Universal Bag Carrier Installation

This page shows how to install the UNIVERSAL-FIT Bag Carrier.
If you haven’t already done so, please read the “Operating Instructions” before you start the actual installation.

(If you have a GolfEbike, the instructions are a little different. Tap here to see those instructions.)

1) Parts List and Parts Names for the Universal Bag Carrier

2) Buckles and Straps

In the top-left picture below, notice that there are 3 strap slots with holes in the center of slots 1 and 2. Assuming you are mounting the carrier on the left side of your bike (recommended), attach the cam buckles in the holes in the 1-slot in the top and bottom wings on the right side of the carrier. If you mount on the right side (not recommended), you can affix the buckles on the left side of the Carrier.

Attach the buckle with the logo in the top position on the bag carrier and the buckle without the logo on the bottom.

The included straps are long enough for most bags. But if your preferred bag is larger than average, or if it has a stiff pocket right where the top strap is located as in this photo illustration, you can get 1-inch straps inexpensively from Amazon, Walmart, and other sources. Search “1.5 inch webbing” or “1.5 inch luggage straps,” or “1.5 inch tie down straps.”

Note: Some of the videos and photos show small ropes to secure the bag to the Carrier Frame which we used in the beginning. But we now provide cam buckles and straps that work the same as on a golf cart.

The Bag Carrier will hold all average size golf bags. We do not recommend bags with large diameters such as cart or staff bags. Ideally, you will want a bag that fits all the way to the back of the Carrier frame…and most carry-bags do. For practical reasons, we recommend “going light” with a carry bag that isn’t loaded down with dozens of balls.

Some customers add a folded towel or other cushion between the legs of their carry bag and the Carrier frame to prevent rattling and any possible scratching of the legs of their bag.

If you have a large-diameter bag, you might prefer ropes, synch-belts, shock-cords, bungees or other methods of securing your bag to the Carrier. We have include slots and holes to make any method easy.

INSTALLING THE BAG CARRIER

The following instructions are intended as general guidance for all ebikes. Our universal-fit golf bag carriers are designed to fit all conventional ebike racks using the following steps. Of course, all racks are different, so some adaptation might be required. Our Bag Carrier parts have a variety of pre-drilled holes that you can use, along with supplied 1/4-20 Phillips head bolts and nuts which use a 7/16″ end wrench or socket.

On rare occasions, it might be necessary to drill new holes in our Rack Bracket and Underplate in order to fit around or through the cross bars in your rack. If your ebike rack and design is unique, feel free to ask us for more specific instructions. Please send us photos of your bike and rack so we can provide the best assistance. sales@golfebikes.com

PLEASE READ THROUGH ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE YOU START THE INSTALLATION

3) Floor Plate Installation

The Floor Plate has 2 tabs that fit into 2 slots in the back of the Bag Carrier Frame, and is secured with 2 nuts and bolts as shown.

Be sure to force the tabs in the Floor Plate fully into the slots in the Carrier Frame, and tighten the bolts so that the tabs stay fully-engaged in the slots. The slots may be a little tight because of the powder coating, but you can force the tabs in.

4) Mudguard Installation for Front Fenders

A Mudguard is not needed on our GolfEbikes because they have an extra long front fender already designed to block the wet grass.

The instructions below describe how to install the mudguard under a traditional fender brace as seen in these pictures. Note: These work on most FULL fenders, although there might be some odd designs out there that require some modification. They do not work on SHORT fenders which usually do not have a brace as shown in these pictures. If you want to install it on a short fender, you will need to attach it using short screws and nuts or rivets that you get from a hardware store and drill holes in the lower corners of the fender with matching holes in the mudguard. But do not do this if the fender isn’t long enough to allow the mudguard to “hang” away from the tire. Otherwise, the tire will catch it and turn it under the fender. That is why we recommend it for “full” front fenders.

Most ebikes use this same type of 2-hole fender brace system, although the materials will vary. If yours doesn’t fit our hole pattern, you can easily drill or punch new holes in the rubber. In fact, you can trim this rubber with a pair of scissors if you want it to be shorter or narrower or have rounded corners. Some customers have not used the fender brace and drilled new holes in the bottom corners of their fender and attached the mudguard with their own screws or rivets. This allows the mudguard to hang lower, and they can easily remove it if they want to do a different type of riding.

The Mudguard is cut with square corners. If you want to “round” them you can do it fairly easily with scissors.

The instructions below refer to the numbered illustrations in this picture.

1 – Place a felt-tip mark on either side of the bracket to help you identify the center of the brace after you affix the mudguard. Then unscrew the 2 Phillips screws. Notice the orientation of the threaded female piece on the inside of the fender. The rounded inside edge of the holes goes against the inside of the fender.

2 – This picture shows the brace (in this case heavy wire), the rubber mudguard, the bracket-clamp piece with 2 Phillips screws, and the threaded female piece that is on the inside of the fender.

3 – Lay the mudguard and fender brace on a table or floor. Place the clamp-bracket with screws over the brace and holes, inserting the screws through the mudguard.

4 – Pick up the assembled mudguard, brace, and bracket, and insert the screws through the holes in the fender. In this picture, you can see the edge of my thumb. My index and middle fingers are holding the brace, clamp-bracket, and screws in place but not visible in this picture. Don’t be concerned about the orientation of the brace at this time. It can be extending in any direction.

5 and 6 – With your fingers holding the brace, clamp-bracket, and screws in place, put the threaded piece over the screws with the rounded screw-entry side against the screws. Holding the threaded piece with your thumb, turn the screws with a Phillip screw driver until the end of the screws are all the way through the threaded piece. Not tight, just all the way through.

7 – The next step is to make sure that the mudguard is straight in line with the fender. The easiest way to do this is to lay it upside down as illustrated in picture 7. You can maneuver the mudguard within the brace to get it straight. Then tighten the Phillips screws.

Now you are ready to install the fender following your bike assembly instructions. When you get the fender on, if by any chance the mudguard isn’t hanging straight, you can loosen the Phillips screws and straighten it. Just be careful not to unscrew them all the way out of the threaded piece.

NOTE: The thickness of the mudguard will squeeze the sides of the fender in a little. Be sure to “center” the fender so the tire does not rub it. Centering can be done by making sure the connection at the top (where the light is attached) is straight, and also by bending the side-braces in or out as necessary.

5) Where to locate the Rack Bracket on your ebike's rack

Generally speaking, you will want to affix the Rack Bracket as far back as possible on your rack so that your golf clubs will not be touching your back as you ride. You will also want to locate it so that the Rubber Bumper lines up with a good stopping position described in the next section.

If your bike has a short rack, you might want to mount the Bag Carrier with part of our Bracket off the end of your rack. Because of the strength of our Rack Bracket, you can have up to 1/3rd of it off the back of the rack.

TEST BEFORE YOU BOLT! AND DEFINITELY BEFORE YOU DRILL!

Before you bolt anything together, you can conduct a test by loosely assembling the parts and placing the carroer on the bike rack to check alignment and optimum height and lean angle. If you have clamps, you can clamp it in place and pivot it into the kick stand angle and back to check how things line up. Please read through all of the instructions before permanently bolting anything in place.

6) Rubber Bumper Installation

The purpose of the Rubber Bumper is to prevent the Bag Carrier from touching your brake assembly or tire when it swings back into the upright carry position. It will be attached to the back of the Bag Carrier AFTER everything else is installed, but we are showing it to you now because you need to locate the Rack Bracket on your rack in such a way that the bumper will line up with a good stopping point. Most bike rack configurations will allow you to mount the Rack Bracket toward the back of the rack so the Rubber Bumper holes will line up with the axle nut. But it is also OK to line up the bumper holes with another part of the frame around the axle area, or against the bike’s kick (see the photos below).

This alignment can be a little tricky because you will be lining up the Rack Bracket with a good mounting position within the cross bars in the rack while at the same time wanting the Rubber Bumper holes to line up with a good stopping position. So be sure to read all of the instructions before making a final mounting decision.

The Bumper doesn’t have to line up exactly with the center of the axle nut…it is OK if the side of the Bumper comes to rest against the side of the axle nut, or any of the framing around the axle, preferably just beyond the axle. It is also OK to drill another hole anywhere near the bottom of the Bag Carrier frame if that works better for your bike. We have even had customers who purchased a short piece of aluminum from a hardware store and affixed it to the Bag Carrier frame to create an extended mount for the bumper.

Some customers with unusual rack configurations have added a bar across the back of the Bag Carrier that will extend the rubber bumper as far as you want it to go. If you want to consider this option, please ask us for the “rubber bumper cross-bar images“.

Alternatively, if your bike doesn’t have a good place for the bumper to stop, you can use a tether as shown (not included in the kit). Any small rope, strap, or paracord will work.

7) Two Ways to Affix the Rack Bracket

The most secure method to attach the Rack Bracket is to drill holes in your rack and bolt the Bracket directly to it. If your rack has a couple of places where you can drill at least two or three 1/4″ holes through it, you can bolt it without using the “under clamp-piece” shown in the sequence below. If there is only one place to drill a hole through your rack, you can use that hole plus the Under-Clamp and it will be more secure than using only the Under-Clamp.

We recommend starting off using the “Under-Clamp” to affix the Bracket to your rack. That will allow you to become comfortable with its position before drilling holes in your rack. It has pre-drilled holes that match the holes in the Bracket. The Under-Clamp will span under your rack frame similar to what is shown in these pictures. While the Bracket and Under-Clamp have matching holes, if they don’t work easily with the bar-spacing on your rack, feel free to drill new holes using a 1/4 inch bit.

NOTE – The Under-Clamp piece is relatively thin so it will fit between the rack’s cross bars and fender. So it will likely bend as you tighten the bolts. A little bending is OK. BUT BE SURE TO USE HOLES THAT ARE AS CLOSE ON EITHER SIDE OF THE CROSS BARS AS POSSIBLE TO MINIMIZE THE BENDING. The farther the bolts are from the cross bars, the more the Under-Plate will bend.

Orientation – These photos show what we call an “in-line” orientation where the length of the Under-Clamp is in line with the bike. But some ebike racks might work better with the Under-Clamp rotated crosswise, or even cut in half, as illustrated in the next section.

8) Alternate Orientation Options

The first accompanying photo shows a rack with 2 inner parallel tubes, and the support cross-bars are tubes that span the entire underside of the rack. So the Under-Clamp won’t fit “in-line” and the combination of the tubes on top of each other ends up being too thick for the bolts we supply. Of course, you can purchase longer bolts from a hardware store. But one customer with this rack simply turned the Under-Clamp sideways, as indicated by the red arrow. Another customer wanted his Bag Carrier farther back, so he cut his Under-Clamp in half with a hacksaw and use the two halves to straddle the rear cross bar as illustrated in blue.

If it were me and the rack tubes were large enough, I would use the “drilling” method and drill holes in the rack tubing which eliminates the need for the Under-Clamp, as well as being more secure. Alternatively, you could even purchase aluminum angle or flat stock from the hardware store and make your own Under-Clamps if ours doesn’t fit your bike.

The point is, if you your rack isn’t standard, feel free to use your creativity. And you can always send us pictures and we can suggest a solution.

9) Attaching the Rack Bracket With the Under-Clamp

If your rack curves up in the back, you will need to mount our Rack Bracket in front of the up-curve, or add a “spacer” as illustrated in this picture, so you can mount the Bracket all the way to the back. If you let us know the thickness you will need, and the width of your rack, we will include a piece of wood along with your Carrier. Or you can supply your own spacer which can be wood, composite deck board, oversized nuts, a stack of washers, a piece of aluminum tubing (pictured)…all available at any hardware store.

It is very helpful if you have someone to hold the Bracket and Under-Plate while you insert the bolts and nuts. If you don’t have someone to help you, use a clamp as shown to hold the two pieces together while you work with the nuts and bolts.

Be absolutely sure to lubricate the threads on the bolts so they do not seize up. We supply 4 bolts and 7/16 nylon nuts. If they are too long and interfere with your fender, you might need to cut them shorter or get some shorter bolts from the hardware store.

It can be a little difficult getting the nuts started, and holding them while turning the Phillip bolt because there isn’t much room underneath for your fingers. It can help to put a piece of tape under the socket to hold the nut as shown.

Tighten the bolts one after another, as tight as possible with the screwdriver, then some more with the wrench to make sure the Under-Clamp is holding tightly. It should not move, even with an abundance of force on it.

10) What if your rear rack has pannier bag outrigger bars?

Some ebike racks have outrigger bars on the side which are designed for pannier bags to help keep them away from the wheels. The outrigger tubes do not provide necessary strength to the rack. But they will prevent our Rack Bracket from mounting up tight against the main side-tubes as shown in the mounting picture earlier. So you can mount the Rack Bracket out a little as in the accompanying picture so the Bag Carrier can hang down enough so the rubber bumper can come to rest against your axle. OR if you don’t plan to ever use a pannier bag, you cut off the outrigger tube with a hacksaw. The physics of how our Bag Carrier works is a little better if you can mount our Rack Bracket up against the main rack tube.

11) Drilling Holes and Bolting Directly to the Bike Rack

12) Attaching the Slot Brackets to the Bag Carrier Frame

The Slot Brackets have multiple height-adjustment holes that can match up to the multiple holes in the Bag Carrier Frame at a height so that the bottom of the Carrier Frame is about 4 inches (100 mm) above the ground when in the upright riding/carry position. (Note: If your bike has shock absorbers in the back, when you ride over a bump or dip they will compress which lowers the bottom of the Bag Carrier closer to the ground. So you will want to mount it with more clearance. We suggest starting with 6 inches, depending on how much compression-travel your shocks have, how heavy you are, and how fast you ride over bumps and dips. You NEVER want the bottom of the Bag Carrier to hit the ground while riding.)

The rear rack on most ebikes with 20×4 inch tires is about 25 inches above the ground (635 mm). Therefore, the typical placement of the Slot Brackets on the Bag Carrier will be as shown in this next image. If your rack is higher off the ground, then the Slot Brackets will be placed higher on the Carrier Frame. In fact, for very tall bikes, you can flip the Slot Brackets over with the slots “up”. It is OK if they extend up above the top of the Carrier Frame if need be.

TEST – You can conduct a test before solidly bolting everything together. With your ebike resting on its kick stand, and with the Rack Bracket clamped to your rack (as shown, not bolted yet), place the Slot Brackets onto the Pivot Blades with the slots “down” as shown in the next picture.

(This next step is easier with someone helping you.) With the bike leaning on its own kick stand and the bottom of the Carrier Frame about 3.5 inches (90 mm) from the ground (which will be about 4 inches [100 mm] when the bike is upright and riding), lay the Bag Carrier Frame against the Slot Brackets and put the bolts through the holes in the Bag Carrier that are nearest-or-slightly-lower to the green-circled holes in the Slot Brackets, and hand-tighten the nuts.

With the nuts hand-tight, you can test the ground clearance with the bike upright. If the ground clearance isn’t about 4 inches with the bike upright (not leaning on its kick stand), it is easy to make the height adjustments if necessary. The holes are 1/2 inch apart. So, for instance, if you only have 3 inches of ground clearance with the bike in the upright position, you can move the Carrier “up” two sets of holes.

With the Main Bracket clamped to the rack, this test also helps you know where to mount the Main Bracket on the Rack (toward the front or toward the back) so the Rubber Bumper will line up against the axle nut or other frame part, as well as lining it up so the holes in the Rack Bracket line up over the rack bars if you want to drill holes into the rack as described above. You can slide it forward or backward and re-clamp it as needed.

13) Alternate Method

This method works great if you are by yourself with no one to hold the Carrier in the desired position while you install the bolts. Place the Slot Brackets hinge-blades on the Rack Bracket (slots down) as shown above. Then with the bike on its own kick stand, place the Bag Carrier Frame on a 4×4 block of wood or a 2×4 on its edge. A 2×4 or 4×4 is actually only 3 1/2 inches wide. But with the bike leaning on its kick stand and the Carrier almost straight up, it will result in the desired 4 inch clearance.

As a practical matter, if you have 4 inches (100 mm) of clearance when you measure from the bottom of the Carrier to pavement or any smooth surface, you will have less than that when you sit on your bike which will squish the tires a little. When riding on the fairway or in the rough, you will have even less clearance to the grass. So about 4 inches is the desired amount when the bike is upright and unloaded, measured to a smooth surface such as pavement. When you go golfing, if you sense that it is too low (or too high), you can always adjust it by relocating the position of the Slot Brackets on the Bag Carrier Frame.

NEVER allow the bottom of the Carrier to hit a curb, paved path edge, rocks, or any obstructions. Pay close attention to the clearance as you ride over the edge of pavement or other obstacles, and be careful while riding around things that are sticking up from the ground.

14) ADJUSTING THE SLOT BRACKETS

When you are satisfied with the height and clearance, tighten the Slot Brackets to the Bag Carrier with the supplied short bolts and nuts enough to hold their position. Then remove and re-attach the Bag Carrier on and onto the hinge-blades as shown in the Quick-Attach video. If it fits on smoothly, then tighten the nuts as tight as you can with a 7/16 inch wrench or socket while holding the head with a screw driver.

If it doesn’t slip off and on easily, there is a little bit of adjusting-tolerance in the bolt holes so that you can move the Slot Brackets in or out a little in order to fit more smoothly on and off the pivot blades. So if it is a little tight, look closely at the fit to see where it is touching, loosen the nearest bolt, and adjust the Slot Bracket in or out to fit perfectly.
NEVER allow the bottom of the Carrier to hit a curb, paved path edge, rocks, or any obstructions. Pay close attention to the clearance as you ride over the edge of pavement or other obstacles, and be careful while riding around things that are sticking up from the ground.

Orientation of Slot Brackets – As noted above, with most standard installations, the Slot Brackets will be oriented with the slots “down”.

If you are installing on a 26 inch or taller bike, or a bike with the battery under the rack which makes the rack higher, you might need to orient the Slot Brackets with the slots at the top as shown in the next picture. (The slots could even be above the top of the Carrier Frame for taller bikes.)

With the slots “up” you will want to insert the top bolts with the head on the slot-bracket side as shown. This will allow clearance from the main Rack Bracket. (With the slots “down” you will insert the bolts through the Carrier Frame with the nuts on the back.)

15) Attach the Rubber Bumper

With everything bolted together, it is now time to affix the Rubber Bumper to the back of the Bag Carrier Frame using the supplier Phillips head bolt and nylon nut.

Wear Marks – Expect the process of attaching, removing, and pivoting the Carrier in and out of the kick stand orientation to rub some of the powder-coated finish off. This is normal wear.

16) LUBRICATION – To prolong the life of the pivot joint, we recommend putting a little dab of grease in the pivot notches of the rack bracket (red arrow) before each round or at least every 2 or 3 rounds. A tube of multipurpose white lithium grease is available for less than $10 at Walmart, hardware and autoparts stores, and Amazon.

CAUTION - CAUTION -CAUTION

17) The most common riding mistake is when entering or exiting the edge of a raised cart path, especially the RIGHT SIDE causing the bottom of the Bag Carrier to hit the pavement. When entering or exiting a raised path, do it at nearly right-angles, NEVER at a slight angle as illustrated by the red arrows. Also, NEVER allow the bottom of the Bag Carrier to hit anything solid such as the paved path, a curb, rock, root, or post.

18) ALWAYS BE AWARE OF THE THROTTLE LEVER WHEN THE BIKE IS ON! An accidental touch of the throttle can make the bike lurch. For instance, if you get off your bike to pick up a ball or something on the ground and hold the bike with your left hand, be careful not to touch the throttle. When you are finished playing and ready to put your bike back into your car, ALWAYS turn it off before folding or loading. This is a common sense issue, but it is easy to forge or to become distracted.