Help me spend some more $$: bike racks

[Steph_in_TX]

I agree with SadieKate...love our Hitchfork and with the quick release thing for the hitch(sorry, can't remember the actual name for it), it comes off easily. I don't want it on all the time. I can put the rack and bikes on in about 5 minutes.

[melissam]

Went down to RackandRoad at lunch and found out that there's currently no hitch available for my car. ETA is one month.

Y'all have pretty much convinced me that I don't want a trunk rack. Of course, if the hitch isn't available in another month, then I might revisit the trunk rack. In the meantime, I'll see if my bike fits in the trunk with the back seats folded down. I can also borrow one of my roommate's vehicles for bike transport.

Thanks again for your suggestions & input.

-- Melissa

[administrator]

Just a note about vertical hitch racks where the bike mounts vertically attached only by the fork... make sure your fork has "lawyer tabs" - the little bumps at the end of the fork that keep your wheel from falling off if the quick release isn't tight enough.

A friend's bike fell off a rack of this type this past weekend. She had a racing fork (no tabs) and even though the quick release mount was fastened very tight, it still managed to work itself loose while driving down the freeway.

Fortunately none of the cars behind the vehicle were hit and the bike didn't get run over so it was salvageable, but it could have been ugly.

[SadieKate]

Huh? We have vintage and custom bikes with no tabs and never had a problem. I'll have to think about this. I hate those durn tabs.

[oldbikah]

Check this out for a super-easy hitch rack www.baxsie.com/quickclick

Mine clamps onto a 1 7/8 ball VERY securely and has stayed secure over bumpy dirt roads, interstate highways, etc. You can literally take it off and throw it in your trunk with one hand, or padlock it so it cannot be removed.
It holds 2 bikes, and is inexpensive.

BTW, a great way to keep bikes from scraping against one another on racks is to buy pieces of foam pipe insulation at a buck or two for a 3-4 foot piece and cut it into whatever length pieces you want. Slip it around chain stays, tubes, or where ever you want. They stay on in transit. I keep a length and a jack knife in my suv all the time.

[KSH]

I have a 52cm bike... I drive an Accord Coupe... as I have been too cheap to buy a bike rack... and I don't want someone trying to steal it...

I just drop the back seats down... take the front wheel off the bike... and I put the bike in with the forks in first... they fit perfectly between the two seats...

Have you tried to fit the bike in the trunk? Do your seats fold down?

And if you have multiple bikes (I can't remember???).... then forgive me for the suggestion.