Bike Rack - Stabilising Bar - Thoughts / Advice..

zznmfc

Hi,

I have two roof racks (Mont Blanc Discovery and Barracuda) both that function well. However the bikes can wobble from side to side when in thier racks. I'd be happier if I could get a bar that clamps between the two bikes in order to clamp them together (whilst in the racks) to provide more stability (hope that makes sense ).

Does such a product exist, or is this simply a case of lashing the two bikes together with a strap? I've seen the false crossbar products that are available and was wondering if this may be a useful compromise, though am wary of trying to "bodge" a solution with something that's not designed for the purpose.

Any help / advice gratefully recieved.

Thanks, Mike.

Briggo

1. When you say wobble, do you mean wobble within the clamp itself or just when the car is moving.

If its the later, then thats perfectly normal.

2. A clamp between the bikes wont help, they'll just wobble together you need to clamp the bike more to the rack itself.

tenfoot

My bikes have been wobbling about in my Mont Blanc holders for a couple of years now.

It looks a bit disconcerting when you see a shadow on the road, but driven hundreds of miles at speeds up to 70 (ish) without any problems.

sniper68

I had(have) Barracudas on various cars for 6years+ and never had any problems.Yes there's slight wobble but even up to 90mph on 300miles+ journeys they were fine.

S_J_P

My roof-mounted bikes can wobble a little too (I think they all do)

When I'm embarking on a long journey or when I'll be on country-lanes, I use three FastyStraps (the webbing straps with a cam-buckle on the end). One between the two bikes crossbars, then one each side from the crossbar down to the roof rails. This makes the bikes completely stable

nicklouse

Mine are fine and do not need anything adding.

Thule.

zznmfc

Cheers folks - I guess they should be good to go as they are, off to Dalby and Coed y Brenin in the next few weeks so thanks for the replies.

Mike.

nicklouse

Try 1200Km with 3 bikes. No probs.

stealthmackem

I always put the bars and the Barracudas the night before and let them go through a cool/warm cycle before re-tightening. That way they are always very snug on the aerobars. I use the t-fixings, a friend had his on standard fittings and didn't like then - he bought aerobats and has been happy since. There is bound to be an element of lateral movement, my favoured test is to grab each bike and give it a good shake. Usually, this shows up anything loose before I set off.

bluechair84

If I had this concern, I'd probably go to the local hardware store and pick up some plastic pipe and velrco, cut the ends circular and strap them between the bikes, or angled down to the rack. But I like to bodge stuff inappropriately which often causes more harm than good :shock: