Best value hitch platform bike rack?

[skinipenem]

Unsure this is the correct thread.

Anyone successfully retrofitted a northshore rack to more modern larger head tube and dual crown forks? I.e. bent the hangers and added the extension mast?

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[Touring_Sedan]

Unsure this is the correct thread.

Anyone successfully retrofitted a northshore rack to more modern larger head tube and dual crown forks? I.e. bent the hangers and added the extension mast?

Sent from my SM-S908U1 using Tapatalk

Yes. They bend pretty easily.

[Robik]

Probably not the best value but I snagged a used 4 bike Saris MTR at $500 locally. Removed 2 trays for now. While it's not in the same league as 1UP that I sold 2 years ago and still regret, it's one of the few racks that is capable of holding a 1300mm wheelbase GG Gnarvana. I might have better luck getting one up later but this will work meanwhile.

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[skinipenem]

Yes. They bend pretty easily.

Did you bend only the tines or the flat bar as well?

I can't seem to get the bend on the tines just right. Perhaps I'm over thinking the problem. I am trying to avoid a single pressure point in the egde angle of the triple clamp. Also trying to get the appropriate bend to allow a dh bike to hang perpendicular to the track thereby giving room for a bike in the next hanger.

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[Touring_Sedan]

Did you bend only the tines or the flat bar as well?

I can't seem to get the bend on the tines just right. Perhaps I'm over thinking the problem. I am trying to avoid a single pressure point in the egde angle of the triple clamp. Also trying to get the appropriate bend to allow a dh bike to hang perpendicular to the track thereby giving room for a bike in the next hanger.

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I've had to widen the tines to fit the big ass carbon headtube on my YT and fatbike. I can't quite visualize what you'd need to adjust to get a dual crown in there. As for interactions between bikes, it's usually a game of Tetris where I'm swapping bikes between times until I find the combination.

[singlesline]

Probably not the best value but I snagged a used 4 bike Saris MTR at $500 locally. Removed 2 trays for now. While it's not in the same league as 1UP that I sold 2 years ago and still regret, it's one of the few racks that is capable of holding a 1300mm wheelbase GG Gnarvana. I might have better luck getting one up later but this will work meanwhile.

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Nice Habanero Orange Tiguan--here's my wife's with a 1up:



$500 for a 4-bike MTR is a pretty good price. I remember thinking the MTR was one of the better options among the 1up clones when I was looking. I vetoed it because it was more expensive than 1up and didn't store as compactly, but it was still one of the few that allowed the trays to fold up for smaller storage.

[Stuntmonkey]

I'm still waffling on which to get. Was in Fernie over the weekend and saw every variation from North Shore, 1Up, Yakima, Kuat etc. What's the benefit of the vertical type racks from North Shore?

I haven't chosen because I am still waiting for my stealth hitch to show up for the XC90.

[singlesline]

Tray racks can start to get awkward once you get past 2 bikes. 4 bike racks stick out far and are unwieldy to put on/take off.

Vertical racks can hold as many as 5, 6, or even 7 bikes without hanging any further back on your car. Depending on how tetrissed they are in there you can also grab any bike rather than unloading them all.

I’d probably do a wheel tray design like the Velocirax if I were in the market though. Don’t love the fork crown/head tube grabbers as they touch painted surfaces and aren’t compatible with all bikes. Need an adapter to awkwardly hang a road bike off a Northshore.

[Stuntmonkey]

Tray racks can start to get awkward once you get past 2 bikes. 4 bike racks stick out far and are unwieldy to put on/take off.

Vertical racks can hold as many as 5, 6, or even 7 bikes without hanging any further back on your car. Depending on how tetrissed they are in there you can also grab any bike rather than unloading them all.

I’d probably do a wheel tray design like the Velocirax if I were in the market though. Don’t love the fork crown/head tube grabbers as they touch painted surfaces and aren’t compatible with all bikes. Need an adapter to awkwardly hang a road bike off a Northshore.

Makes sense. I saw a number of those velocirax as well. I like the integrated locking.

Stealth hitch delayed a bunch of just ordered a fixed mount hitch instead.

[gramboh]

For the NS Rack prongs you can use a breaker bar to bend them wider, have seen the guys at the shop in North Van so that for customers when I was in picking up parts. Agree about prong style/NS rack for drop bars, it sucks, $90CAD thru axle adapter so you have to take front wheel off and can only put one drop bar bike per 2 racks due to interference.

[skinipenem]

For the NS Rack prongs you can use a breaker bar to bend them wider, have seen the guys at the shop in North Van so that for customers when I was in picking up parts. Agree about prong style/NS rack for drop bars, it sucks, $90CAD thru axle adapter so you have to take front wheel off and can only put one drop bar bike per 2 racks due to interference.

I've played with bending the prongs on the nsr 6. It is tricky to get the bike to line up perpendicular to the rack in order to leave room for more bikes, especially for dual crowns. So far, I have not been very successful.

If I get it right I'll order the mast extension.

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[basinbeater]

I just picked up a new rack today and took the kids and my dad to Trailside to goof around.
Woof rax 6 bike model.
Bikes hang from the handlebar like lolo rack. But it wasn't $1000. $675.
I'll do some experimenting with loading up all the bikes and different types, road, gravel, mtn, kids 24"....

[skinipenem]

I just picked up a new rack today and took the kids and my dad to Trailside to goof around.
Woof rax 6 bike model.
Bikes hang from the handlebar like lolo rack. But it wasn't $1000. $675.
I'll do some experimenting with loading up all the bikes and different types, road, gravel, mtn, kids 24"....

That looks pretty sweet. I like the idea of hanging from the handlebars. Does that eliminate the geometry determined angle bikes hang from northshore style racks?

The second from the right bike looks like pretty low to the ground though... like it wouldn't work with a wagon.

Very interested to hear how it works for a dual crown dh bike, ground clearance for rear tires, and strider sized bikes.

Please report

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[Roxtar]

That Velocirax is a pretty nice design. Absolute Bikes in Salida uses them on their shuttle trailers because they work well on pretty much any bike.

I just have a hard time getting past the worry about getting air in the front brake line with vertical bike racks. I don't hear of many problems with that anymore so perhaps modern brakes have made it a moot issue.

[Name Redacted]

That Velocirax is a pretty nice design. Absolute Bikes in Salida uses them on their shuttle trailers because they work well on pretty much any bike.

I just have a hard time getting past the worry about getting air in the front brake line with vertical bike racks. I don't hear of many problems with that anymore so perhaps modern brakes have made it a moot issue.

I hang my bikes all year long in the garage and never had an issue with air in the brakes. Is it the vibration that you think would cause it?

[John_B]

I hang my bikes all year long in the garage and never had an issue with air in the brakes. Is it the vibration that you think would cause it?

My bike lives hanging by the front wheel and I've never had issues with it screwing with my braking until I got a shuttle bump on a very washboard road from a guy with a vertical rack.

[Touring_Sedan]

That Velocirax is a pretty nice design. Absolute Bikes in Salida uses them on their shuttle trailers because they work well on pretty much any bike.

I just have a hard time getting past the worry about getting air in the front brake line with vertical bike racks. I don't hear of many problems with that anymore so perhaps modern brakes have made it a moot issue.

I've had a North Shore for probably 15 years and never had a problem with air bubbles but if you have air in your brakes, you have air in your brakes. You'll figure that out at some point anyways regardless of how you store or transport your shit.

[El Chupacabra]

I store all our bikes vertically, and have had North Shore Racks since around 2011. No issues - if you have air in the brakes, you'll find out faster if the bike is vertical.

[snowaddict91]

I haven't had issues with storing or transporting bikes vertically since the days of juicys or elixirs.

After fondling and using a velocirax at outerbike this weekend, I have to say I want one. That is a well built product.

[basinbeater]

I've seen those velocirax all over, and they look and feel sturdy, and same with my buddies fancy alta rack. But my takeaway was they are limiting in the types of bikes they can handle based on the basket installed. Then I discovered the lolo rack, which looked like what I wanted, can handle big mtb, road, kids 24", all pretty easily... But it was a thousand bucks. Time for some serious internet sleuthing for the best rack deal... And I stumbled across the woof rax. $675 out the (residential garage) door. Done.

I also have stored my bikes vertically for years and not had problems, except for the brake that needed to be bled anyway...

What I need now is a clamp on bike clamp so I can have a good stand to work on bikes wherever the car is.

[Roxtar]

Is it the vibration that you think would cause it?

Yup.
Back in the early days of disc brakes, having the caliper higher than the MC/lever for any length of time was just looking for trouble, especially if it got bounced around. I still feel it's not a good idea but with so many using this style rack without problems I'm rethinking that.
You CAN teach an old dog new tricks.


...occasionally

[Touring_Sedan]

I'll never understand people's like of Alta Racks. Every one I've seen in use has about 14 rachet straps holding it in place. For $1700, it had better come with someone to install and remove those straps every time.

[Name Redacted]

Yup.
Back in the early days of disc brakes, having the caliper higher than the MC/lever for any length of time was just looking for trouble, especially if it got bounced around. I still feel it's not a good idea but with so many using this style rack without problems I'm rethinking that.
You CAN teach an old dog new tricks.


...occasionally

I think I remember the trick being not to pull the brake lever until the bike is horizontal for a minute. But I haven't stayed in a Holliday Inn Express in a very long time.

[toast2266]

Hanging the bike by the handlebar sketches me out. Not from a strength perspective, but from a long term rub and abrasion perspective. Every rack I've ever used gets pretty dirty over time; muddy bikes, road spray, etc. Then slapping a carbon handlebar into that filth and vibrating it for 1000's of miles seems like a recipe for failure.

[Toddball]

^ anecdotally, my carbon Chromag bar is missing some clear coat from less than a thousand miles on my friend's Lolo Rack. Would consider adding heli tape near the clamp if I owned such a rack myself.