Rear-mounted bike rack

rumbataz

I've just bought a Saris Bones 3 bike rack that fits onto the rear of a car. I've done a test fit and it seemed rock solid when I mounted my current bike onto it. It took a fair amount of time to get the arms and legs of the bike rack set up to the correct angles. I've not actually driven with the rack and bike attached to the car yet.

I'm collecting my new bike tomorrow and am a little nervous about the drive home (which is only around 6 miles). Has anyone got any tips to ensure that my new pride and joy won't end up in a million pieces on the road?

I was thinking of taking the front wheel off the bike to stop it bumping into the car's rear bumper. I'm also going to use a route that doesn't involve fast roads.

jp1970

Put the rear seats down ... Take off the wheels .. Put it in the boot

ElectronShepherd

I would leave the front wheel on. The reason I say this is that with it off, it will be much more tricky to stop the handlebars flapping about and possibly causing the front brake caliper to hit the head tube. If I put mine on a rack, I wrap one bungy cord through the front wheel and around the frame, to keep the wheel "steering straight" as it were.

I'd also give some thought to either taking the chain off or fitting some sort of chainstay protector to prevent a bumpy ride causing the chain to bounce into the frame and possibly damaging it. I can't see how it would do more than chip the lacquer, but it is a brand new bike, after all. If you can't remove it, shifting to the big-big combination will help to keep the chain as far from the frame as possible.

Also, I know it's only six miles, and it'll probably be in daylight, but bear in mind that strictly speaking it's an offence to mount the bike so that any of the car's rear lights are obscured unless you have a repeater board. It would need a particularly grumpy plod to pull you over for it, though.

rumbataz

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19706235#p19706235]jp1970[/url] wrote:

Put the rear seats down ... Take off the wheels .. Put it in the boot

I tried to put my current bike in the boot but it simply wouldn't fit! It was also really difficult to move it around and the fear of scratching the interior and the bike led me to give up and order a bike rack.

redbikejohn

I have one of those. It works great but make sure your boot lid isn't fiberglass as some hatches are and I wouldn't trust the strength of a fibre lid. I use some elasticated bungy straps to stop it moving and wheels flapping etc. When mounting more than one bike I use pieces of thick pipe lagging push this over forks etc to prevent the bikes touching one another.

Bozman

Take a couple of cable ties and I use a bit of foam pipe insulation to protect the frame in places, plus I generally take the front wheel off if I have space in the car.

rumbataz

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19706335#p19706335]redbikejohn[/url] wrote:

I have one of those. It works great but make sure your boot lid isn't fiberglass as some hatches are and I wouldn't trust the strength of a fibre lid. I use some elasticated bungy straps to stop it moving and wheels flapping etc. When mounting more than one bike I use pieces of thick pipe lagging push this over forks etc to prevent the bikes touching one another.

Thanks for the advice. The tailgate is definitely steel. I attached the Saris Bones 3 to it a couple of days ago and tried to move it and the whole car moved so it appeared to be attached firmly.

I've got some bungee straps so will take those along too to hold the front wheel in place. The staff in the bike shop are very helpful and I'm sure they'll help get the bike mounted properly for me as they've done it loads of times before. At the moment I only plan on carrying one bike.

bendertherobot

What on earth are you lot driving! My 54cm PX XLS goes in the back of an Up! with the wheels off and seats down.

rumbataz

Well, there was no need to worry for me. The Saris Bones 3 rack worked brilliantly. It was rock solid in transporting my new pride and joy and I had absolutely no issues whatsoever. The bike felt very secure on it and I didn't take any wheels off either.

It's given me the confidence to travel to new places for riding my bike as for the last few years I've only cycled near my home.

Dorset_Boy

Had a Bones 3 for about 4 years now. Always rock solid, even with 3 bikes on it (though would be very reluctant to put 3 carbon frames on together do to space and possibility of pedals hitting frames).

When putting my Aeroad on (which tends to happen twice a week in summer, I put pipe lagging on the top tube and the top end of the seat post.

Better than bungees are non elastic straps which I put around both wheels.