Warning systems for roof mounted bicycles re: height?

[Greg]

Are there any warning systems available to prevent one driving into low
height garages etc with the bike still on the roof? I'm thinking of
something like the parking sensors which are readily available.

Thanks,
Greg.
p.s Yes, I recently forgot to remove my bike. Ended up with an expensive
dent in the roof of my car. ;^)

[Greg]

"dtmeister" > wrote in message
...

> Who cares about the car - is the bike okay?

;^)
Yes, the bike seems absolutely fine, which is amazing. All I had to do was
to straighten the handlebars.
it seems that the bike just flipped over to the side, and then the whole kit
and kaboodle got ripped off the top of the car. As it came off, one of the
four support pads of the rack (which rest on the roof) pushed down into the
roof, denting it.

I was told that the bike may have sustained some damage if it had *not* been
a steel frame. (it's a Jamis Dakota steel framed mountain bike)

Greg.
p.s I drive an R33 Skyline. I've yet to see a single other Skyline of this
model with a roof rack! :)

[Graeme]

"Greg" > wrote in
:

> Are there any warning systems available to prevent one driving into
> low height garages etc with the bike still on the roof? I'm thinking
> of something like the parking sensors which are readily available.

The only reasonably priced thing I can think of is having some sort of rod
(like a whip aerial) which sits at the front of your car and is the end is
at the same height (or slightly higher) than the top of your bike. I would
have thought though that having had one such costly accident then you're
more likely to avoid low heights when you *don't* have the bike on the roof
than hit them when you do.


Graeme

[Greg]

Oh, re: the damage, note that the bike had both wheels on it when on the
rack - the roof rack is of the kind where the front wheel is left *on* the
bike. (with a grabber which clamps around the frame)

Greg.

[Marx SS]

I personally regard roof mounted bike racks as not the ‘best’ (in m
opinion) option to carting bikes around in cars. I would rather lay th
bike flat on a roof rack than standing.
Big issues I have with roof mounted bike racks are:
· Height clearance. You’re almost limited to the same heigh
restriction that a prime mover has to endure, not to mention low tre
branches that you might come across & other temporary low objects.
· Loading & unloading bikes on a roof rack. Even on the lowest cars
getting them up there & vertical to fix down can’t be that easy.
· Turbulance at speed. Sure, the bikes may be fixed there & wont fl
off at speed, but the car roof area is where the majority of th
displaced air goes with the car travelling at speed. Then we als
looking at drag as well, no point being a fuel meiser.
· Hard to tell if everything is OK up there with the bikes until yo
get out at the destination. If something works loose or falls/blow
away….
· Fitting the actual roof rack is more difficult than racks on othe
parts of the car & leaving it on there during other times means tha
your vehicle has an ongoing air drag issue compared to not having
roof rack (if you only use it for your bikes).

I personally use a bike rack attatched to the tow bar/ball. Can hold u
to 4 bikes (if you buy that option). Problems with this type of tow ba
rack is that it will limit access to your boot with some cars (wagons
& you have to install/remove it everytime pretty much.
I also pop the wheels off & chuck the bike into the boot (Commodor
sedan) or drop the rear seat for an Astra sedan.

Some people worry about scratching their bikes carting them about, bu
I discovered that all bikes will eventually scratch somewhere, bu
there is an acceptable level of care you can take that will keep yo
bike pristine & also allow some practial & time efficent advantages

--
Marx SS

[Peter McCallum]

Greg > wrote:
> Are there any warning systems available to prevent one driving into low
> height garages etc with the bike still on the roof? I'm thinking of
> something like the parking sensors which are readily available.

A cheap option would be to tie a cat to the front wheel. When it starts
screaching you know you are getting too close.

--
Peter McCallum
Mackay Qld AUSTRALIA

[Peter McCallum]

Peter McCallum > wrote:

> Greg > wrote:
> > Are there any warning systems available to prevent one driving into low
> > height garages etc with the bike still on the roof? I'm thinking of
> > something like the parking sensors which are readily available.
>
> A cheap option would be to tie a cat to the front wheel. When it starts
> screaching you know you are getting too close.

Sorry, i meant "kitten". Available very cheaply at outlets everywhere.

--
Peter McCallum
Mackay Qld AUSTRALIA

[flyingdutch]

Greg Wrote:
> Are there any warning systems available to prevent one driving into low
> height garages etc with the bike still on the roof? I'm thinking of
> something like the parking sensors which are readily available.
>
> Thanks,
> Greg.
> p.s Yes, I recently forgot to remove my bike. Ended up with a
> expensive
> dent in the roof of my car. ;^)

tennis ball on a bit of string suspended at front of garage lined u
with driver's head so you cant help but be reminded of impendin
overhead disaste

--
flyingdutch

[Graeme]

Marx SS > wrote in
:

> Big issues I have with roof mounted bike racks are:
> · Height clearance. You’re almost limited to the same height
> restriction that a prime mover has to endure, not to mention low tree
> branches that you might come across & other temporary low objects.

I never had that problem when I used them. They were only used when
needed (i.e. away on a mountain biking trip) and I never encountered any
low clearance problems. Then again, I'm not the sort to pop into the
nearest shopping complex or drive through on the way home from a ride.

> · Loading & unloading bikes on a roof rack. Even on the lowest
> cars, getting them up there & vertical to fix down can’t be that easy.

I found that remarkably easy, even on relatively high vehicles. Mind
you, I am 6'2" (whatever that is in that new fangled system they use
over here). It did help that my bike was reasonably light though.

> · Turbulance at speed. Sure, the bikes may be fixed there & wont
> fly off at speed, but the car roof area is where the majority of the
> displaced air goes with the car travelling at speed. Then we also
> looking at drag as well, no point being a fuel meiser.

I was surprised to find that a couple of bikes didn't make much
difference to my fuel economy, maybe <5%, but this was on a modern turbo
diesel which may have had a bearing.

> · Hard to tell if everything is OK up there with the bikes until
> you get out at the destination. If something works loose or
> falls/blown away….

Not if you have a sun roof, just glance up occassionally :) Also, if a
nut or whatever works its way loose you hear the "clunk! trundle,
trundle" as it rolls off the roof. So at least you *know* about it, even
if you can't find whatever it was that fell off.

> · Fitting the actual roof rack is more difficult than racks on
> other parts of the car & leaving it on there during other times means
> that your vehicle has an ongoing air drag issue compared to not having
> a roof rack (if you only use it for your bikes).

I tended to leave it on as it was used every weekend for either bikes or
canoes (or both). It did mean that it was a bit more noisy at speed.

Also, I could always get the bikes on the roof, changed and into the car
much quicker than friends who used the rear mounted carriers, handy when
it's ****ing down with rain. Two wheels and then the down tube clamped
and you're away. Mind you, there was that one time when I forgot to
clamp the wheels on my wife's 2 week old mountain bike and it came off
when we were doing about 100km/h. Luckily our friends in the car behind
reacted in plenty time when they saw the bike cartwheeling along the
road. I was not in the good books for quite a while after that. It was
almost 4 years ago and the event was brought up by my wife again just
last week, so remember, fix bikes securely!!!!

Graeme

[JH]

Greg wrote:
> Are there any warning systems available to prevent one driving into low
> height garages etc with the bike still on the roof? I'm thinking of
> something like the parking sensors which are readily available.
>
> Thanks,
> Greg.
> p.s Yes, I recently forgot to remove my bike. Ended up with an expensive
> dent in the roof of my car. ;^)
>
>

Only works for low clearance when returning home:

http://www.purelycustom.com/store-SafetyBobSigns.aspx

You would probably just make one

They also make aero wheel yo-yo's!
http://www.purelycustom.com/bicycle_Products.html


jh

[Gemma_k]

"Marx SS" > wrote in message
...
>
> I personally regard roof mounted bike racks as not the 'best' (in my
> opinion) option to carting bikes around in cars. I would rather lay the
> bike flat on a roof rack than standing.
> Big issues I have with roof mounted bike racks are:

you forgot the most important negative - you can't get drive through hungry
jacks after a race! the number of times I've cursed having to park and
order inside.....

(I still have a neat hole punched through the cladding above my rola door -
where the nose of my seat went through it!) (Photo anyone? ;-)
Gemma

[Greg]

"Marx SS" > wrote in message
...
>
> Big issues I have with roof mounted bike racks are:
> · Height clearance. You're almost limited to the same height
> restriction that a prime mover has to endure, not to mention low tree
> branches that you might come across & other temporary low objects.

This hasn't been a problem until, of course, I forgot to take the damn thing
off before entering my garage.

> · Loading & unloading bikes on a roof rack. Even on the lowest cars,
> getting them up there & vertical to fix down can't be that easy.

Very easy in my case - not a problem at all. I am 6' tall, which is not all
that tall.
My car may be slightly lower than average, though.

> Fitting the actual roof rack is more difficult than racks on other
> parts of the car & leaving it on there during other times means that
> your vehicle has an ongoing air drag issue compared to not having a
> roof rack (if you only use it for your bikes).

In my case, fitting the roof rack is a breeze. The whole thing is designed
to be easy to remove from the roof, and I mean the *whole* thing. When it's
off, there is nothing left on the roof. To put it on, there's four clamps
which fit under the window rim, and easy adjustments to tighten them. (when
I forgot to take the bike off, these clamps came away cleanly without
damaging the car, however the clamps did get bent, and I got them bent back
into shape) Anyway, I often remove the rack. I was actually very
surprised I could get any rack at all for the roof of my Skyline - the kit I
bought (from Thule) was actually designed for my exact model of car, and
it's great.

Greg.

[DD]

Greg wrote:
> Are there any warning systems available to prevent one driving into low
> height garages etc with the bike still on the roof? I'm thinking of
> something like the parking sensors which are readily available.
>
> Thanks,
> Greg.
> p.s Yes, I recently forgot to remove my bike. Ended up with an expensive
> dent in the roof of my car. ;^)
>
>
NO but how about a little banner that drops down from the shades to say,
in the event of such a mishap 'You're an idiot'. Could be a handy device
for lots of other occasions in life, marriage for instance.

[Graeme]

DD > wrote in news:42c96831$0$25171$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-
01.iinet.net.au:

> NO but how about a little banner that drops down from the shades to say,
> in the event of such a mishap 'You're an idiot'. Could be a handy device
> for lots of other occasions in life, marriage for instance.

No, in the event of marriage you don't need such a sign, you get reminded
of it several times a day.

[Theo Bekkers]

Graeme wrote:
> DD > wrote

>> NO but how about a little banner that drops down from the shades to
>> say, in the event of such a mishap 'You're an idiot'. Could be a
>> handy device for lots of other occasions in life, marriage for
>> instance.

> No, in the event of marriage you don't need such a sign, you get
> reminded of it several times a day.

As does your spouse.

Theo

[Graeme]

"Theo Bekkers" > wrote in news:42c9f0ec$1
@news.bekkers.com.au:

>> No, in the event of marriage you don't need such a sign, you get
>> reminded of it several times a day.
>
> As does your spouse.

Nah, she doesn't read aus.bicycle :)

Graeme

[PiledHigher]

Graeme Wrote:
> "Theo Bekkers" > wrote in news:42c9f0ec$1
> @news.bekkers.com.au:
>
> >> No, in the event of marriage you don't need such a sign, you get
> >> reminded of it several times a day.
> >
> > As does your spouse.
>
> Nah, she doesn't read aus.bicycle :)
>
> Graeme

High tech solution (laser height detection!)

http://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/contractors/detection/tec/tec4.htm

--
PiledHigher

[TimC]

On 2005-07-04, Peter McCallum (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> Greg > wrote:
>> Are there any warning systems available to prevent one driving into low
>> height garages etc with the bike still on the roof? I'm thinking of
>> something like the parking sensors which are readily available.
>
> A cheap option would be to tie a cat to the front wheel. When it starts
> screaching you know you are getting too close.

You mean cfmtb?

--
TimC
I'm sorry. The number you have reached is imaginary. Please rotate your
phone 90 degrees and try again. -- MIT's phone switch

[hippy]

TimC Wrote:
> On 2005-07-04, Peter McCallum (aka Bruce)
> > A cheap option would be to tie a cat to the front wheel. When i
> starts
> > screaching you know you are getting too close.
>
> You mean cfmtb?
>
>

I'm sure we all know who you ACTUALLY meant..

hippy
- helping out the typo nazis toda

--
hippy