocery with bags of cat litter, gallons of milk, etc in these (upwards of 25lbs on each side) and they hold up fine, even over the occasional bump and jolt. From the wear so far, my best estimate on durability at this point would be probably about 2 or 3 years of routine and rugged use before they fail.
These are FANTASTIC baskets, and the easily removable nature is the best part. I LOVE taking them off my bike at the grocery, setting them inside my cart, filling them up as I shop (to avoid buying more than they can carry, in volume), then after re-filling them at check-out, tossing them right back on the bike. Once I get home, I wheel the bike right inside my apartment, and take the baskets off and carry them the short distance into the kitchen, with about 2 full bags worth of groceries in each. With $4 (and climbing) gas prices, these pay for themselves in only a few trips to the store. Definitely recommend these for anyone using a bike to do shopping.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Great, sturdy basket, December 31, 2010
By Kira Bennett (Chicago, IL United States)
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Very nice basket, sturdy and handsome. Fits securely on the rear of my Wald rack without jostling or sliding, even when it's empty and the roads are bumpy.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Do you Have an old bike just lying around?......read on....., October 9, 2011
By David Carlin (Philadelphia, PA USA)
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I decided to refurbish an older Trek Mountain Bike I had just sitting in the Garage. I first put on thinner road tires, then used it as a backup recreation bike. I put on a travel rack on the back end, then thought of ways I could use it more for shopping. I decided to get a Basic rear Basket. It easily drops into the back rack, but it must be secured. You must be creative to come up with a way to tie it down. I used a short Bungee cable to hold it down. You need force to hold it down in case you go over a bump. You do not want your things spilling out of it.
Ok, Now that I have used it for awhile, I think the world of it. I now have a regular use for my bike. I use it for the market and pharmacy store runs. The the fact that it is detachable means I never, never have to look for one of those hand carriers in the stores which makes my commute faster in the store. Also, the cardio I get from peddling to the stores and leaving the car behind translates into better health and less money I have to pay for gas.........
Now.... the only reason I gave it four stars is due to there being no universal means of locking and securing it to a handle. It needs some type of locking vise mechanism, but I understand there are probably so many different types of racks that this may not have worked for it, so I am going to look into just getting an inexpensive clamp from a home improvement store so I can do without the bungee......not a real big deal, but would make taking off a bit quicker.
I highly recommend this. I think we need more people on Bikes and less cars on the road.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Great for people who have stairs, August 30, 2011
By Barbara Upstream
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I agree with all the great things that other reviewers have expressed, and here's another unique attribute. For various reasons, I can't leave my bike outside, and I have to bring it in through my front door, which means bringing it up three stairs and negotiating an iron railing, the storm door, and the main door. It's impossible to do with a bike loaded with groceries. Before I got these baskets, I used to have one large basket attached to my rear rack into which I would bungee my bags of groceries. That meant that when I got home, I had to un-bungee everything (trying not to get bungee thwacked), take out the bags and put them on the ground (and try to keep them from spilling)--all while trying not to let my bike tip over. Then I would take my bike inside, come back out, grab all the bags, and bring them inside. It was a pain in the neck. With these baskets, I just stop at the bottom of the stairs, easily lift off the baskets and set them down in one quick motion, take my bike inside, and come out and grab a basket in each hand and I'm done. Much easier! Another great feature is that they don't protrude upward from the rear rack, which means that when I have extra-bulky stuff that doesn't fit in the baskets(like a six-pack of paper towels), I can still bungee it onto the rack.
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Basil Cardiff rear basket - great product., March 26, 2012
By maurypb
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I've owned this product for a couple of months, and I use it every day.
This is a near perfect product. It's sturdy, attractive and functional. I keep it on my bike almost always, even if I'm carrying nothing - as who knows when you'll need some extra storage. (I commute on my bike daily, and my usual equipment includes both this basket, and a heavy duty single pannier for my computer and work stuff).
I've found that I do 3 types of grocery shopping - Heavy, medium and light/incidental. For heavy shopping, I use the car - which is now down to about once every 3 or so weeks. For medium load shopping (about once every two weeks or so), I have a cloth dual sided "saddlebag" style pannier... but for light and incidental shopping - which is now the majority, this basket is ideal.
The Basil Cardiff basket slips on and off the bike rack very easily, but due to the well thought out and executed design of the extra long hooks, it stays on the bike quite securely, even with a full load. When I go to the store, I just take it off the bike, and use it as my shopping basket. Sometimes I put the Basil basket inside of a shopping cart, if I'm buying heavy items like half gallons of milk. This way, I never buy more than I can bring home - when the Basil is full, I'm done shopping.
The basket's capacity is quite good; On my last trip, I carried two half gallons of milk, two quarts of liquid egg whites, some apples and oranges, and a few other small items.
About the only thing I would suggest is that the following: The basket's mesh is quite fine, and the holes are too small to accommodate the hooks of a bungee cord, or cargo net. The capacity could be made a little bigger, and the cargo could be a little more secure when going over bumps if a cargo net could cover the contents of the basket. If either the mesh was a little larger, or the top of the basket had a few wider eyelets around the rim, it would remedy this minor issue.
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Works nicely, November 8, 2011
By Hans Ecke (Golden, CO)
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I use this basket to transport groceries, a change of clothing, extra jackets and similar items. It is very roomy and has so far fit everything. It seems sturdy, and anyway, since its from metal I can fix it if it breaks! While I feel like a dork walking around with it, that functionality is surprisingly useful. Pop the basket off, use it for shopping. Pop it off, bring the groceries into the house. Nice.
Here are a couple minor niggles that are the reason why I give it only 4 stars:
* It stands out quite far from the bike. So far that the bike looks a bit ungainly with it attached. 24cm (see dimensions above) is 9 inches, but it feels like it sticks out for a whole foot. I'm whining here: of course that only means it can carry more...
* It could do with an attachment at the bottom as well. When it is empty and I drive over a bump it wants to jump off. I appreciate that an attachment that fits every bike, while also keeping it easy to remove, would be fairly difficult to engineer. Still it would be nice. I'll have to come up with something myself. The basket is from metal, so I can easily modify it myself...
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Great Basket with an Unavoidable downside, October 29, 2011
By Jennifer L. Rinehart (United States of America)
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These baskets are better than I expected.
What I hoped for was;
1. Storage large enough to carry books home from the library or groceries from the store. There's ample space for both, I might even be able to get a small Thanksgiving turkey home if I counterbalance the other side.
2. Removable- I had a set of zippered panniers on my bike and while they did contain my shopping, they were smallish necessitating more trips to the store to keep our cupboards stocked. Plus, they were hard to remove, so I had to load the contents into my backpack whenever I locked my bike up, not so cool. These just lift right off and fit well into a standard size shopping cart at the grocery store. Best of all, I use them at the u-pack market instead of the reusable grocery bags.
3. Cleanable - the canvas panniers I used to have started to smell. It wasn't real noticeable at first and then, whoosh, mildew. I was able to remove them and wash them, in cold water, gentle cycle, but the smell came back a week later and they were super hard to dry because of the deep pockets. These baskets, being made of metal just need a quick rinse and when I spill something on them, I use a little spray cleaner and a washcloth, done!
Now here's the one downside;
1. I keep hooking my feet and knees on the baskets when I mount the bike. The clearance is so much wider and higher that I really have to kick my leg up and over to get on without banging myself (I'm mostly successful at this, my calves are kinda purple and blue though). Even worse is getting off, I've almost fallen because I wasn't being overly cautious about swinging my leg over the baskets. I'm not sure what to do about this.
Other than this one problem, the baskets are fantastic.
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