26 replies to this topic

[crazycatwoman]

Ok, so I think I am probably worrying over nothing but I just need a bit of reassurance! I am driving from Sydney to QLD and will have a bike rack on the back of my car with 2 bikes on it. I have driven short distances with it insitu but it sort of freaks me out when I can see the bikes bouncing about in my rear vision mirror. As it is not wise to avoid checking the mirror, should I be worried about this 'bounce'. Of course my husband thinks I am over reacting and he is probably right . Can anyone help me out here?

Thanks, CCW

[Bellthorpe]

Will you be here in time for the Bribie Bash?

[crazycatwoman]

Bellthorpe, on Oct 6 2009, 06:50 PM, said:

Will you be here in time for the Bribie Bash?

No unfortunately, will be there Monday and can't get away any earlier due to work. Will try harder next year!

[guinness]

i reckon some of these bike racks are dodgy - especially the ones for cars that dont have towbars/hitch but clip on to the body of the car ...

if it's a towbar one, and especially if it's a name brand one i'd rest easy though!

[crazycatwoman]

guinness, on Oct 6 2009, 07:24 PM, said:

i reckon some of these bike racks are dodgy - especially the ones for cars that dont have towbars/hitch but clip on to the body of the car ...

if it's a towbar one, and especially if it's a name brand one i'd rest easy though!

Thanks, it is a tow bar one, Thule is the brand. I think I am being paranoid!

[grimsey]

If they are expensive bikes i would not put them on those type of racks as they can damage the frames, better of on the roof instead. But if they are ordinary everyday bikes should be okay.

[BabyNurse]

I'm with grimsey. Even with a name brand and a tow bar mount, there's no way I'd drive a bike from Sydney to Brisbane on a rear-mounted carrier. Definitely get a roof rack one.

[Phoenix]

I have a tow bar bike rack for a few years and have had no problem with it. I generally do a couple of hours of travel with it and have had no slip ups.

Years ago, had a roof mounted rack and on the freeway the 2 bikes i was carrying flew off the racks and into the car behind me. That was kind of ugly.

[Buckey]

A few months ago I bought a bike rack for the kids bikes, the sale guy assured me it would suit my car. Unfortunately it didn't, I checked the web site for the bike rack and saw that it suited certain models of cars but not mine!!.

I took the rack back, I was worried that if there was an accident and the rack wasn't supposed to be fitted to my "V70" then I may be liable under insurance??

maybe check the web site for what model auto it is supposed to fit.

Otherwise just remove the rear mirror, not a problem any more.

[Just Did It]

Crazy cat women, I carry mountain bikes and road bike on both towbar rear mount rack and 2 types of roof mount system.

The roof mounted systems probably reduce minor bike damage because you can make absolutely sure the bikes don't rub. HOWEVER, if there is damage it is probably really bad. For example my wife drove under a pine tree with 3 bikes on the roof and left the entire bike rack complete with 3 bikes attached, and the roof racks hanging from the tree. Luckily the bikes were hardly damaged, the car just need a complete new roof........She was a bit upset.

I have heard of people ripping the bikes off the roof twice in the one journey - once at McDonalds drive through, and the bike was more or less ok, and the second time trying to go into shopping centre car park, but this put a end to the bike.

For towbar mounted, the biggest problem is rubbing. So I would put one bike on the position closest to the car, and the 2nd bike as far away as possible, with the front wheel on the opposite side. Tether both bikes front wheels to the bike rack post or to each others wheel. Put some cloth between the bike top tube and the gear or brake cables that (might) run underneath them to stop the clamping system rubbing them against the underside of the top tube.

If the towbar is the type where towball in mounted to a square tube that slides into a mating square tube ('receiver') on the car (so you can remove the towbar easilly when not using it), it is sometimes possible to wedge a thin peice of steel or plastic in there to reduce the freeplay and thereby reduce the whole bike rack waving around.

Also beware of going through deep dips if the bikes sit low to the ground. I have seen bike wheels dragging on the ground on the car in front going down cool tracks to mountain bike races. I don't think that would be warranty.

If there is any damage, just tell people it was from a crash.

Hope you get them there ok.

Regards
Just Did It

[SirPlod]

I’ve got a towbar rack and haven’t had too many problems, as long as you have a good quality one.

They do cause a bit of surface frame damage though. When I have my crap bikes on the rack, I don’t care much, but when my decent bike is on there, I tend to “sleeve” the frame with old tire tubes to help with rubbing.

The other thing you can do to reduce damage is to wedge/tie a couple of pool noodles between your bikes to protect them from each other. Works like a charm. Make sure they’re secured though - cable ties and occy straps a plenty.

In terms of bikes falling off – should be a problem if they’re secured correctly, and on a decent rack.

[grimsey]

Guys i was told a long time ago by a very renowned bike mechanic who worked on some teams at the tour de france, who said that those type of bike carriers can damage the frames of the bikes, more so lightweight frames e.g. carbon fibre, hence theyfit them to the roofs of the support cars.

Although as just did it says the consequences of forgetting they are their can be quite expensive.

[crazycatwoman]

Thanks heaps guys. Grimsey, I wish I could forget they were there!! Our bikes are good ones to us but not top of range or anything like that. They are just for leisurely rides whilst on holidays and cross training, nothing serious.

I guess the only thing I worry about is someone else getting hurt if they fell off whilst driving, but I suppose they have to pass some sort of safety requirements so as long as we are careful and drive appropriately we should be ok. Will post at the end of the journey that all is ok, otherwise you'll see us on the news

[ratdog]

the husband is always right.

[blkbox]

I have a car rack that sits "inside" the car, which is fine if you have a 4WD and no kids to transport, as it does require the back seats to be folded down.

With my ageing years I wouldn't trust myself to remember I had bikes on either the back of the car or on the roof, and would probably do something stupid and smash them to bits

[guinness]

crazycatwoman, on Oct 6 2009, 07:38 PM, said:

Thanks, it is a tow bar one, Thule is the brand. I think I am being paranoid!

I have these anti sway things for my thule - cant recommend them highly enough - no rubbing, no swaying

[Goughy]

That thing looks sweet!! For me, I have a commuter van for work, no seats in it now. It also came with a child restraint bar behind the rear seats which I've removed but can fit further up in the van. Take off the front wheel, zip tie the handlebars to the bar and they aren't moving!

[Digger]

I once knew a guy with 'roof bike racks', and he had a 911 Porsche, and refused to drill the required holes in the roof.

At about 190kph, it wasn't a pretty sight in the rear vision mirror.

[Steve 'The Footman']

We have to transport five bikes now for the whole family. That is hard to get on the back of a car bike rack. I have a Hiace Van that I transport them in if we are taking both cars on holiday. I strap our two carbon fibre bikes to the cargo cage and put the kids bikes down the other end.

I would not trust myself driving around with the bikes on the roof.

[Digger]

When we had a van, and 4 bikes, I came up with the bright idea to put a tow bar on the front of the van, and put the bike rack there.

This was a great idea, until we emigrated to QLD.

As we never had driven in the dark with the bikes on the front before, it wasn't till we were in the middle of no where, when it got dark that I realised that the van headlights were not powerful enough to give use light through 4 sets of spokes.

[Colin]

Digger, on Oct 8 2009, 06:43 AM, said:

I once knew a guy with 'roof bike racks', and he had a 911 Porsche, and refused to drill the required holes in the roof.

Why were the holes required...thought they were designed to fit to standard roof racks? I wouldn't drill holes in my ute.

Digger, on Oct 8 2009, 09:06 AM, said:

This was a great idea, until we emigrated to QLD.

As we never had driven in the dark with the bikes on the front before,

Is that because of no daylight saving in Qld?

On a serious note...if you regularly go camping, get a trailer and mount the bike rack attachment to the 'A frame' close to the trailer then face the bike rack the other way. This way you have full access to boot at all times too.

Don't put carbon bikes on these racks...put them in car and luggage in trailer.

btw... in SA in 80's I had bike racks on roof that had the bikes mounted upside down...saddle slotted into loop and tied tight and handle bars clipped on...much easier and safer than the options which have the bike upright attached by wheels.
Can't get those racks anywhere here.

[fitzy]

not safe at all, that why you should run...

[crazycatwoman]

fitzy, on Oct 8 2009, 03:01 PM, said:

not safe at all, that why you should run...

Hey you guys, carbon fibre bikes??? in my dreams.

[paigebaby]

I used a towbar mounted rack to take my bike to sydney (a 500km trip) and had no problems. I use a piece of styrene foam on the frame that the bike rests on and its tied down to. I have the one with the velcro straps not the metal screw down system. The bike shop said that you cant get enough tension to bend the frames on that sort.
I make sure i tether the front wheel so that it doesnt flop around and have had no problems and no damage.
I wouldnt trust myself to put the bike on the roof as i would most likely drive under something i shouldnt.

[tiger angel]

There is another type of towbar-mounted rack where the bikes sit on their wheels with an arm that just hooks over the cross bar to keep them still and upright. That way, there is virtually no pressure on the cross bar, so they are safe for lightweight (ie expensive) bikes, and yet they are held securely. We've just done the Sydney-Brisbane-Sydney trip with them no worries. Thule make a version like that, but ours is manufactured in Australia by a company called Grip Sports in Melbourne.

[grimsey]

Also with the towbar mounts becareful that your wheel is not over the exhaust pipe. Had a friend once who by the time he got to forster to do the old forster iron man his backwheel which was a full disc wheel was all bent out of shape from the heat of the exhaust.To put it mildly he wasn't a happy man, wheel cost him $2,000.

[crazycatwoman]

Well, we made it to Qld and back with bikes intact. No falling of the back of the car, no reversing into things and no melted bits! Only a slight bit of chaffing to my bike (boohoo) that I will have to sort out before we do the trip again in January with 4 bikes. Thanks for all your input guys, it really helped!