BIKE RACKS AND CARRIERS FOR CARS MEGATHREAD - all questions asked and answered here

[Wilson_753]

Here is the rack off.
Note the roof rail bar front and rear (pick up any ISO slot roof bar cheap). I made it so I could position the roof bars in many locations (note holes on flat strips where the roof bars mount) as most off the shelf carriers front mount is fixed relative to where the bike is held).


I use Mont Blanc Barracuda's as 1) Well engineered. 2) Used to be able to get a pair cheap through Chainreaction 3) Wheels on. 4) low profile when no bike on them. 5) Can disassemble and change LH to RH or Vise Versa.
Disadvantage with these is 2.1" max front tyre width without letting the front tyre down. (The later model Piranha fits 2.35's or something) I just suck it up and pump up before a ride if what I'm riding has a fattie on the front (Track pump in boot anyway).



If you look at the top pic you may note that the car had roof bars on it. Why not use them? Well Trailer had 5 bikes on it and allow 13 kg / bike, plus some for a carrier and roof bars and its all too heavy. What I did was once camped etc. I could grab one of the Mont Blancs off the trailer and put it on the car. (Another reason to have the ISO rails on the rack frame.)

Yeah cheers,

Thanks for that picture, That was my concern about how far the front drops down and needs spacing. However looking at the Thule rack, it seems to be a lot flatter on the bottom. I need to go to a shop and check a few out.

I'm mounting this on my Hilux tray hard lid.

That looks good, I like the basket aswell, I'm heading this way with a removable frame I reckon.

 

[gcouyant]

There should be a product test report in the next edition of Mountain Bike Australia magazine. John Hardwick has been testing the carrier for some time on the back of his Nissan Patrol and Toyota Rav4. In true Hardwick fashion, the report should be informative and fingers crossed, come back positive.

Hope that helps.

 

[cameron_15]

Idiot proof bike carrying options

Hi all,

I'm looking for suggestions for a new bike carrying device for my car. Over the years I have accrued an A frame beak style rack, a spare tyre rack, a boot mounted rack and a larger 3 bike ark carrier bike rack (Tyres sit in channels with a little arm to clamp the top tube or seatpost).

The ark carrier is the only useful one for proper bikes, and it does a great job, however it is very heavy and bulky owing to all it's features (lights, 2 folding parts and a clever pivot which lets me access the rear door of my SUV with bikes on the rack), making fitting and removal of the rack a bit of a task. For ride weekends, group rides and holidays it's great, but for day to day use it can be a bit cumbersome.

My best rack is very similar to this, which is too cumbersome for carrying just 1 bike

​

Most of the time I am transporting 1 bike around and do this 4-5 times per week. Instead of using the bulky 3 bike carrier with all the bells and whistles I'll just chuck my bike (either road, XC or DH) in the back of the car. While this works fine, I'm sick of the back seats in my car being covered in dirt and smelling like chain lube. What I'm looking for is a simple, light and easy to fit/remove single bike carrying option.

At the top of this list would obviously be a roof rack, which fits most of my criteria except for 1, they're affordable and I already have roof racks fitted to my car. But it's not idiot proof. I'm an idiot and riding bikes takes a lot of mental focus for me :dance: so I can all but guarantee one of my bikes will get acquainted with the roof of my garage in due course. Another issue is that it can't be transferred to other cars, which would be a great bonus as my parents can't easily fit our current crop of racks and it's a barrier to them riding more.

I don't want my bike to look like this, and I know they will eventually because I'm an idiot.​

So with that in mind, I'm looking for a towbar mounted rack with a channel system designed for 1 bike, that can be removed quickly and easily.

Something like a crank mounted gripsport style rack would be great, as it would allow me to open the boot with the rack fitted, although given the range of bikes it'd need to fit, it may not be suited.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Dozer]

You basically summed it up; you need a Gripsport style rack that just carries one bike. A friend of mine made one that works a treat: It's the tongue for the tow coupling, a set of wheel hoops to locate the wheels and a crank holder to keep it upright. He's mounted the lights and number plate across the middle and while it isn't the strongest material that will handle the rough roads on a downhill shuttle, it gets his bike to the trail head and it takes him thirty seconds to remove and fit the rack. The dearest part was the $30 bike rack plate he had to buy.
If I were you, I'd make it or get one made, it's easy if you have the tools in front of you.

To add to that, the Gripsport crank holder is a breeze to operate and will suit you perfectly.

 

[scblack]

Get the new style Gripsport rack. It is not a crank holder setup. I have used it from DH & road bikes down to my daughters 12inch bikes. And usually combinations of all these. I have the downhill model.

http://gripsport.com.au/product/Hi-Ride-Carrier-2-bike

With its flexible setup, and quick release base, it is very quick and versatile to use.

 

[cameron_15]

You basically summed it up; you need a Gripsport style rack that just carries one bike. A friend of mine made one that works a treat: It's the tongue for the tow coupling, a set of wheel hoops to locate the wheels and a crank holder to keep it upright. He's mounted the lights and number plate across the middle and while it isn't the strongest material that will handle the rough roads on a downhill shuttle, it gets his bike to the trail head and it takes him thirty seconds to remove and fit the rack. The dearest part was the $30 bike rack plate he had to buy.
If I were you, I'd make it or get one made, it's easy if you have the tools in front of you.

To add to that, the Gripsport crank holder is a breeze to operate and will suit you perfectly.

Yeah, as I was typing this out and google-ing I've pretty much come to that conclusion. Everything I've seen from the likes of Thule is too fancy, with buckles and clips and sliding wheel tracks which look pretty. Also I'm struggling to find a single bike rack, everything is 2 or more.

All I think I need is a square hitch tongue with a long channel and a single crank holder. As a bonus, I already have a couple of crank holders sitting in the garage from an old shuttle trailer.

I'm not sure whether or not I'd need lights on the rack, as I have an SUV with tail lights and indicators that are fairly high on the rear door and would likely sit above the wheels of my bikes. Obviously I'll have a number plate on it though.

 

[cameron_15]

Get the new style Gripsport rack. It is not a crank holder setup. I have used it from DH & road bikes down to my daughters 12inch bikes. And usually combinations of all these. I have the downhill model.

http://gripsport.com.au/product/Hi-Ride-Carrier-2-bike

With its flexible setup, and quick release base, it is very quick and versatile to use.

A friend has one of these that we've used for downhill shuttles and it's great, although perhaps a little more than what I need. It does have the advantage of being able to transport 1 or 2 bikes by simply removing the second hook and wheel hoops.

In an ideal world I'd have no adapter plate mounted to the car though. As I'm an idiot I'd likely smash anything protruding from the towbar into someones radiator in the super market carpark.

 

[cabletieperformance]

You could cut off the other bike slot or contact them to see if they can make one for a single bike. I can't see it being difficult if anything less work for them

 

[Dozer]

Get the new style Gripsport rack. It is not a crank holder setup. I have used it from DH & road bikes down to my daughters 12inch bikes. And usually combinations of all these. I have the downhill model.

http://gripsport.com.au/product/Hi-Ride-Carrier-2-bike

With its flexible setup, and quick release base, it is very quick and versatile to use.

I've got the same rack albeit in the downhill version with heavier materials. It's a bloody great rack and I wouldn't consider using anything else. In this instance, tt is overkill for one bike butI'd get it anyway knowing it's the ducks guts.

 

[scblack]

A friend has one of these that we've used for downhill shuttles and it's great, although perhaps a little more than what I need. It does have the advantage of being able to transport 1 or 2 bikes by simply removing the second hook and wheel hoops.

In an ideal world I'd have no adapter plate mounted to the car though. As I'm an idiot I'd likely smash anything protruding from the towbar into someones radiator in the super market carpark.

The adapter plate sticks out about three inches at most past the tow ball. I can't see that causing problems to be honest:thumb:. Being visible, I also like to think it makes other drivers hang further away from the back of our car, and less likely to run up our arse. Like Dozer, I can't imagine there being a better rack out there. (Except Megan Gale).

If you are considering a crank holder style, you'll need an adapter plate as well, unless you are wanting to fit it to the tow ball for every use, which can take quite some time.

 

[pharmaboy]

There's always the Isi as well - expensive, but a one off purchase. I can easily arrive 1 minute before a ride starts and I have the bike off the car in 20 seconds tops. I leave the ISI hitch thing attached to the car permanently and it takes around 2 minutes to put the carrier on ( sticks out the same as a towbar)

 

[pink poodle]

You can't fit 1 bike inside your car?

 

[Calvin27]

http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthread.php?285940-Seasucker-Talon-Review

Seasuckers. Here is what it has gonig for you:

- Can mount tilted on front window so that you can actually see it there when driving. I chuck one sucker on the front windscreen on driver or passenger side.
- There are variations that can mount on the rear of the car if you have a hatch or whatever.

- You can use it on pretty much any car.
- Or you can use the 3 bike rack with it to take 4 bikes!
- Packs away into a small box you stow away in the boot.
- the first time it takes a while to get used to installing but after that you'd probably get it on as quick as a tow ball mount. You'd get it off is literally a few seconds.

The only bad thing is learning to trust it - although I haven't dropped anything yet even after last time i forgot to pressurise one of the 4 suckers. that and it's nto really secure if you plan to park the car for a long period of time.

 

[cameron_15]

You can't fit 1 bike inside your car?

I can, and have been doing so for a while, but I'm getting over it. Things like pedal pins and bar ends are damaging the inside of my car and the dirt and grime from riding in the elements quickly make a mess of the interior.

 

[cameron_15]

The adapter plate sticks out about three inches at most past the tow ball. I can't see that causing problems to be honest:thumb:. Being visible, I also like to think it makes other drivers hang further away from the back of our car, and less likely to run up our arse. Like Dozer, I can't imagine there being a better rack out there. (Except Megan Gale).

If you are considering a crank holder style, you'll need an adapter plate as well, unless you are wanting to fit it to the tow ball for every use, which can take quite some time.

Generally I don't have the towball fitted. My ideal rack simply slot's into the square hitch and uses the pin and R-clip.

 

[scblack]

Generally I don't have the towball fitted. My ideal rack simply slot's into the square hitch and uses the pin and R-clip.

From memory, I am sure you can buy the Gripsport racks with a square hitch. The reason I remember that is if you want the DH rack with 2+2 (four bikes) you had to have a square hitch, not just the tow-ball fitting.

 

[scblack]

From memory, I am sure you can buy the Gripsport racks with a square hitch. The reason I remember that is if you want the DH rack with 2+2 (four bikes) you had to have a square hitch, not just the tow-ball fitting.

And here I quote from the Gripsport website:

The Hi-Ride “2+2” carrier is only available to suit a 50mm square-hitch (Hayman Reese style) towbar. The “Classic” is rated to carry 4 bikes up to 17kg each and the “Downhill” is rated to carry 4 bikes up to 28kg each.

So that seems to be exactly what you are after.

 

[slippy]

Thule HangOn.

Bike on and off in seconds. No scratches. Rack on and off in seconds. Built to last, mine is more than 15 years old and nothing has failed, not even the rubber straps.

 

[99_FGT]

Thule HangOn.

Bike on and off in seconds. No scratches. Rack on and off in seconds. Built to last, mine is more than 15 years old and nothing has failed, not even the rubber straps.

+ 1 for the hangon, just make sure it fits your frames. If you get the two bike one it uses a scissor mech that clamps onto the towball in seconds

 

[Zoobz]

Torpedo7 Three Bike Channel Rack - Installations Issues

Hi Guys,

I was wondering if anyone has pruchased the car bike rack (Click HERE.

I had purchased thisunit a while ago, when it was on sale. But never used it since my friend had a ute for transport. Now that he doesn't, I decided to pull it out the other day only to find that the ball mount, does not sit flush with the plate it comes with. Which means that the entire contraption is only fixed and resting on the to ball. This makes it very unstable.

Item is now out of warranty, doubt I will be able to return it. Just wondering if anyone else has had any issues. Attached a photo of connection for reference.

Cheers in advance...