How to secure an angled top tube bike while using a platform hitch bike rack?
05-30-22, 08:48 AM
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How to secure an angled top tube bike while using a platform hitch bike rack?
I have a hitch mounted platform two-bike rack by Swagman that uses a single ratcheting padded hook to secure each bike to to the platform (along with a pair of Velcro wheel ties for extra security). This rack has worked well with bikes that have a horizontal top tube but I recently bought a staggered Trek bike where the top tub is steeply angled and the padded hook when ratchetted keeps sliding down to an unusable low point. Temporary cross bars that are sold to address this problem are only meant for racks that support a bike with a pair of arms and are not usable when used with a ratcheting hook. One idea is to engage the hook over the seat but that would then over time damage the seat padding. Alternatively removing the seat and engaging the hook with the metal seat post seems like a solution until one realizes the padded hook is too large to properly engage with seat post opening and thus preventing a secure engagement. Has anyone seen a possible adapter to help mate a padded hook with the seat post? Any other ideas (like a workable dependable cross bar)? Thanks for any suggestions!
Last edited by seabrook7039; 05-30-22 at 10:34 AM.
05-30-22, 09:17 AM
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I was going to suggest one of the "[t]emporary cross bars that are sold to address this problem". Your safest bet is to get a different rack, like a Kuat or One-Up, that hooks the wheel(s) directly. It sounds like anything else is going to put your new bike at risk.
05-30-22, 10:34 AM
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After looking at my ratcheting padded hook I think I have an inexpensive DIY solution that doesn't damage my padded seat: buy a cheap 'sacrificial' seat with matching seat post and swap it in when transporting. The hook's curvature, which works well with mating with my current seat, should work as well. Note to oneself: bring the hook to the bike store to verify fitment.
05-31-22, 05:54 AM
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I think a sacrificial seat-and-seat-tube for transport may be your best solution, since it sounds like your rack relies on that downward force to keep the bike's tires in the two stirrups or loops. A cheap seat with a large central cutout might do it for you.
