How to mount a bike on a bike rack?

OK now I have a 2" hitch installed on my truck, and ordered a three
bike carrier...the questions:

(1) How do I mount a ladies bike (the one with the non-horizontal top
tube onto the two bar rack? I did some search and there is this
accessory called a tension bar which can be mounted onto the bike to
make a top tube to be used for putting on a rack - are you kidding?
(2) How do I mount my 7 year old kid's bike - no top tube, a BMX type
with shock absorbers everywhere.
(3) Once I get all three bikes on the rack, how to I avoid them being
scratched from them banging into each other? The tops are secured to
the rack, but down in the bottom the pedals and wheels may bump into
each other especially if I ride across pot holes and bumps?

Any advise appreciated,

MC

In article .com,
says...
OK now I have a 2" hitch installed on my truck, and ordered a three
bike carrier...the questions:

(1) How do I mount a ladies bike (the one with the non-horizontal top
tube onto the two bar rack? I did some search and there is this
accessory called a tension bar which can be mounted onto the bike to
make a top tube to be used for putting on a rack - are you kidding?

Nope, I bought one for my wife's bike (they're pretty cheap); it just
snaps onto the seat stem and handlebar stem. You don't have to do this,
of course -- you could just rest the bike on the rack on its downtube.
The front wheel will be much lower than the rear, but no harm done.

(2) How do I mount my 7 year old kid's bike - no top tube, a BMX type
with shock absorbers everywhere.

Same as a women's bike -- either with the add-on bar, or rest it on the
downtube.

(3) Once I get all three bikes on the rack, how to I avoid them being
scratched from them banging into each other? The tops are secured to
the rack, but down in the bottom the pedals and wheels may bump into
each other especially if I ride across pot holes and bumps?

I usually run a locking cable (built into my Yakima rack) through the
rear tire of the outermost bike, so it won't spin. I then use my U-locks
and bungee cords to secure the remaining bikes' wheels so they can't
spin or twist beyond a certain amount. I'm probably risking bending a
spoke by doing this, but I'm more concerned about the pedal wear and
scratching the adjoining bikes.

--

__o Kristian Zoerhoff
_'\(,_
(_)/ (_)

MiamiCuse wrote:
OK now I have a 2" hitch installed on my truck, and ordered a three
bike carrier...the questions:

(1) How do I mount a ladies bike
(2) How do I mount my 7 year old kid's bike - no top tube,

They make carriers that support the bikes by the wheels (as opposed to
the top tube). You'd probably have been better off with one of those,
although they are more expensive.

Research first. Buy second.

MiamiCuse wrote:
OK now I have a 2" hitch installed on my truck, and ordered a three
bike carrier...the questions:

(1) How do I mount a ladies bike (the one with the non-horizontal top
tube onto the two bar rack? I did some search and there is this
accessory called a tension bar which can be mounted onto the bike to
make a top tube to be used for putting on a rack - are you kidding?
(2) How do I mount my 7 year old kid's bike - no top tube, a BMX type
with shock absorbers everywhere.
(3) Once I get all three bikes on the rack, how to I avoid them being
scratched from them banging into each other? The tops are secured to
the rack, but down in the bottom the pedals and wheels may bump into
each other especially if I ride across pot holes and bumps?

If you bought the proper kind of carrier, one that uses two separate
arms, rather than a single clamp, you won't have a problem mounting
non-conventional bikes. I have mounted "women's" frame bikes, kid's
bikes, even a tag-along on a hitch rack. I'd never buy a rack that
required the use of a tension bar. I have never tried a BMX bike with
multiple shock absorbers.

You don't have to hang the bike from the top tube. Any combination of
two frame tubes will do. Often the bike won't be level, but it doesn't
matter.

When buying a hitch rack, look for the following features:

* Dual fold-down arms (not a single beam with a clamp)
* Pivot-out or fold-down mast
* Anti-wobble device included
* Integral locking of the rack to the hitch
* Rubber Hold-downs with straps that don't come off to lose
* Bottom support bar to prevent bikes from swinging, or other
anti-sway device.
* Comes with bicycle locking mechanism (standard)

This greatly limits your available choices, down to just a few.

-Hollywood Road Runner
-Thule 996XT (and some other similar Thule models)
-Yakima Full Swing 4 (and some other similar Yakima models)

Yakima finally went a way from the clamp design to the dual-arm design,
and their web site states "Dual-Arm design fits more bike types and
eliminates the need for a TubeTip adapter."

The Hollwood Rack has a bottom bar that you can use to fasten the bikes
at the bottom, but Thule eliminated it on the current generation, and
Yakima never had it AFAIK.

Thanks for the recommendation, but some of those are pretty expensive.
Is there a solid choice in the neighborhood of $150 (shipping
included)?

I was wondering about this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

and

http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/me...egory_Code=BRF

any opinion?

Thanks,

Sum

"MiamiCuse" wrote in message
oups.com...
OK now I have a 2" hitch installed on my truck, and ordered a three
bike carrier...the questions:

(1) How do I mount a ladies bike (the one with the non-horizontal top
tube onto the two bar rack? I did some search and there is this
accessory called a tension bar which can be mounted onto the bike to
make a top tube to be used for putting on a rack - are you kidding?
(2) How do I mount my 7 year old kid's bike - no top tube, a BMX type
with shock absorbers everywhere.
(3) Once I get all three bikes on the rack, how to I avoid them being
scratched from them banging into each other? The tops are secured to
the rack, but down in the bottom the pedals and wheels may bump into
each other especially if I ride across pot holes and bumps?

Any advise appreciated,

MC

It all depends upon which rack you've got... what works on one make/model of
rack may not be suitable for a different one.

Cheers, helen s

"MiamiCuse" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks for the recommendation, but some of those are pretty expensive.
Is there a solid choice in the neighborhood of $150 (shipping
included)?

I was wondering about this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

and

http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/me...egory_Code=BRF

any opinion?

Thanks,

Sum


Racks where the wheels are supported are incredibly easy to use. I have one
of these...

Go to www.roofbox.co.uk

On the RH side of the screen, scroll down to the picture of 'Tradekar Silver
Bike "Speedy Fit" ' & that'll take you to a page where you can click on
another icon like it and it'll take you to the details page for that item. I
have it with the thrid bike adapter.

I've put road bikes on it as well as tourers, a time trial bike and a
mountain bike. I've driven from UK down to Italy in it. It's incredible
secure and easy to put on a towbar as well as easy to fit bikes to. I've
seen bikes on carriers where the bikes hang and the bikes can get horribly
scratched & dented.

Cheers, helen s

This is the solution I devised to hang my Trek Y-frame mountain bike on a
Yakima trunk rack (same problem you are discussing.) I took a spare seat
tube, and attached a horizontal member to it, so it had the shape of a
number "7." To hand the bike, I would slip off the seat/seatpost
combination and insert my number "7." The horizontal part of the "7" hung
on one of the bike rack bars, and all was well.

MiamiCuse wrote:
Thanks for the recommendation, but some of those are pretty expensive.
Is there a solid choice in the neighborhood of $150 (shipping
included)?

I was wondering about this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Looks pretty good. But you want to certain that the mounting clamps for
the bikes rotate around the arms. I can't tell from the picture on the
Allen. I doesn't look like the Drawtite below has that feature, as there
appears to be a rivet or bolt through each one. The reason you want the
clamps to turn on the arm is that often with non-conventional bikes, you
need to be clamping onto a frame member other than the top tube. You
also want the clamp to be able to slide back and forth on the arm, with
some force, because often the spacing between bikes needs to be adjusted
so seats, handlebars, pedals, etc. are not hitting each other.

And be sure to wear a helmet.

http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/me...egory_Code=BRF

any opinion?

Thanks,

Sum

MiamiCuse wrote:
OK now I have a 2" hitch installed on my truck, and ordered a three
bike carrier...the questions:

(1) How do I mount a ladies bike (the one with the non-horizontal top
tube onto the two bar rack? I did some search and there is this
accessory called a tension bar which can be mounted onto the bike to
make a top tube to be used for putting on a rack - are you kidding?
(2) How do I mount my 7 year old kid's bike - no top tube, a BMX type
with shock absorbers everywhere.

I think a half-hour in a hardware store would find a solution -- a strap
or line between seat and h-bar with some sort of clasp.

(3) Once I get all three bikes on the rack, how to I avoid them being
scratched from them banging into each other? The tops are secured to
the rack, but down in the bottom the pedals and wheels may bump into
each other especially if I ride across pot holes and bumps?

Buy some thick foam, put between bikes, bungee the wheels together.