You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I've got a big towbar mounted rack, but currently have no towbar unless I put one on the OH's car which she's not sure how long she plans to keep anyway.
So for the few times I borrow it, is there anything more practical and/or available 2nd hand that would fit the bill? Mostly it would just get used to get to places 20-30min away when I fancy something less local but don't have time for a 40+mile epic. If we do go away anywhere further afield then I'd dismantle it and put it inside the car, but that's a faff on short trips when the bikes muddy (and it only barely fits, handlebars wedged in the back of the passenger seat, derailleur perilously close to the boot door.
Her car doesn't have any sort of roof bar mountings so would need the clamp on door frame type. A saris bones/solo would still need a number plate/lights (not a massive deal, I've got a relay kit so could just hide it in the boot).
For ~£160 though the 3-bike rockbros looks pretty substantial. It'd never have 3 bikes on it but the extra cups would alleviate any worry about suction racks.
The only problem I'm foreseeing is theft as it's tool-free? Do people nick bike racks off cars while they're riding?
The only problem I’m foreseeing is theft as it’s tool-free? Do people nick bike racks off cars while they’re riding?
No, you chuck it in the boot.
Sorry, can't help with your other questions as I've never used one but I'm between bike racks so reading with interest.
I got a cheapo Sea sucker knock-off 2 bike job (very similar to a Rock Bros one but different branding) last year from eBay for £45. It's very handy for certain situations, mainly when I need to transport a bike a short-medium distance (say to one of our nearest trail centre) but have filled the car with humans (kids need dropping to stuff, missus going shopping, etc before I go riding) otherwise I'll normally fold the back seats and bung the bike in the boot as I don't need to remove the front wheel for that and I'm not precious about mud and mess in the car.
One thing I will say is it's better if you can sucker the main part onto glass (my windscreen goes quite a long way up which is handy) rather than onto the bodywork, in terms of stability and noise.
When you load the steel roof panel directly, obviously you run the risk of the roof deflecting as the bike(s) waggle back and fourth, glass is nice and rigid and so works a bit better. You can also periodically peer up and reassure yourself the suckers are still nicely engaged from the underside...
Make sure you look at options for wheel adaptors, mine only came with QR caps/skewers, but I managed to 3D print myself 15mm/Boost adaptors (there's a few examples on Thingiverse).
I have also been known to loop a tether (old luggage strap or similar) through a wheel/frame and then trap it in the boot lid just to frustrate any would be opportunists at traffic lights, but I've not needed it yet...
I've also got bolt on roof bars and carriers but I've not touched them since buying the suction mount rack...
Can't fault my Rockbros single bike suction rack. Wasn't used regularly as default was to stick the bikes in the van, but if Mrs a11y was using that I'd use them on the car. No issues on up to 90min drives - I didn't use for anything further. Large/16.5kg bike.
The design of my car meant roof was too short for the wheelbase of my bike, so I mounted the fork sucker on trailing edge of roof and rear wheel sucker on the bootlid. I strapped the front wheel to the side of the frame supported by a pedal, as boot was too small to fit it in.
Are you sure you'd need a number plate for a Saris rack? I've been able to fit them in ways that don't obscure the plate and lights.
One thing I will say is it’s better if you can sucker the main part onto glass (my windscreen goes quite a long way up which is handy) rather than onto the bodywork, in terms of stability and noise.
When you load the steel roof panel directly, obviously you run the risk of the roof deflecting as the bike(s) waggle back and fourth, glass is nice and rigid and so works a bit better. You can also periodically peer up and reassure yourself the suckers are still nicely engaged from the underside…
Yes, I was wondering that, it's a '04 Fiesta so it's fairly boxy shaped, I need to get the tape measure out.
Does the big aluminum plate between the sucker humm at speed?
I have also been known to loop a tether (old luggage strap or similar) through a wheel/frame and then trap it in the boot lid just to frustrate any would be opportunists at traffic lights, but I’ve not needed it yet…
Yea, I was thinking ~6mm dyneema looped through the frame and car doors for similar reasons.
Are you sure you’d need a number plate for a Saris rack? I’ve been able to fit them in ways that don’t obscure the plate and lights.
Yea, it's a small hatchback so even with a fairly lax interpretation of the rules it'd be covering the number plate and lights as the lights are high up and the plates lower down.
I've been using a 'Rassine' branded single bike one for approaching 5 years now. Far more versatile the a traditional rack, but obviously less secure.
The plungers to need a spot of maintenance after about a year, and they can be a bit reluctant to work in very cold conditions. That said - once it's on. I'm meticulous with clean the sucker locations prior to install too.
Mine has seen west country to the lakes and plenty of motorway driving.
I have a saris bones and number plate / lights that I’ve been meaning to sell. PM me if interested. I wouldn’t want daft money for it
I used my rockbros on my Cayman for a few years (used min once a week), only ever had a problem when going really slowly down the incredibly bumpy trail centre tracks when a sucker came 'unsucked' once. It's the sideways movement that gets them. Held the enduro bike on no problem for 6 hour motorway drives, and was fine at 110mph (er, on track of course). Quite rigid metal roof was plenty stiff enough- had it on a mates A6 with a flexy roof and it was still fine.
My last car had a thin fiberglass roof, so I no longer used the rack as it seemed like it was going to pull the roof off rather than the racks fall off.
I think they do an electric one which automatically re-sucks (oi oi) if needed, and has an alarm if anything comes undone.
I would use a toe strap to tie the front wheel to the frame.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy one again but have a hatchback now, so put the bike inside.
I looked this toy up on Amazon and I was getting all excited until I noticed that you need a thru axle adaptor, and they don't do one for my fork (120mm axle length). Is there another solution, eg. source for other adaptors?
(120mm axle length)
I was thinking (rather than buy loads of addapters) of just getting a length of this and cutting it to suit my various 100 and 110mm forks. Assuming the rack itself is 20mm.
My rockbros rack was in the garage for a few months and when I got it out again it had stopped working. No idea why, but it won't hold a suction anymore.