Best way to transport bike on car rack

[Kocsis]

What is the best/ safest car carrier? I read that for Ti and/or Carbon bike it is unsafe to fasten carbon bike fork to roof carrier because of possible injury to fork. Similarly, it is problematic to place top tube on top of rear rack because it could stretch cables underneath tube and tube itself could deflect. What other alternatives are there? I use a trail hitch mounted Thule rack and wrap top tube in rubber insulation hose used to insulate water pipes. Any other ideas?

 

[Hank Wirtz]

"Kocsis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> What is the best/ safest car carrier? I read that for Ti and/or Carbon
> bike it is unsafe to fasten carbon bike fork to roof carrier because of
> possible injury to fork. Similarly, it is problematic to place top tube
> on top of rear rack because it could stretch cables underneath tube and
> tube itself could deflect. What other alternatives are there? I use a
> trail hitch mounted Thule rack and wrap top tube in rubber insulation
> hose used to insulate water pipes. Any other ideas?

Well, there are bus-type ones that have deep wheel wells, and an arm that
grabs the front wheel to stabilize.

With your current rack, you can get adapters that go between the bars &
seat, ordinarily for full-suspension MTBs that don't have a top tube.

Here's an example:
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=10637

 

[Colin Campbell]

Kocsis wrote:

>What is the best/ safest car carrier? I read that for Ti and/or Carbon
>bike it is unsafe to fasten carbon bike fork to roof carrier because of
>possible injury to fork. Similarly, it is problematic to place top tube
>on top of rear rack because it could stretch cables underneath tube and
>tube itself could deflect. What other alternatives are there? I use a
>trail hitch mounted Thule rack and wrap top tube in rubber insulation
>hose used to insulate water pipes. Any other ideas?
>
>
>
1. Buy a steel bike. Use existing rack. Steel is real!

2. Open the trunk, insert bike, close trunk, go. (Leave all unrelated
stuff, maybe including passengers, at home.)

A little more seriously, I had not read about problems carrying bikes
with carbon front forks, so thanks for the information. I've had my
current car nearly five years, and haven't gotten around to buying a
roof rack for it. I did order the car with folding rear seat backs. I
have a Trek 5200 (but with Campy Record 3x10), and I use method #2 above.

 

[[email protected]]

Kocsis wrote:
> What is the best/ safest car carrier? I read that for Ti and/or Carbon
> bike it is unsafe to fasten carbon bike fork to roof carrier because of
> possible injury to fork. Similarly, it is problematic to place top tube
> on top of rear rack because it could stretch cables underneath tube and
> tube itself could deflect. What other alternatives are there? I use a
> trail hitch mounted Thule rack and wrap top tube in rubber insulation
> hose used to insulate water pipes. Any other ideas?
>
>
> --
> Kocsis

I think you're making stuff up to worry about for the fun of worrying.

Higher end roof racks such as Thule and Yakima are purchased by
"serious" bicyclists. Serious being those who spend $1000 or more on a
bike. Considering that about 110% of all $1000+ road bicycles sold in
the past 5 years have a carbon fork, one would expect to have front
page headlines every day of carbon forks breaking and killing their
riders. You would also have enough class action lawsuits to bankrupt
all rood rack makers. And you would have HUGE warning stickers on
every roof rack sold saying it cannot be used for carbon forks. None
of these have occurred.

As for the carbon top tube being deflected by its own weight on a rear
rack, carbon fiber is not that flexible or weak. If it were, it would
be completely unsafe for use in a bicycle frame. As for stretching
cables, cables don't stretch. The cable housing compresses, giving the
appearance of the cable getting longer. Not sure why cables stretching
would be harmful to a bike. Would cause slight, very slight braking
and shifting degradation but that is all. And can easily be fixed by
turning the adjustment screws on the brakes and shifters to retighten
the cables. It is possible to compress the cable against the carbon
and scuff up the clearcoat or paint. That is a real aesthetic problem.
QBP and bike shops sells little plastic tubes that go over the bare
cable and prevents this from happening. Very worthwhile. You could
also catch the cables on part of the bike rack and rip off a glued on
cable guide. Or break something else on the rack or bike. So pay
attention and be careful when putting the bike on and off the rear
rack. If you feel something is caught, stop, don't keep jerking on the
bike. Undo whatever is caught and then proceed.

 

[Derk]

I use this one. You can clamp the arm on your bike's seatpost. I do that all
the time and just put a cloth in between the clamp and the seatpost. Works
well.

http://www.fietsendragers.nl/scripts/overzicht_hawk.asp

Greetings, Derk

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Kocsis:
>What other alternatives are there? I use a
>trail hitch mounted Thule rack and wrap top tube in rubber insulation
>hose used to insulate water pipes. Any other ideas?

I flirted with rooftop mounts briefly, but got tired of the anxiety every time
the car approached something low-hanging.
--
PeteCresswell

 

[John Forrest Tomlinson]

On Thu, 16 Feb 2006 03:23:48 +1100, Kocsis
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>What is the best/ safest car carrier? I read that for Ti and/or Carbon
>bike it is unsafe to fasten carbon bike fork to roof carrier because of
>possible injury to fork.

Maybe if the fork dropout is carbon there *might* be problems, but if
the dropouts are metal this is no problem at all.

JT

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Remove "remove" to reply
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[[email protected]]

yeah-once the bike leaves the car, the bike leaves the insurance policy!

 

[Art Harris]

[email protected] wrote:

> Higher end roof racks such as Thule and Yakima are purchased by "serious" bicyclists. Serious being those who spend $1000 or more on a bike.

Oh, so all you have to do to be a serious cyclist is spend enough
money? Is someone who spends $5000 more serious than someone who only
spends $1000?

Art Harris

 

[Paul Hobson]

Art Harris wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
>
>
>>Higher end roof racks such as Thule and Yakima are purchased by "serious" bicyclists. Serious being those who spend $1000 or more on a bike.
>
>
> Oh, so all you have to do to be a serious cyclist is spend enough
> money? Is someone who spends $5000 more serious than someone who only
> spends $1000?
>

Funny how that works, huh? The people who "race" and spend lots of
time/energy/money getting the best of everything are seen as more
serious cyclists than those who own practical, everyday use machines as
means of reducing dependence on automobiles.

a backwards world indeed.
\\paul

 

[Michael Press]

In article
<[email protected]>,
"Art Harris" <[email protected]> wrote:

> [email protected] wrote:
>
> > Higher end roof racks such as Thule and Yakima are purchased by "serious" bicyclists. Serious being those who spend $1000 or more on a bike.
>
> Oh, so all you have to do to be a serious cyclist is spend enough
> money? Is someone who spends $5000 more serious than someone who only
> spends $1000?

I do not see Russell's argument the way you do. I
understand him to be supporting efficacy of roof mounted,
fork tip locking roof racks on carbon fiber bicycles by
citing their use by folks with expensive, high performance
bicycles. The original question being `Can I use fork tip
locking bicycle carriers on a carbon fiber bicycle?'

--
Michael Press

 

[[email protected]]

Art Harris wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
>
> > Higher end roof racks such as Thule and Yakima are purchased by "serious" bicyclists. Serious being those who spend $1000 or more on a bike.
>
> Oh, so all you have to do to be a serious cyclist is spend enough
> money? Is someone who spends $5000 more serious than someone who only
> spends $1000?
>
> Art Harris

Have you ever bought or even priced a roof rack such as Thule or
Yakima? To haul two bikes on a roof rack you need two fork trays, $75
each minimum, and the cross bars and towers, $200. Toss in two front
wheel holders at $35 each, and a Thule or Yakima roof rack to haul two
bikes costs $400. If you're spending serious money like this on a roof
rack to haul your bike, chances are you are spending at least $1000 on
the bike itself. And if you buy an expensive roof rack, you probably
have the intention of using it for hauling your bike to rides and
riding your bike. This is an action that should be encouraged.

For me, I just fold the sedan's back seat down and put one of my over
$1000 bikes in the trunk. If I have to haul more than one bike, then I
use my Saris Bones 3 bike rack, bought on sale for around $100. Works
great. Hauls over $1000 bikes or under $1000 bikes equally well. I've
never been too fond of roof racks. Although the movie Breaking Away
would not have been the same without the bike on top of the car.

 

[Art Harris]

[email protected] wrote:

> Have you ever bought or even priced a roof rack such as Thule or Yakima?

Yes, I bought a Yakima rack about 25 years ago and am still using it. I
had to buy new towers a few years ago to fit my current car. Sure it's
kind of pricey. But it lasts a long time and hauls the family bikes as
needed.

I object to equating money spent with how serious a cyclist one is. Is
everyone who buys an expensive camera a serious photographer? Is
everyone who buys an expensive car a serious driver? I don't think so.

Art Harris

 

[[email protected]]

Art Harris wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
>
> > Have you ever bought or even priced a roof rack such as Thule or Yakima?
>
> Yes, I bought a Yakima rack about 25 years ago and am still using it. I
> had to buy new towers a few years ago to fit my current car. Sure it's
> kind of pricey. But it lasts a long time and hauls the family bikes as
> needed.
>
> I object to equating money spent with how serious a cyclist one is. Is
> everyone who buys an expensive camera a serious photographer? Is
> everyone who buys an expensive car a serious driver? I don't think so.
>
> Art Harris

Do you have any bikes costing more than $1000? And you own an
expensive Yakima roof rack. Thank you for confirming exactly what I
wrote. People who buy expensive roof racks have bikes costing more
than $1000. Thank you.

 

[Art Harris]

[email protected] wrote:

>> I object to equating money spent with how serious a cyclist one is. Is
>> everyone who buys an expensive camera a serious photographer? Is
>> everyone who buys an expensive car a serious driver? I don't think so.
>> Art Harris

> Do you have any bikes costing more than $1000? And you own an
> expensive Yakima roof rack. Thank you for confirming exactly what I
> wrote. People who buy expensive roof racks have bikes costing more
> than $1000. Thank you.

Not so fast! I built up my current main bike many years ago for
considerably less than $1000. Even with an upgraded drivetrain, I doubt
I could sell it for more than a couple of hundred dollars (not that I'd
want to). My backup bike is built around a NOS frame bought on eBay for
$130. Other family members' bikes also cost well under $1000.

Your statement that one must spend a lot of money to be considered a
"serious" rider is just not true. Choosing a rack is another issue
altogether. Although my Yakima rack was somewhat expensive, it's turned
out to be a good value in the long run.

Art Harris