Re: Rack questions [Archive]

har

June 24th 04, 09:11 AM

rosco

June 24th 04, 03:39 PM

"Jeremy M. Dolan" > wrote in message
om...
> Hello, r.b.tech! First post here, as I've just started cycling
> somewhat seriously (~100mi/week) this year.
>
> It's come time for me to do away with wedging my bike into the
> trunk/back-seat for road trips. Especially as my last attempt smashed
> up a cable ferrule so bad the whole thing needed to be rerun. I was
> hoping a helpful soul could steer me in the right direction for a
> rack.
>
> I'm currently driving a '98 Plymouth Breeze, but purchasing a sun-roof
> equipped '04 VW Golf soon. Does a sun-roof pretty much rule out a roof
> rack? I've heard varying reports.
>
> If a roof rack isn't practical, any recommendations on a trunk rack
> that would fit on both cars securely? (Key word being securely, I
> suppose). As far as my typical usage for it, a fair amount of 75-80mph
> highway driving, with 90-95% of the time only a single bike on the
> rack.
>
> I know my local shop stocks the Saris Bones rack, and a quick check of
> the "Fit Guide" on their web site shows that it would work for both
> cars. Any opinions on this one?
>
> My current bike is an '04 Giant Cypress LX, if that matters. I'm
> wishing I'd gone with a full road bike at this point, but oh well.
> Gives me an excuse to buy a brand new one next year, and something to
> look forward to.
>
> Anything else I should plan on buying? Straps and the like... I'd like
> to be using it on the highway on 4th-of-July weekend, so I won't have
> a whole lot of time to debug the whole mounting getup and order extra
> parts.
>
> Also, what's the deal with elements exposure? I normally try to wipe
> down my bike after any ride where it gets wet or dusty. But every bike
> I see attached to a car is out in the open, taking all of the rain,
> snow, sleet, and hail, dust and dirt, at highway speeds. That CAN'T be
> good, can it? Why don't people use some sort of dust/rain cover? Are
> any available?
>
> Thanks for listening, and extra thanks for any info you can provide.
>
> /jmd

If I was you, I'd keep doing what your doing until you get a new car, and
then figure out the best way to transport bikes in the future. Besides
strap-on rear racks, all other methods require some investment in
specializing a rack to a particular vehicle. If your going to get a new car
fairly soon, why make that investment for such a short timeframe.

The safest way to transport a bicycle is inside the vehicle. All other
methods of carrying a bicycle have compromises. All other methods leave the
bicycle vulnerable to weather, increased risk of theft and potentially
damage.

That being said, it not always practical to stuff your bike into a car. If
it's on the roof you have the hassle of lifting it onto a roof (some
vehicles have very high roofs), you measureably decrease your fuel
efficiency and run a very real risk of accidentally smashing your bike into
a parking garage ceiling (I'll admit I've done it once in the 20+ years of
transporting bikes).

The rear strap-on racks are OK for the person who only transports bikes
occassionally. I have a neighbor who has one of the Yakima strap-on racks
and they would generally decide not to cycle rather than go through the
hassle of attaching the rack.

Last year I got a trailer hitch put on my car, and went with a hitch style
rack (Sportworks TranSport model). So far, life is good. Attaching or
removing the rack takes about 1 minute vs. 10-15 minutes for a roof rack w/
2 bikes. No more worry about parking garages. Seems to be a bit more
areodynamic for slightly better gas milage. Easy to lift bikes onto rack,
and the Sportworks rack holds pretty much any bike rock solid (they don't
shift and bang into each other). The negatives - it is possible to back
your bikes into something, or someone could hit you from the rear. The
other safety issue is that the bikes obstruct the clear vision of your tail
lights. Building an additional set of tail lights into a rack would solve
this problem, but I don't know of any racks that have this feature (atleast
in the US). It might be worth getting a cheap trailer tail light setup and
mounting them to a rack.

Of course the best solution is to just ride your bike, and not use the car
at all.

Alex Rodriguez

June 24th 04, 04:51 PM

In the Golf you can fold down the back seat and put two bikes in the
back. No rack worries and you don't risk a rack failure at highway
speeds.
-------------
Alex

Muskie

June 24th 04, 05:19 PM

I've got the Saris 2 bike carrier. I agree with Russ, though, get the 3
bike carrier. The single arm puts a lot of pressure on my trunk lid. The
extra upper arm would make a big difference I think.

As some of the other guys said, however, it is best to keep your bike in
your car. No matter where I take my bike, I am always a little nervous
leaving it for any length of time. A quick cut of the straps and someone
has got themselves a new ride.

- Noel

Russell Seaton wrote:

> Saris Bones 3 bike rack. Not the 2 bike rack. The 3 bike rack has
> two legs for the bumper and two legs for the trunk lid. The 2 bike
> rack has just one leg for the trunk lid. This rack adjusts to fit
> almost any car or truck or van. Front or back.
>
> http://www.greenfishsports.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=86
>
> $99.95 at Greenfish Adventure Sports.
>
>
> (Jeremy M. Dolan) wrote in message >...
>
>>Hello, r.b.tech! First post here, as I've just started cycling
>>somewhat seriously (~100mi/week) this year.
>>
>>It's come time for me to do away with wedging my bike into the
>>trunk/back-seat for road trips. Especially as my last attempt smashed
>>up a cable ferrule so bad the whole thing needed to be rerun. I was
>>hoping a helpful soul could steer me in the right direction for a
>>rack.
>>
>>I'm currently driving a '98 Plymouth Breeze, but purchasing a sun-roof
>>equipped '04 VW Golf soon. Does a sun-roof pretty much rule out a roof
>>rack? I've heard varying reports.
>>
>>If a roof rack isn't practical, any recommendations on a trunk rack
>>that would fit on both cars securely? (Key word being securely, I
>>suppose). As far as my typical usage for it, a fair amount of 75-80mph
>>highway driving, with 90-95% of the time only a single bike on the
>>rack.
>>
>>I know my local shop stocks the Saris Bones rack, and a quick check of
>>the "Fit Guide" on their web site shows that it would work for both
>>cars. Any opinions on this one?
>>
>>My current bike is an '04 Giant Cypress LX, if that matters. I'm
>>wishing I'd gone with a full road bike at this point, but oh well.
>>Gives me an excuse to buy a brand new one next year, and something to
>>look forward to.
>>
>>Anything else I should plan on buying? Straps and the like... I'd like
>>to be using it on the highway on 4th-of-July weekend, so I won't have
>>a whole lot of time to debug the whole mounting getup and order extra
>>parts.
>>
>>Also, what's the deal with elements exposure? I normally try to wipe
>>down my bike after any ride where it gets wet or dusty. But every bike
>>I see attached to a car is out in the open, taking all of the rain,
>>snow, sleet, and hail, dust and dirt, at highway speeds. That CAN'T be
>>good, can it? Why don't people use some sort of dust/rain cover? Are
>>any available?
>>
>>Thanks for listening, and extra thanks for any info you can provide.
>>
>>/jmd

Dave

June 24th 04, 05:53 PM

Here's another vote for the hitch rack...

I got a rack that has a 1.24" foot, and an adapter for the 2" foot, so I can
put it on my car (Honda Civic) or the family truckster (Nissan Pathfinder).
Sure, I would not leave the bike on there for any duration while not in
sight of it (I have been known to take it off the rack, and bring it into
restaurants and the like, and leave it at the coat rack.) but if there are
situations where you can't keep it inside the car, this, INHO is the best
bet. No big lifting onto the roof (or forgetting it when you pull into the
garage) and trunk racks tend to screw up the paint on the car, whether from
the rack, straps/hooks, the bike itself, or just you being clumsy. Plus
multiple bike hitch racks are really handy (did an endurance race with a
friend, and between the two of us, we had 3 bikes and a driver for us - none
of this change a tire if you flat, just grab a new bike (thankfully we
didn't need it, but it felt nice knowing it was there ;-)

"rosco" > wrote in message
hlink.net...
> "Jeremy M. Dolan" > wrote in message
> om...
> > Hello, r.b.tech! First post here, as I've just started cycling
> > somewhat seriously (~100mi/week) this year.
> >
> > It's come time for me to do away with wedging my bike into the
> > trunk/back-seat for road trips. Especially as my last attempt smashed
> > up a cable ferrule so bad the whole thing needed to be rerun. I was
> > hoping a helpful soul could steer me in the right direction for a
> > rack.
> >
> > I'm currently driving a '98 Plymouth Breeze, but purchasing a sun-roof
> > equipped '04 VW Golf soon. Does a sun-roof pretty much rule out a roof
> > rack? I've heard varying reports.
> >
> > If a roof rack isn't practical, any recommendations on a trunk rack
> > that would fit on both cars securely? (Key word being securely, I
> > suppose). As far as my typical usage for it, a fair amount of 75-80mph
> > highway driving, with 90-95% of the time only a single bike on the
> > rack.
> >
> > I know my local shop stocks the Saris Bones rack, and a quick check of
> > the "Fit Guide" on their web site shows that it would work for both
> > cars. Any opinions on this one?
> >
> > My current bike is an '04 Giant Cypress LX, if that matters. I'm
> > wishing I'd gone with a full road bike at this point, but oh well.
> > Gives me an excuse to buy a brand new one next year, and something to
> > look forward to.
> >
> > Anything else I should plan on buying? Straps and the like... I'd like
> > to be using it on the highway on 4th-of-July weekend, so I won't have
> > a whole lot of time to debug the whole mounting getup and order extra
> > parts.
> >
> > Also, what's the deal with elements exposure? I normally try to wipe
> > down my bike after any ride where it gets wet or dusty. But every bike
> > I see attached to a car is out in the open, taking all of the rain,
> > snow, sleet, and hail, dust and dirt, at highway speeds. That CAN'T be
> > good, can it? Why don't people use some sort of dust/rain cover? Are
> > any available?
> >
> > Thanks for listening, and extra thanks for any info you can provide.
> >
> > /jmd
>
> If I was you, I'd keep doing what your doing until you get a new car, and
> then figure out the best way to transport bikes in the future. Besides
> strap-on rear racks, all other methods require some investment in
> specializing a rack to a particular vehicle. If your going to get a new
car
> fairly soon, why make that investment for such a short timeframe.
>
> The safest way to transport a bicycle is inside the vehicle. All other
> methods of carrying a bicycle have compromises. All other methods leave
the
> bicycle vulnerable to weather, increased risk of theft and potentially
> damage.
>
> That being said, it not always practical to stuff your bike into a car.
If
> it's on the roof you have the hassle of lifting it onto a roof (some
> vehicles have very high roofs), you measureably decrease your fuel
> efficiency and run a very real risk of accidentally smashing your bike
into
> a parking garage ceiling (I'll admit I've done it once in the 20+ years of
> transporting bikes).
>
> The rear strap-on racks are OK for the person who only transports bikes
> occassionally. I have a neighbor who has one of the Yakima strap-on racks
> and they would generally decide not to cycle rather than go through the
> hassle of attaching the rack.
>
> Last year I got a trailer hitch put on my car, and went with a hitch style
> rack (Sportworks TranSport model). So far, life is good. Attaching or
> removing the rack takes about 1 minute vs. 10-15 minutes for a roof rack
w/
> 2 bikes. No more worry about parking garages. Seems to be a bit more
> areodynamic for slightly better gas milage. Easy to lift bikes onto rack,
> and the Sportworks rack holds pretty much any bike rock solid (they don't
> shift and bang into each other). The negatives - it is possible to back
> your bikes into something, or someone could hit you from the rear. The
> other safety issue is that the bikes obstruct the clear vision of your
tail
> lights. Building an additional set of tail lights into a rack would solve
> this problem, but I don't know of any racks that have this feature
(atleast
> in the US). It might be worth getting a cheap trailer tail light setup
and
> mounting them to a rack.
>
> Of course the best solution is to just ride your bike, and not use the car
> at all.
>
>

Ian S

June 24th 04, 09:29 PM

Roof racks look cool but you risk serious damage if you drive into your
garage with bike still on. It happens. People I know make sure they put the
garage door opener in the back seat or trunk whenever they have the bikes on
top.

Trunk racks, where they contact your car's paint will eventually leave a
mark no matter what kind of pads they have.

Hitch mounts are a good alternative if your car is amenable to installation
of a hitch.

I have a license plate mount http://www.bdiracks.com/bdiplate.html rack
which works pretty well but I only use it with one bike. Its best features
are easy mounting and removal of rack and lack of contact with you car's
finish except for the rubber-coated hook that attaches to the lip of your
trunk. It does have a receiver (like a mini-hitch) that always remains
attached to your license plate backing plate. I use a velcro strap to tie
the front wheel to the downtube to immobilize the front wheel.

rosco

June 25th 04, 04:36 AM

"Ian S" > wrote in message
news:yQGCc.20$Dp.10@fed1read04...
> Roof racks look cool but you risk serious damage if you drive into your
> garage with bike still on. It happens. People I know make sure they put
the
> garage door opener in the back seat or trunk whenever they have the bikes
on
> top.
>

If we have them on top, we put the door opener in the glove compartment.
The problem with us wasn't with our own garage. I bashed them into a
parking garage, and my wife did the same on another occasion. Luckily, the
racks took the brunt of the impacts, and the bikes weren't fatally damaged
(new headset on one bike and a new front wheel on the other).

We have a close friend who also wacked her bike into a parking garage on two
different occasions. In her case the bike didn't fare so well. She doesn't
put them on the roof anymore.

Yakima use to have an accessory called a Load Alert which was a magnetic
backed spring loaded sign that would pop-up when you slowed down to about 5
mph. You could place it on your hood and have it serve as a reminder that
you had stuff on your roof. Don't think they make it anymore.

[email protected]

June 25th 04, 05:22 AM

On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 03:36:41 GMT, "rosco"
> wrote:

>
>"Ian S" > wrote in message
>news:yQGCc.20$Dp.10@fed1read04...
>> Roof racks look cool but you risk serious damage if you drive into your
>> garage with bike still on. It happens. People I know make sure they put
>the
>> garage door opener in the back seat or trunk whenever they have the bikes
>on
>> top.
>>
>
>If we have them on top, we put the door opener in the glove compartment.
>The problem with us wasn't with our own garage. I bashed them into a
>parking garage, and my wife did the same on another occasion. Luckily, the
>racks took the brunt of the impacts, and the bikes weren't fatally damaged
>(new headset on one bike and a new front wheel on the other).
>
>We have a close friend who also wacked her bike into a parking garage on two
>different occasions. In her case the bike didn't fare so well. She doesn't
>put them on the roof anymore.
>
>Yakima use to have an accessory called a Load Alert which was a magnetic
>backed spring loaded sign that would pop-up when you slowed down to about 5
>mph. You could place it on your hood and have it serve as a reminder that
>you had stuff on your roof. Don't think they make it anymore.
>

Dear Rosco,

Yakima may not make the Load Alert any more, but these guys
still claim to sell it:

http://www.usoutdoorstore.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=31874!328&csurl=%2Fistar.asp%3Fa%3D3%26dept%3D05%26class%3D0 7

Carl Fogel

Sergio SERVADIO

June 25th 04, 05:31 AM

On Fri, 25 Jun 2004, rosco wrote:
> "Ian S" > wrote in message
> > Roof racks look cool but you risk serious damage if you drive into your
> > garage with bike still on. It happens.

> If we have them on top, we put the door opener in the glove compartment.
> The problem with us wasn't with our own garage. I bashed them into a
> parking garage, and my wife did the same on another occasion.

After risking the same fate, once, I devised a wholly different concept.

After removing the front wheel, I lay the bike horizontally onto two
wooden slabs tied to the roof rack and I secure it with a couple of
elastic straps. The slabs have indentations just where the seat post, the
stem and the left crank arm lean on it; to prevent any scratching at
points of contact, three chuncks of rubber hose cut lengthwise and placed
around the aluminum parts do the job.

A tandem bike? You need only arrange an extra indentation at the correct
spot.

Two bicycles? You need to have three slabs and to place the bikes 180
degrees out of phase.

Front wheels? Anywhere you like.

Sergio
Pisa

baltobernie

June 25th 04, 04:31 PM

Looks pretty scary to me.

Why not make your own, for <$30 in parts (if you have a Class II receiver).
One-inch square tube fits perfectly in the receiver.

All the benefits of a rear hitch: on-off in seconds, no overhead worries,
bike in the low-pressure area behind vehicle, etc.

.... but absolutely no contact with the car's bodywork. This hitch FIELD
TESTED to well in excess of posted speed limit, and the bike
mounts/dismounts with one click.

http://home.mindspring.com/~pennstar/

Bernie
(remove numerals to Reply)

"Ian S" > wrote in message
news:yQGCc.20$Dp.10@fed1read04...
> Roof racks look cool but you risk serious damage if you drive into your
> garage with bike still on. It happens. People I know make sure they put
the
> garage door opener in the back seat or trunk whenever they have the bikes
on
> top.
>
> Trunk racks, where they contact your car's paint will eventually leave a
> mark no matter what kind of pads they have.
>
> Hitch mounts are a good alternative if your car is amenable to
installation
> of a hitch.
>
> I have a license plate mount http://www.bdiracks.com/bdiplate.html rack
> which works pretty well but I only use it with one bike. Its best features
> are easy mounting and removal of rack and lack of contact with you car's
> finish except for the rubber-coated hook that attaches to the lip of your
> trunk. It does have a receiver (like a mini-hitch) that always remains
> attached to your license plate backing plate. I use a velcro strap to tie
> the front wheel to the downtube to immobilize the front wheel.
>
>

mark

June 25th 04, 05:02 PM

"Jeremy M. Dolan" wrote ...
> Hello, r.b.tech! First post here, as I've just started cycling
> somewhat seriously (~100mi/week) this year.
>
> It's come time for me to do away with wedging my bike into the
> trunk/back-seat for road trips. Especially as my last attempt smashed
> up a cable ferrule so bad the whole thing needed to be rerun. I was
> hoping a helpful soul could steer me in the right direction for a
> rack.

If the seats in the Golf fold flat (I think they do), sliding the bike
inside should be easy. Keeps your bike out of the elements and safe from
sticky fingered people.
>
> I'm currently driving a '98 Plymouth Breeze, but purchasing a sun-roof
> equipped '04 VW Golf soon. Does a sun-roof pretty much rule out a roof
> rack? I've heard varying reports.

I had a '82 Audi, 4 door sedan with a sun roof. The Yakima roof top rack
worked fine. The car was an absolute POS except for the sunroof, which I
loved. I think it depends on the individual car/rack combo. Also, you might
be able to slide the sunroof back into the car roof, but not pop the
trailing edge of the sunroof up for fresh air when it rains. The nice thing
about a roof rack is that you can still access the trunk easily, a rear end
collision won't hurt your bike, and most good roof racks can be fitted with
a variety of accessories (skis, kayaks, luggage boxes, etc.), and you can
use the bare cross bars to transport furniture, lumber, and other stuff that
won't fit inside.
>
> If a roof rack isn't practical, any recommendations on a trunk rack
> that would fit on both cars securely? (Key word being securely, I
> suppose). As far as my typical usage for it, a fair amount of 75-80mph
> highway driving, with 90-95% of the time only a single bike on the
> rack.

A roof rack with a bike or two will increase your fuel consumption, possibly
reduce your high speed acceleration, and possibly reduce your high speed
hill climbing ability. Travelling at these speeds will also sandblast your
bikes paint job. I've taken to putting the bike inside the car for long
trips at these speeds.
>
> Also, what's the deal with elements exposure? I normally try to wipe
> down my bike after any ride where it gets wet or dusty. But every bike
> I see attached to a car is out in the open, taking all of the rain,
> snow, sleet, and hail, dust and dirt, at highway speeds. That CAN'T be
> good, can it? Why don't people use some sort of dust/rain cover? Are
> any available?

Colorado Cyclist (www.coloradocyclist.com) has a dust cover or about $30.
HTH,
--
mark

Ian S

June 25th 04, 07:29 PM

"baltobernie" > wrote in message
...
> Looks pretty scary to me.

Why? If you're referring to the license plate mount, it's solid as a rock
because the single strap hooked to the lip of the trunk lid transforms
cantilever forces into shearing forces at the bolts attaching the receiver
to the backing plate for the license plate. I have no problem with its
stability at 75-80 mph on the Interstate. I have modified mine slightly to
keep the rear brake cable running under my top tube from beingpushed into
contact with the top tube when the bike is resting in the rack. This was not
an issue with my previous bike. I have used this rack for 6 years. It takes
less than 30 sec to put the rack on the car and another minute to secure the
front wheel to the down tube and secure the bike to the rack.
>
> Why not make your own, for <$30 in parts (if you have a Class II
receiver).

Big if. The part (Class II hitch) alone for my Audi A4 is $250. Still, if
anyone already has a trailer hitch on their vehicle, then a hitch mounted
rack is a great way to go. However, I have noticed quite a bit of motion on
some of these hitches. Whether that's the rack design or improper attachment
of the rack and/or bike, I don't know. If I had a pickup truck, I'd probably
use a mount that fits in the pickup bed.

Ian S

June 25th 04, 07:34 PM

I would also add that my license plate mounting rack/receiver assembly is
easy to remove completely and transfer to a new vehicle. The same cannot be
said for the trailer hitch/rack combination.

baltobernie

June 25th 04, 08:21 PM

"Ian S" > wrote in message
news:x9_Cc.15737$rn1.14246@okepread07...
> "baltobernie" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Looks pretty scary to me.
>
> Why? If you're referring to the license plate mount, it's solid as a rock
> because the single strap hooked to the lip of the trunk lid transforms
> cantilever forces into shearing forces at the bolts attaching the receiver
> to the backing plate for the license plate. I have no problem with its
> stability at 75-80 mph on the Interstate. I have modified mine slightly to
> keep the rear brake cable running under my top tube from beingpushed into
> contact with the top tube when the bike is resting in the rack. This was
not
> an issue with my previous bike. I have used this rack for 6 years. It
takes
> less than 30 sec to put the rack on the car and another minute to secure
the
> front wheel to the down tube and secure the bike to the rack.

I guess it depends upon the make and model of the vehicle its used on. I
suspect that auto design engineers do not take loads of this magnitude into
consideration when designing license plate bracketry. The torsional forces
should be particularly huge; 70 mph of wind blowing on a 30" lever!

> >
> > Why not make your own, for <$30 in parts (if you have a Class II
> receiver).
>
> Big if. The part (Class II hitch) alone for my Audi A4 is $250. Still, if
> anyone already has a trailer hitch on their vehicle, then a hitch mounted
> rack is a great way to go. However, I have noticed quite a bit of motion
on
> some of these hitches. Whether that's the rack design or improper
attachment
> of the rack and/or bike, I don't know. If I had a pickup truck, I'd
probably
> use a mount that fits in the pickup bed.
>
>

No question; if you don't have a hitch, this is an expensive proposition.
And yes, there is some rocking motion on my and similar hitches. The small
amount of clearance necessary to easily slide the hitch into the receiver
translates into an inch or two at the tips. I suppose I could minimize this
with two bungee-like cords, but that would defeat the quick on-off feature I
so like. BTW, another benefit is my ability to lock the hitch to the car,
but drilling out the clevis to accept a small padlock in lieu of the cotter
pin. Then it becomes a simple cable lock of the bike to the rack. No, I
wouldn't leave a C40 on one overnight in Camden, but it's great for a lunch
stop.

I like the pickup mount scheme, too. But nothing is as amusing as watching
folks drag a stepstool or two out of an Excursion, and wrestle one or more
bikes seven feet into the air!

Ian S

June 25th 04, 09:18 PM

"baltobernie" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Ian S" > wrote in message
> news:x9_Cc.15737$rn1.14246@okepread07...
> > "baltobernie" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Looks pretty scary to me.
> >
> > Why? If you're referring to the license plate mount, it's solid as a
rock
> > because the single strap hooked to the lip of the trunk lid transforms
> > cantilever forces into shearing forces at the bolts attaching the
receiver
> > to the backing plate for the license plate. I have no problem with its
> > stability at 75-80 mph on the Interstate. I have modified mine slightly
to
> > keep the rear brake cable running under my top tube from beingpushed
into
> > contact with the top tube when the bike is resting in the rack. This was
> not
> > an issue with my previous bike. I have used this rack for 6 years. It
> takes
> > less than 30 sec to put the rack on the car and another minute to secure
> the
> > front wheel to the down tube and secure the bike to the rack.
>
>
> I guess it depends upon the make and model of the vehicle its used on. I
> suspect that auto design engineers do not take loads of this magnitude
into
> consideration when designing license plate bracketry. The torsional
forces
> should be particularly huge; 70 mph of wind blowing on a 30" lever!

Except that those torsional forces are transformed by the strap attachment
into shear forces where the attachment bolts meet the license plate mount.
It's quite ingenious actually - and I'm an engineer not easily impressed.
There isn't a trace of deformation around my license plate. That said, I
think the execution in this product leaves a bit to be desired especially
how the bike is secured to the rack. That's why I've made a few minor mods
in that area.
>
>
> > >
> > > Why not make your own, for <$30 in parts (if you have a Class II
> > receiver).
> >
> > Big if. The part (Class II hitch) alone for my Audi A4 is $250. Still,
if
> > anyone already has a trailer hitch on their vehicle, then a hitch
mounted
> > rack is a great way to go. However, I have noticed quite a bit of motion
> on
> > some of these hitches. Whether that's the rack design or improper
> attachment
> > of the rack and/or bike, I don't know. If I had a pickup truck, I'd
> probably
> > use a mount that fits in the pickup bed.
> >
> >
>
>
> No question; if you don't have a hitch, this is an expensive proposition.
> And yes, there is some rocking motion on my and similar hitches. The
small
> amount of clearance necessary to easily slide the hitch into the receiver
> translates into an inch or two at the tips. I suppose I could minimize
this
> with two bungee-like cords, but that would defeat the quick on-off feature
I
> so like. BTW, another benefit is my ability to lock the hitch to the car,
> but drilling out the clevis to accept a small padlock in lieu of the
cotter
> pin. Then it becomes a simple cable lock of the bike to the rack. No, I
> wouldn't leave a C40 on one overnight in Camden, but it's great for a
lunch
> stop.

My rack locks into the receiver with a special locking pin (included) and
there is a hole on the rack that I have put a locking cable through to lock
the bike to the rack. Still, like you, I wouldn't trust it much past a lunch
stop.

>
> I like the pickup mount scheme, too. But nothing is as amusing as
watching
> folks drag a stepstool or two out of an Excursion, and wrestle one or more
> bikes seven feet into the air!

My back aches just thinking of it. I know my back wouldn't take it.

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