Bike rack that supports bike by top tube - good or bad?
02-06-19, 10:51 PM
#26
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I have an older Thule two bike rack. The rack is designed to support bikes via the top tube.
My bike is a carbon fibre GH G7. Any risk of bike failure by using the rack? Even if I'm carefully wrapping the top tube and not pulling down with all my might to secure the sucker with the straps across the tube?
My bike is a carbon fibre GH G7. Any risk of bike failure by using the rack? Even if I'm carefully wrapping the top tube and not pulling down with all my might to secure the sucker with the straps across the tube?
02-06-19, 11:02 PM
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Ever since then, carrying my bike on the hitch rack stresses the heck out of me.
Gotta get a mini-van or some similar mode of transportation.
My bikes will be happier, my dogs will love it and I will be less stressed out.
02-06-19, 11:05 PM
#28
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Yeah, it's the rubber straps and I don't pull them down super tight. Plus I have cut out foam noodles cradling the frame on the top tube mount bike rack. I also secure the bike to the bike rack so that there is minimal swing.
Ideally I'd like to hold off on having to purchase a new bike rack for six to eight times a year. It's an expensive spend and if I'm able to get away with my existing rack that would be ideal.
@JohnJ80 Wow. That's good information and something I never had considered. The getting of grit and whatnot trapped under the straps and grinding away at the paint. I will be sure to keep my bike clean before mounting it in the rack. Of course if I hit rain and a gritty/dirty road, I'm not sure what I'll end up doing.
Ideally I'd like to hold off on having to purchase a new bike rack for six to eight times a year. It's an expensive spend and if I'm able to get away with my existing rack that would be ideal.
@JohnJ80 Wow. That's good information and something I never had considered. The getting of grit and whatnot trapped under the straps and grinding away at the paint. I will be sure to keep my bike clean before mounting it in the rack. Of course if I hit rain and a gritty/dirty road, I'm not sure what I'll end up doing.
After we once drove through an area that had road construction traffic entering which provided some manner of a fine granite dust that managed to get into the chains (and took much work to get out), we bought covers for our bikes that we put on when weather looks threatening. Ours are full bike covers but there are covers just for the drivetrain that might help too.
02-07-19, 07:38 AM
#29
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No bike manufacturer designs their bike to be carried by the tubes. If they did, and you had damage, you could get them to repair it under warranty because it would be an approved use of the bike. We all know what they would say if you brought in such damage and asked that question. That, in and of itself, ought to tell you a lot about how bike manufacturers don't want you to transport their frames.
J.
J.
How many manufacturers actually say that you should not transport their bikes in a hanging rack? Considering they are - by a wide margin - the most common type of rack, you would think this would get mentioned.
The bottom line is that no manufacturer designs their bikes to be carried by ANY means if they are not properly secured. You did not have your bikes secured. They were swinging in the cradles. That is how the paint got damaged. Of course they would not warranty that. If you don't properly secure a bike in ANY rack and it gets damaged, the manufacturer is not going to cover it.
If you lean your bike against a wall and it falls over and gets scratched, the manufacturer won't cover that. Does that mean they are not designed to be leaned against a wall?
02-07-19, 01:23 PM
#30
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Hmmm. Why do you suppose Trek sells hanging racks on their online store?
How many manufacturers actually say that you should not transport their bikes in a hanging rack? Considering they are - by a wide margin - the most common type of rack, you would think this would get mentioned.
The bottom line is that no manufacturer designs their bikes to be carried by ANY means if they are not properly secured. You did not have your bikes secured. They were swinging in the cradles. That is how the paint got damaged. Of course they would not warranty that. If you don't properly secure a bike in ANY rack and it gets damaged, the manufacturer is not going to cover it.
If you lean your bike against a wall and it falls over and gets scratched, the manufacturer won't cover that. Does that mean they are not designed to be leaned against a wall?
How many manufacturers actually say that you should not transport their bikes in a hanging rack? Considering they are - by a wide margin - the most common type of rack, you would think this would get mentioned.
The bottom line is that no manufacturer designs their bikes to be carried by ANY means if they are not properly secured. You did not have your bikes secured. They were swinging in the cradles. That is how the paint got damaged. Of course they would not warranty that. If you don't properly secure a bike in ANY rack and it gets damaged, the manufacturer is not going to cover it.
If you lean your bike against a wall and it falls over and gets scratched, the manufacturer won't cover that. Does that mean they are not designed to be leaned against a wall?
The bikes were properly secured both on the top tube and with the strapping to the "sway preventer" in the proscribed manner as dictated by the rack user manual. The reality is that you cannot prevent fore and aft sway (oriented to the car) on a bike that is handing from a round tube in a highway speed airstream perpendicular to the direction of airflow. One would think you wouldn't have missed that, but apparently you did.
Grit got in there from the road and over the course of several hundred miles, it abraded the paint and damaged the bikes. The cost to fix the paint was more than the cost of the rack and it was a top end hanging style rack from Thule and not cheap but still, a waste of money, it would appear.
Why don't you go survey the bike manufacturers and report back as to what they will and will not cover vis a vis hanging bike racks. I'm not going to waste my time because I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but knock yourself out.
Either way, there are far better ways to transport your bike without the risk of damage that is inherent in these style of carriers - unless you have a higher tolerance for damaging your bikes than do I. Given that even low end bikes from the major manufactures these days are as expensive as they are, there is no reason to take that risk if you can avoid it. But that being as it is, by all means do whatever you want - as will I.
J.
Why don't you go survey the bike manufacturers and report back as to what they will and will not cover vis a vis hanging bike racks. I'm not going to waste my time because I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but knock yourself out.
Either way, there are far better ways to transport your bike without the risk of damage that is inherent in these style of carriers - unless you have a higher tolerance for damaging your bikes than do I. Given that even low end bikes from the major manufactures these days are as expensive as they are, there is no reason to take that risk if you can avoid it. But that being as it is, by all means do whatever you want - as will I.
J.
02-07-19, 01:44 PM
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I have also driven too many miles to count in similar conditions, with what I assume were the same style cradles from Thule, and never had that problem.
What do you think might explain that difference? I am going to suggest it is because I secured the bikes well enough not to sway. Do you have a different explanation?
02-07-19, 01:45 PM
#32
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Odd, but I don't remember you being there so I'm wondering how you'd know. But boy, you can't imagine the comfort I get knowing that you're there with me at all times.
The bikes were properly secured both on the top tube and with the strapping to the "sway preventer" in the proscribed manner as dictated by the rack user manual. The reality is that you cannot prevent fore and aft sway (oriented to the car) on a bike that is handing from a round tube in a highway speed airstream perpendicular to the direction of airflow. One would think you wouldn't have missed that, but apparently you did.
The bikes were properly secured both on the top tube and with the strapping to the "sway preventer" in the proscribed manner as dictated by the rack user manual. The reality is that you cannot prevent fore and aft sway (oriented to the car) on a bike that is handing from a round tube in a highway speed airstream perpendicular to the direction of airflow. One would think you wouldn't have missed that, but apparently you did.
Grit got in there from the road and over the course of several hundred miles, it abraded the paint and damaged the bikes. The cost to fix the paint was more than the cost of the rack and it was a top end hanging style rack from Thule and not cheap but still, a waste of money, it would appear.
Why don't you go survey the bike manufacturers and report back as to what they will and will not cover vis a vis hanging bike racks. I'm not going to waste my time because I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but knock yourself out.
Either way, there are far better ways to transport your bike without the risk of damage that is inherent in these style of carriers - unless you have a higher tolerance for damaging your bikes than do I. Given that even low end bikes from the major manufactures these days are as expensive as they are, there is no reason to take that risk if you can avoid it. But that being as it is, by all means do whatever you want - as will I.
J.
Why don't you go survey the bike manufacturers and report back as to what they will and will not cover vis a vis hanging bike racks. I'm not going to waste my time because I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but knock yourself out.
Either way, there are far better ways to transport your bike without the risk of damage that is inherent in these style of carriers - unless you have a higher tolerance for damaging your bikes than do I. Given that even low end bikes from the major manufactures these days are as expensive as they are, there is no reason to take that risk if you can avoid it. But that being as it is, by all means do whatever you want - as will I.
J.
02-07-19, 02:35 PM
#33
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So, you drove through a few hundred miles of rain and grit and it rubbed the paint of.
I have also driven too many miles to count in similar conditions, with what I assume were the same style cradles from Thule, and never had that problem.
What do you think might explain that difference? I am going to suggest it is because I secured the bikes well enough not to sway. Do you have a different explanation?
I have also driven too many miles to count in similar conditions, with what I assume were the same style cradles from Thule, and never had that problem.
What do you think might explain that difference? I am going to suggest it is because I secured the bikes well enough not to sway. Do you have a different explanation?
John, I'm 100% certain the problems you say you had you did. The problem I have, unless I've misunderstood the rack you tried, is that those are the racks I've always used with none of those problems, in conditions that were at least as harsh as yours - I'm talking from unmade roads in Oz to freeway speeds there and in France. You might be right about the sway, but I've never noticed it have any effect, either on the car's handling or on the bikes themselves.
I don't know if it was a combination of conditions, bikes and rack or any combination of those (and no longer care) or even if the conditions had something unique about them. The damage was done to the bikes and I'm picky about the condition of my bikes, so that was the last time I used that rack because of it (for obvious reasons). Maybe Thule changed the design or the materials or something - who knows and I don't care any longer - I learned my lesson.
This rack has the normal rubber strapping over the top tube and then a bar that swings out to which you can affix "anti-sway" straps to the bikes above. It's not optimal and the bikes are not locked into position like they are with a bike that sits in a tray and is clamped by the wheels. I guess the point is that this problem is inherent in the design - if you hang on to the bike on the frame, there is an opportunity to damage the finish. There is no such opportunity on a tray/wheel secured rack and you remove that type of rack failure.
I simply can't recommend using this type of rack on any bike if you care about the finish. YMMV and you may feel differently. Either way, good luck and have fun riding.
J.
02-07-19, 07:05 PM
#34
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Platform over hanging any day, especially when transporting multiple bikes at a time. I've had the same hanging trunk rack for almost 20 years. Sure it works, but upgrading to a 1up was a game changer. Kicking myself for not getting a hitch platform years ago (kept thinking I may get a new car but in retrospect I should have put a hitch on every car I've had).
03-06-19, 08:00 PM
#35
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I am in a position similar to the OP. I've had a hanging rack for 20 years and have never had any problems. I have just purchased a couple new carbon frames for my wife and I and wouldn't have thought twice about it if I hadn't come across a couple threads like this one. I don't want to spend more money if I don't need to.
This thread includes one poster with negative experiences with hanging style hitch racks and a number that have never had a problem. I'll research a bit more and will consider purchasing a tray style hitch rack if needed. For now I just throw my frame in the back and only need a rack when biking with my wife or needing to take multiple bikes when taking a trip.
My rack has a single long rubber lined hanger with wide rubber straps to secure the bike and a lower bar to run straps that minimize swaying and keep the wheels from spinning. The hitch connection is very stable and I don't feel much give when shaking it. I have trouble seeing where I would have a problem but want to be sure I won't risk damaging my new bikes.
This thread includes one poster with negative experiences with hanging style hitch racks and a number that have never had a problem. I'll research a bit more and will consider purchasing a tray style hitch rack if needed. For now I just throw my frame in the back and only need a rack when biking with my wife or needing to take multiple bikes when taking a trip.
My rack has a single long rubber lined hanger with wide rubber straps to secure the bike and a lower bar to run straps that minimize swaying and keep the wheels from spinning. The hitch connection is very stable and I don't feel much give when shaking it. I have trouble seeing where I would have a problem but want to be sure I won't risk damaging my new bikes.
03-07-19, 06:23 AM
#36
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It's probably OK if it's just rubber straps on top and not clamps, and you secure the frame so it doesn't swing around when accelerating/braking. But If you have a hitch receiver, tray ones where you clamp it on the top tube with a padded arm from above are the best, IMO. I got a SportRack one for like $150, and it's been working great for many years. Everything is triangulated in place and wheels/frame are not stressed. Plus if you also have MTB, there are no issues getting around suspension components or weird front triangle shapes.
I agree with this.^^^ I got one for my hitch off years ago and it works flawlessly. Holds 4 bikes and was about 150$??
Last edited by Greatestalltime; 03-07-19 at 06:27 AM.
03-07-19, 08:50 AM
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good thing we can't afford carbon fiber
