habanero

Last week a guy (nice Taco!) approached me in Grand Junction (I think it was GJ...) and asked about my Thule bike rack, loaded with a Cannondale mtb w/suspension fork and an Ellsworth Truth. He'd broken his rack while wheeling Imogene Pass and wanted to know how mine was holding up. I wish we'd had a lot more time to jaw about racks but he seemed in a hurry or maybe it was because I was a few days south of a shower and (not so) fresh out of Moab...

Anyway, it got me to thinking.....my current rack could use some improvement or possibly replacement though it is the best I've used so far in moderate wheeling.

I want to keep this thread only to wheeling with bike racks. What do you drive? What rack do you use? Pros? Cons?


From an old post of mine:
I've used a
1)Sportworks (pretty much like the Thule T2) hitch rack
Pluses:
uses the tires to mount and will even work with all but the smallest kid's bikes
easy to use
great to leave open when parallel parking, fold it up when you're ready to leave and voila!, 3 extra feet of space to get out (I have the 3 bike version)
easy to get into the back and the tailgate can be lifted if there aren't bikes on it
Minuses:
Long and low where it counts, sometimes hit the ground when the hill or dip was steep enough....even some driveways/parking lots
If you taco a wheel it might not hold the bike
It is too low and sticks too far out for the kind of wheeling I do.


Saris Bones trunk rack
Pluses:
Up high, but still low enough I could lift the tandem up onto it
High enough it didn't hit anything on the ground when wheeling or otherwise
can still get into the back window though you have to go around the rack
Minuses:
Dented the tailgate (holding a 45# tandem and a full suspension mtb...and off-roading)
air foil thingy on back of truck 'sawed' through the straps....especially off road
scratched up both tailgate and roof
allowed bike pedal to come in contact with tailgate
did ok off-road but simply didn't hold up

Thule Parkway 4bike hitch rack
Pluses:
Holds my tandem, the kids bikes, all the bikes I own. you can get a top-tube adapter for frames that won't go on.
Has been moderately off-roaded, on a stock vehicle it was low enough that the outermost bike's tire hit a rock but since it was held on with bungees and rubber and we had the bike's front wheel that hit the ground facing the same direction as the truck's the bike simply stretched up out of the way and the wheel rolled off the rock. Lucky, really. Those rubber holders really stretch!
Moves out of the way to open the tailgate (without bikes) and you can still get into the window with or without them on.
Bikes don't touch truck.
Minuses:
It's necessary to bungee as well as use their rubber straps or the bikes will move around on the rack. Really not too bad
It's lower than the Bones (off-roading) but also way sturdier/no damage to truck
on mine the bike holding part doesn't fold down without unbolting....kind of hazardous without bikes on it, I'm always worried someone's going to walk into it.

My husband uses a roof rack on a Volvo 240 wagon.
Pluses:
Holds a variety of bikes
Bikes up out of the way
Minuses:
Lifting bikes even that high is hard (for me)
He's a sensible, together person and has still scraped the bikes off on the garage. Twice.
It alters gas mileage by 2-3 mpg consistently.
Remembering they're up there.


And an update on moderate wheeling with the Thule Parkway 4 bike 2" hitch mount rack, used on a 96 4Runner, not stock anymore:
Broke all the rubber holding straps in the Maze district this last trip. Used bungees and those held pretty good.
The 'u' frame that steadies the rack onto the post is bending a little, allowing more sway
The inside bike bangs against the rack. I have a towel there, but it slips down a little sometimes.
The pin that locks the rack upright is woggling out. The pin itself is also dented and worn from the rack's movement.
To improve this rack I would:
Reinforce the pin hole and the 'u' that stabilizes the rack.
Make the bike rack part about a foot higher off the ground for less dangly bike clearance issues
Pad the rack's upright arm to keep the inside bike from banging hard against it
Find a better strap option to hold the bikes in the mounts.

It doesn't look it, but the tandem with the front wheel turned is only a few inches wider than the side mirrors so if the mirrors clear with a little on either side to spare the tandem will follow.



So....
when wheeling and bikes inside is not an option
What has worked for you?

NumberNext

I would NOT recommend a hanger style (one that hangs from the top tube of the bike) like the one in your pics. The bikes will be clanking together getting scratched etc.

If you got dough and want the ultimate rack I'd say: http://www.tufrack.com

konah

Take a look at http://kuatracks.com/

habanero

So far the hanging rack has been the best solution for me though NumberNext is correct, they do get some workout on the paint.

I think the biggest problem with either the kuat or tufrack is that they would kill departure in the same manner my Sportworks (similar style) did. I don't think there is any way either of those racks would make it, say, down to Dollhouse in the Maze district. My butt would get hung up. Am I wrong?

Have either of you tried wheeling with these racks? Pics? Would love pics!

Here I'm in a drop-off in Teapot canyon. It's not mega crazy or anything, but you can see what I'm talking about?


And coming down off a steep rock in Arches:


And another pic that does a better job of expressing how close the rear gets to the ground...


Anyway, post pics! There's gotta be other people than me that like to bounce around both on bikes and in trucks while on vacation.

NumberNext

You could try these:

http://www.seasucker.com/product-category/bike-racks/

90supra

Suppose I'm a little late to this but thought I'd throw this out here:
http://northshoreracks.com/index.htm

I don't currently have one but a riding buddy of mine has the NSR-6 rack. We have loaded it with 6 DH bikes for running shuttles at the local ski hill before and never had an issue.

I'm currently on the wait list for a NSR-4 bike...

derockus

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, north shore rack is pretty killer. Incredibly quick to load, easily less than one minute per bike. Good for air resistance, doesn't take up any roof space.

Cons:
If your hitch receiver is low you will drag the rear bike tires going over steep water bars or anything similar. Get one of these, I think they make taller ones too. Also only works with suspension fork mtbs, no road bikes.

habanero

Never too late to this party! Bike racks are changing all the time and already I've seen several designs that are new to me.

I like that Northshore rack though like derockus says, I'd like the bikes higher up. With the Thule Parkway I consider it an advantage that when a wheel hits the rocks the rubber that holds it to the rack allows the bike to push upwards so the wheel doesn't get bent. That may be a problem with the NSR-4 though it may also hold the bikes more solidly so there's less banging about, which would be a plus. I like the thought of extending it upward to gain departure angle.
Wouldn't work for the mtb tandem but only crazy people have those.....

hrt4me

thanks for all the good info and discussion

my wife and I plan to take our MTBs (29er and 650b) back to Colorado (Telluride, Ouray, Durango, Silverado, Great Sand Dunes NP) again next Spring or Summer