Rack questions

"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

"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.

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.

"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!

"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.