How I Tested the Elkhorn

I recently had the pleasure of spending two weeks bikepacking in sunny Baja during the depths of winter. I know, poor me! We rode 250ish miles of mostly unpaved mountain roads (sometimes quite chunky or washboarded) and sandy desert washes while making stops along the way for surfing, wind sports, and snorkeling.

The cargo requirements of this trip made the Elkhorn a perfect choice. We needed enough luxuries to enjoy off-bike days at the beach, and up to 5 liters of water at times. But thanks to the warm climate and frequent resupply, we didn’t need too much space. I wanted more capacity than a seat bag (especially the tiny size that works with my dropper post) but less than my REI Link Panniers, which is exactly where the Elkhorn shines.

I ran a tall Elkhorn on the rear of my Chumba Stella rigid mountain bike using a thru axle fit kit. On the sides of the Elkhorn I mounted two Blackburn Outpost cages into which I strapped 5-liter dry bags. On the deck I strapped my inflatable sleeping pad and sandals, and sometimes a 2-liter water bladder (these Hydrapak bladders are collapsible and have loops for straps to keep them in place, super handy).

Sizes

The Elkhorn comes in two sizes: short and tall. The short fits tires up to 27.5 x 2.8″ or 700c x 50mm. The tall fits larger tires up to 29 x 3.25″. Unlike the OMM Divide there isn’t an option for fat tires, though one could argue that if you’re riding a fat tire bike in winter the Divide (specifically the Divide Fat) is a better choice to carry your bulky gear.

As far as I can tell, the tall Elkhorn would work on a bike with smaller tires. The center of gravity would be a little higher than with the appropriately sized short rack, but not a big deal. This means can swap a single tall Elkhorn between your 29er mountain bike and your road bike of gravel bike.

Versatility

For those of us who envision bikepacking as a lifelong passion, versatility is a big deal. I have a couple bikes, my husband has bikes, I might someday get other bikes, etc. I love many styles of riding and I’m constantly changing up my gear list, bike setup, and cargo system to best suit each route.

I get a lot of satisfaction from using my gear really thoroughly, so I love that the Elkhorn is kind of like a “forever rack.” I can swap it between my Fargo and Stella with ease, and whatever other bike I end up using next. I don’t usually run a front rack but I’m tempted to try it with the Elkhorn soon. After years of refining my bikepacking setups it feels like the Elkhorn has opened the door to a bunch of new possibilities, which is fun.

Installation

The Elkhorn is fairly simple to install once you figure out what hardware goes where. It ships in a nice box with clever diagrams and labels for all the parts, though oddly the labels on my hardware baggies didn’t match those on the box diagrams. Nevertheless, it wasn’t too hard to figure it out with help from OMM’s instructions.

With an axle mount installation, you first need to replace your bike’s axle with the one from OMM’s Fit Kit. In my case this required choosing the right spacers from the kit. Then you bolt the rack uprights onto the ends of the axle, then attach the deck to the top. There are a few options for positioning the deck depending on your bike and desired setup.

Once the rack is assembled, it’s time to attach the extenders to the seat stays (or eyelets or seat post clamp, depending on your setup). I used the same “pucks” I had previously used for my Divide, being careful to reapply protective frame tape (included in the Fit Kit) and snug up the provided special zip ties.

Even if the pucks don’t seem perfectly tight during installation, I’ve found that force from the rack snugs them up once in use and they don’t slip.

Overall I found the Elkhorn faster and easier to install than the Divide since there are no adjustable dropouts.

One minor gripe about both the Elkhorn and the Divide: the rack assembly uses hex nuts. Though they have nylon inserts to prevent rattling loose, there’s always the possibility of needing to tighten or reinstall these on the road, and you wouldn’t want to lose one in the middle of nowhere. I add a small 10mm box wrench to my repair kit when bikepacking with these racks.

I had an interesting mishap with my Elkhorn, totally my fault but I managed to pack the wrong bolts from my Fit Kit (used previously with my Divide rack and not packed away carefully enough – oops!). When installing the rack in Baja I was unable to get one of the extenders fastened to the puck with the bolt I had, so I used a zip tie instead. Definitely not what OMM intended, but fortunately the design is flexible enough to accommodate this hack and it held up beautifully.

Side Cage Mounts

If you want to run panniers, this isn’t your rack. The Elkhorn’s uprights are designed for mounting bottle and cargo cages, one of its major selling points in my opinion (the other being its universal Fit Kit system).

My tall Elkhorn has four mount points on each upright, allowing for flexible positioning of pretty much any cage with standard bolt spacing. I ran my 2-bolt Outpost cages in the bottom position to keep weight low. The short Elkhorn has three bolt holes, which is still plenty.

I’m a big fan of cargo cages and dry bags, having run various configurations on my forks for years. So loading up the Elkhorn felt very familiar and I already had the cages, straps, and dry bags in my gear collection. With two bags on my fork and two on my rack, plus deck space, I felt more organized than I usually do when packing for bikepacking. Everything had its place and nothing required too much digging to get to.

One drawback of rear racks for bikepacking is the way they interfere with hike-a-bike, especially on narrow singletrack. This problem is very obvious when using larger panniers, but how does a svelter Elkhorn setup fare?

The 5 liter dry bags I used with the Elkhorn still graze my legs if I’m not careful while hiking, but it’s better than panniers. The nice thing about the Elkhorn is that you can use smaller bags if you want to minimize this issue, or only load the top deck. You could even run cages without bags on trips with inconsistent food and water carries. Load up a spare dry bag or buy a water bottle at the store when needed, and keep the side cages empty the rest of the time for better hike-a-bike clearance.

To put it another way, the Elkhorn is a modular setup that can be tweaked for each specific ride. Water bottles or dry bags, big bags or small bags, whatever you have in your gear closet can be mixed and matched to fit.

Deck Design

It took me a little while to fully appreciate the Elkhorn’s unique deck design, but now I wouldn’t want it any other way. The wide and mostly solid deck allows for strapping small, oddly shaped, or floppy objects that could slip through gaps in the tubing on more typical rack designs.

The solid part of the Elkhorn’s deck measures 10.5″ long by 3.9″ wide. When you include the side tubes the total width is more like 6.3″, which is wider than many racks. It’s the perfect size for my sandals, a 2 liter Hydrapak, and/or my Therm-a-Rest NeoAir sleeping pad. There are multiple ways to strap gear to it, and the wide base makes for a stable load.

The deck’s length a bit short for a standard tent with 18″ poles, though with careful strapping I think it could work. The slots along the sides are nice for retaining straps and keeping them off the tire when the rack is unloaded.

Though you can strap anything you want to the Elkhorn’s deck, it integrates perfectly with OMM’s own Juniper Trunk Bag. This is a premium option for those who need a handy spot for small essentials and value the convenience of a roll-top closure over a cylindrical dry bag.

Removing A Wheel

Here’s something I worried about: Whether for transport or roadside flat fixing, what happens when you need to remove the axle (which the rack is attached to) while the rack is loaded up?

This actually happened to me with the Divide rack (which uses a very similar mounting setup to the Elkhorn) in just about the worst possible scenario. In scorching heat in the middle of nowhere in the Sahara desert I needed to remove my rear wheel to replace a bent derailleur hanger.

It wasn’t that bad. I loosened the bolts at the pucks so the extenders could pivot a bit, unloaded the rack to lighten it, and removed it from the axle and let it just sit there while I removed the wheel and did my work.

In short, it’s a minor inconvenience, but if you’re undertaking a roadside repair it’s probably the least of your worries.

Elkhorn vs. Divide

Now that I’ve tested both the Elkhorn and the Divide, which is best? They’re designed for different purposes and comparing them is an apples to oranges situation. OMM has their own take on this, which is a great place to start.

I think the key decision is whether you want to run panniers that mount to rails, especially larger ones. This doesn’t just mean traditional Ortlieb-style, as there are some great off-road-friendly pannier designs these days. I use my Divide with a pair of 18 liter REI Link Panniers on my mountain bike for bigger trips abroad with some long food carries, and for this purpose it’s a unique and amazing solution.

The Divide does have a few downsides though: it’s heavier, the deck is narrower, and it’s a bit more fiddly to set up because of the adjustable dropouts. If you don’t need its burly load carrying capacity and pannier rails, it’s overkill.

The Elkhorn works wonderfully for smaller loads that don’t require panniers while still giving you a ton of options. It’s lighter, simpler, and a bit easier to install. The wide deck and side cage mounts offer ultimate flexibility: leave the sides empty, carry a couple bottles, or load up with dry bags.

It’s worth noting that there is some grey area here as bikepacking cargo options proliferate. You can find mini-panniers that attach with straps over a rack deck, which would maybe (? — I haven’t tried) work with the Elkhorn. You can also find small bolt-on panniers, like dry bags that attach directly to 3-pack mounts, that would work perfectly with the Elkhorn. Of course cargo cages with dry bags or fork packs work too.

In my opinion this all means the Elkhorn is the more flexible and versatile option, and is my recommendation as long as you don’t need to carry more than 10 or 15 liters per side. And before you make up your mind, check in on your lightweight bikepacking strategy.

Here’s a short video showing the Elkhorn (left) and Divide (right) to give you a sense of how their shapes compare. On the Divide the side tubes are lower and serve as pannier rails, while on the Elkhorn they are level with the deck.

Minimalist Rack Alternatives

The Elkhorn is, in my opinion, the best balance of cost, weight, and versatility on the market for this style of minimalist rack. If you’re considering the Elkhorn you might also be looking into the alternatives below.

Old Man Mountain Elkhorn: appealing balance of weight, versatility, and cost

• $168, not including Fit Kit ($60 – $80)
• 652g
• front or rear
• axle or eyelet mount
• compatible with standard cargo cages

Tumbleweed T Rack: lightest and most affordable option with similar design to Elkhorn, but requires eyelets

• $130
• 500g
• front or rear
• eyelet mount only
• compatible with standard cargo cages

Aeroe Spider: affordable for a universal fit rack (no special axle needed), but heavy and requires proprietary cradles

• $149 with one cradle
• 979g with one cradle
• rear only
• seat stay mount
• NOT compatible with standard cargo cages, requires additional proprietary (and heavy) cradles

Tailfin Aeropack Alloy: lightest of the universal fit options, but most expensive

• $265+ including axle
• 512g
• rear only
• axle mount
• compatible with standard cargo cages

All these racks have a good reputation among bikepackers, are designed to carry medium cargo loads (more than a seat bag, less than full panniers), and are dropper compatible.

If your bike has eyelets and you’re not expecting to swap to an eyeletless bike in the future, the Tumbleweed T Rack is a compelling alternative to the Elkhorn. If you want eyelet-free compatibility and budget is a major factor, look into the Aeroe Spider. But if you can spare the extra cash for the Elkhorn + Fit Kit(s), it’s a versatile and practical system that will serve you well for many years and many miles.

More Bikepacking Resources

If you liked this review, you might also like these:

• Bikepacking the Legendary Great Divide
• Solo Bikepacking: Rewards, Challenges, Words of Encouragement
• How to Choose the Best Bikepacking Bike for YOUR Goals

Or visit the bikepacking section for lots more.