spaceballs

I have a Yakima Steelhead bike rack for my car. It is a fork mount in the front, and in the back it has a strap that kind of ratchets down to snug the rear wheel in place. Link to what rack looks like.

[This is why this is in the road sub-forum...]My wife's road bike has lower profile wheels with 23mm tires, and to get the things tightened down, you really have to crank the strap down. It has a little plastic push button to release the tension, but when it is really tightened on there, pushing the button doesn't seem to work to release the strap. This has happened a couple of times before, and I could always mess with it enough to get it to release, but it didn't happen tonight and the bike is still out on the car.

I searched and couldn't find anything like this on the forum, but I can't imagine that no one has had this happen before. Can someone tell me if, on a fork-mounted rack, the fork mount solely holds the bike in place and the strap is there just as a backup? It seems like the strap needs to be on there pretty tight for it to do anything useful, and for a road bike with thin tires and lower profile wheels it seems to cause some trouble with this mount.

I sent Yakima a note about this, too, but I would kind of like to get it resolved as I have to drive 350 miles tomorrow and I would rather do it with my bike in the house rather than on the roof.

kniprm

Push harder. Mine gets stuck all the time.

spaceballs

Doesn't seem to be making a difference. As I try to push harder, the metal tray of the rack kind of bends in and doesn't let me release the pressure.

Is there anything I can lubricate that might make a difference?

laduckslayer

I would refrain from torquing that back strap down. IMHO it's there to keep the back wheel in the track as well as keeping the bike from shifting - preventing unnecessary torque on the front.

Check to make sure the release tab on the rear is in it's track/groove. If not, you will fight with release mechanism.

Bluechip

The newer version of the stap is much harder to release than the version from 20 years ago. I still have some older ones and prefer them much better. After you get the strap open don't tighten it down at the lowest portion of the wheel. Slide the strap forward or backward to where the stap hits rim further up on the curve. You won't need to tighten the strap as much.

Jynx

FYI, I have driven with that strap off with no problem.

The reason you are having trouble is the wheels are so low profile and the strap can not close that tight. Stuff a rag over the rim and then tighten it snug not tight. Just enough so the bike doesnt bounce out of the tray.

spaceballs

This is good to know. I guess I will just keep messing with it until I get it open. If anyone has any advice on getting it open, or can tell me about Yakima's super-secret backup release button on the strap, please let me know.

flip

^ +1

The strap is designed to fit varying profile wheels/tires. A standard road setup leaves too much space. I fashioned a small rectangular "shim" from a yoga block so I wouldn't have to cinch the strap down the whole way. It takes up the slack, is semi-soft and grabs around the v-profile of the wheel, and I just throw it inside the car when the bike is not on the rack.

I've heard that Yakima sells an attachment designed to resolve this but I haven't seen it (I also didn't look very hard).

bcart1991

As long as the strap is connected, the wheel isn't going anywhere. I've driven a couple hundred miles with the rear just cinched down (not tight on the rim). No problems at all at 75 mph interstate speeds.

My $0.02.

cccorlew

Slide the strap back so when it tightens it isn't over the lowest spot of the wheel. Just a few inches is enough. It won't slip.

AngryScientist 

no direct experience with the yakima strap, but if its like every other ratchet mechanism, first apply load to the strap as if tensioning it further, then push the release, this should make it waaayyy easier.

spaceballs

I am a moron. I think if I just let the air out of the tire, I should get enough slack to pull it out.

Wow. How did I miss that?