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

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
The material is Strenx 700 MC plus for the nut plate. The yield of the material is 700 MPa which is higher than a grade 8.8 bolt with a yield of 660 MPa



A standard Hobson M10 nyloc nut only has a maximum thread of 8.04mm and 8.4mm for a plain nut
Why did it tear out then?
 

mike14

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Maybe not the right thread, but just how dangerous are clamping forces for carbon frames? Looking at a few different carry options, both rack and roof, and while I understand that clamping a carbon frame isn't the ideal option, is a bike rack likely putting a frame through enough stress to be worried about?
 

Fred Nurk

No custom title here
Maybe not the right thread, but just how dangerous are clamping forces for carbon frames? Looking at a few different carry options, both rack and roof, and while I understand that clamping a carbon frame isn't the ideal option, is a bike rack likely putting a frame through enough stress to be worried about?
I've known of at least one carbon frame cracking and the OEM refusing warranty on the basis that it had been carried clamped on the top tube. Clamping in the middle of the top tube and leaving the bike suspended puts stress on the head tube and seat tube joins whenever the vehicle goes over a bump.
Wheel clamped racks don't have that issue, and are generally easier to load.
 

mike14

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I've known of at least one carbon frame cracking and the OEM refusing warranty on the basis that it had been carried clamped on the top tube. Clamping in the middle of the top tube and leaving the bike suspended puts stress on the head tube and seat tube joins whenever the vehicle goes over a bump.
Wheel clamped racks don't have that issue, and are generally easier to load.
Thanks.
Does that mean that a frame clamped roof rack would be less of an issue as the clamp is more for stability and the weight is still going through the tires onto the roof rack?

Or I could just suck up the extra costs and buy wheel clamped options...:)
 

Fred Nurk

No custom title here
Thanks.
Does that mean that a frame clamped roof rack would be less of an issue as the clamp is more for stability and the weight is still going through the tires onto the roof rack?

Or I could just suck up the extra costs and buy wheel clamped options...:)
I would guess that the three point contact of something like a Thule that clamps the downtube and contacts the wheels would be better than the suspended top tube, but that's a guess. When you can get a Yakima Frontloader that only clamps the wheels for less it's a moot point.
 

puffmoike

Likes Dirt
Thanks.
Does that mean that a frame clamped roof rack would be less of an issue as the clamp is more for stability and the weight is still going through the tires onto the roof rack?
I reckon so. And I’d also expect a bike to have more carbon near the bottom bracket of the downtube than in the middle of the top tube.

I’ve got four Thule 598s, which replaced two 591s, which have carried lots of different carbon MTBs, and a few different carbon road bikes, over ten years, without any issues whatsoever. The newer 598s have a torque wrench built into the clamp, and a very ‘spongy’ rubber clamp design which really does conform to the shape of the tube and thus should minimise/eliminate pressure points.
 

cokeonspecialtwodollars

Fartes of Portingale
Had the week off between Christmas/New Year and with a Mount Buller road trip planned I set to mounting some lights and making a plate holder for my Single Trail rack. The supplied solution from the vertical rack OEM's that I've seen whilst simple are not very elegant and feel like an afterthought, being an engineer my M.O. is pretty much take something simple and make it complicated. I wanted a solution that was permanently attached to the rack but didn't impede the ease of which the bikes are loaded the catch being that I didn't want it protruding out when there were no bikes on the rack.

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The stalk lights and license plate lights came from an online motorcycle store, thanks for the inspiration @Plankosaurus and @Sheepie, nearly all the other materials came from offcuts left over from other projects so overall cost was pretty cheap.

The arm is 40x40 aluminium square tube and the braces are just 3mm rope with some adjustable cam locks so I can set the height to suit whatever bikes are on, originally these braces were going to be aluminium section as well but then I had the issue of how to store them when the arm is stowed. When stowed the arm is held in place with a rare earth magnet bolted to the arm, however the real magic is in the plate mount which was salvaged from an old monitor stand so the number plate can be both pivoted as well as rotated between landscape and portrait mode.

Overall I'm stoked with how it turned out, not sure if it would pass an official muster but I'm putting it in the basket labelled well at least I tried officer.
 

Stredda

Runs naked through virgin scrub
Had the week off between Christmas/New Year and with a Mount Buller road trip planned I set to mounting some lights and making a plate holder for my Single Trail rack. The supplied solution from the vertical rack OEM's that I've seen whilst simple are not very elegant and feel like an afterthought, being an engineer my M.O. is pretty much take something simple and make it complicated. I wanted a solution that was permanently attached to the rack but didn't impede the ease of which the bikes are loaded the catch being that I didn't want it protruding out when there were no bikes on the rack.

View attachment 384689

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The stalk lights and license plate lights came from an online motorcycle store, thanks for the inspiration @Plankosaurus and @Sheepie, nearly all the other materials came from offcuts left over from other projects so overall cost was pretty cheap.

The arm is 40x40 aluminium square tube and the braces are just 3mm rope with some adjustable cam locks so I can set the height to suit whatever bikes are on, originally these braces were going to be aluminium section as well but then I had the issue of how to store them when the arm is stowed. When stowed the arm is held in place with a rare earth magnet bolted to the arm, however the real magic is in the plate mount which was salvaged from an old monitor stand so the number plate can be both pivoted as well as rotated between landscape and portrait mode.

Overall I'm stoked with how it turned out, not sure if it would pass an official muster but I'm putting it in the basket labelled well at least I tried officer.
Nice work! I was think of something pretty similar for the plate holder myself.
 

Plankosaurus

Spongeplank Dalepantski
Had the week off between Christmas/New Year and with a Mount Buller road trip planned I set to mounting some lights and making a plate holder for my Single Trail rack. The supplied solution from the vertical rack OEM's that I've seen whilst simple are not very elegant and feel like an afterthought, being an engineer my M.O. is pretty much take something simple and make it complicated. I wanted a solution that was permanently attached to the rack but didn't impede the ease of which the bikes are loaded the catch being that I didn't want it protruding out when there were no bikes on the rack.

View attachment 384689

View attachment 384690

View attachment 384691

View attachment 384692

View attachment 384693

The stalk lights and license plate lights came from an online motorcycle store, thanks for the inspiration @Plankosaurus and @Sheepie, nearly all the other materials came from offcuts left over from other projects so overall cost was pretty cheap.

The arm is 40x40 aluminium square tube and the braces are just 3mm rope with some adjustable cam locks so I can set the height to suit whatever bikes are on, originally these braces were going to be aluminium section as well but then I had the issue of how to store them when the arm is stowed. When stowed the arm is held in place with a rare earth magnet bolted to the arm, however the real magic is in the plate mount which was salvaged from an old monitor stand so the number plate can be both pivoted as well as rotated between landscape and portrait mode.

Overall I'm stoked with how it turned out, not sure if it would pass an official muster but I'm putting it in the basket labelled well at least I tried officer.
That is pretty awesome, definitely worth emulating, possibly even worth sending to them as a design idea

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 

cokeonspecialtwodollars

Fartes of Portingale
Nice work! I was think of something pretty similar for the plate holder myself.
Let me know if you decide to embark on this journey, I'm happy to provide some more details if you require them.

That is pretty awesome, definitely worth emulating, possibly even worth sending to them as a design idea

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
I think that for most people the additional cost would outweigh their care factor.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Hi @leitch - couldnt post a photo in PMs, this is some more detail on the adapter. It was a 30 min job to cut the bits and MIG them together ;)

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