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My Mrs. just got a Fiat Panda and I'm selling the van and doing without a vehicle for a while. In the meantime we need some way of carrying a Stumpjumper and a longest Geometron with 2.6 tyres. Every time we've tried to put it on a mates rack or an uplift trailer it's been a bit of a chore. And it always has a bit of over dangle which makes me nervous.
The Panda has roof rails already but I'd rather go on the back of the car rather than a roof. Anyone got a detachable tow bar?
So what's available for ridiculously long bikes with fat tyres?
I use a Buzzrack Scorpion with a fatbike kit fitted. The fatbike kit gives you extra length as well as taking bigger rim/tyre combos. You could easily modify any rack in the same way with a little ingenuity.
Your bike is going to stick out either side of a Panda on a towbar rack though, probably more than the wing mirrors.
I've stuck my longest Geometron on a few Thule wheel support towbar racks without any issue, and it goes (just) on a THule 591 rof rack too
I use the one below currently, but want to get somthign beter for more bikes
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/thule-xpress-2-towbar-bike-rack/rp-prod137677
My brother fits his extra longest Geometron onto a Thule 9503, it's a bit of a squeeze though, I think he has to put longer straps on for the wheels.
Some good suggestions here. I'm going to look at Thule stuff first as I've spoken to a mate in the LBS and he said he'd do me an "unbeatable price" which is nice.
Haven't stood the G16 next to the Panda yet. It's going to stick out miles in every direction.
clamping the frame can cause damage that may or may not be visible and you may lose control and fall
Thanks for the tips but we're a full metal bike family 😉
I bought the whisbar rack from roofbox. I love it. I have a longer wheelbase bike but probably not as long as a geometron.
You could also check out https://www.scorpionracks.com/ because they come at things from a different direction.
“clamping the frame can cause damage that may or may not be visible and you may lose control and fall.”
I didn't think to ask what other bikes the rack would be used for but I can't see this being a problem (other than cosmetic) for a Nicolai. They build them, er, 'sturdy' 🙂
Worth checking the nose weight on your panda....
Two bikes on a reasonably heavy rack on a short, small car and you might find your close to the limit as I don't suppose it was a consideration for them. Of course, I might be totally wrong, and your loads under the limit, but best to be sure hey 🙂
Craig - do you have a search set up on STW that alerts you to any mention of bike racks? It really would be nice if you participated other than to come on and promote the product you sell
...forgot to say, I’m using the whisbar with 2.8 tyres no probs.
It really would be nice if you participated other than to come on and promote the product you sell
Worse than that he hasn't bothered to check anything in the OP other than a reference to bike racks. Looking at the website I don't think any of Craig's racks are going to take a long bike like a Geometron very well, the wheel trays are too short.
To quote from the site
up to 1200mm wheelbase
So no use in this case at all.