Basil MIK to Target Storage Crate Adapter

Last crawled date: 10 months ago

A few years ago, I had a plastic storage crate from Target (link below) which I mounted on the back of my bike with zipties. It worked decently well, and I could haul groceries, but from time to time, I would find the zipties breaking. If my bike fell over, at least some of the zipties would certainly break. There had to be a better way.

I learned about these Basil MIK Adapter Plates (link below) which can mount to most bicycle racks via an additional mating part (link below). I expected I could simply run a few bolts with oversized washers through the array of enormous holes in the crate and screw them into the MIK plate. Unfortunately, the holes of the crate and MIK plate could not line up symmetrically.

Fortunately, I had access to a 3D printer. I designed these two adapter parts to bolt onto the set holes on the MIK plate. Then, I used the circular bosses on the adapter parts to align and constrain the crate holes. Topping off with oversized washers and bolts running into the adapter parts, everything was assembled. Side note: both custom parts are boomerang shaped so that the crate would sit far enough back that it would not interfere with my bicycle seat when mounted.

Now, the crate has been sturdily mounted to my bike for the better part of two years. Thanks to the MIK system, I can also easily remove and reinstall the crate assembly with its handy key.

Target Storage Crate: https://www.target.com/p/storage-crate-black-room-essentials-8482/-/A-75666888#lnk=sametab

Basil MIK Adapter Plate: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075DKV1MK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Basil MIK Gepäckträgerplatte: https://www.amazon.com/Basil-Carrier-Plate-Luggage-Black/dp/B075DGQHV5/ref=pd_bxgy_vft_none_sccl_1/144-4123122-0143211?pd_rd_w=XlAjM&content-id=amzn1.sym.26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_p=26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_r=AFNBQETF1MJ94FHPEPWQ&pd_rd_wg=mNE8r&pd_rd_r=028e4577-68a3-4a9b-88f3-bd02bf8c3242&pd_rd_i=B075DGQHV5&psc=1