DaveBuck

I bought my wife an E-Bike so she can ride with me. There are some great gravel trails 10 -15 miles from my house. I am looking for a standard (NOT HITCH) mounted rack which can hold the 2 bikes. I lease both of my cars and have 1.5 years left on both leases so I dont wat to purchase a hitch. Between both bikes the weight is around 70 lbs. Any suggestions. Thanks

speedy25

there is nothing out there to safely transport your bikes. You might be able to slide them in with the front wheels removed.

-SP

DaveBuck

I have a Saris Bones 2 mount which says it can hold 70 lbs for 2 bike and 105 lbs for 3 bikes. My 2 bikes weigh just under 80 lbs. 61lbs for e-Bike, 19 for Road bike. I was wondering if i purchase an adapter bar and keep the e-bike closer to the car and the road bike out. I am driving 15 miles on street roads.
what are your thoughts? Because I would rather not buy a hitch.

2old

IMO (long time since taking Physics), the fulcrum is short if you get the bike close to the "pivot", so should be acceptable. I had a monstrous e-cruiser on a Thule rack, but no problems since it was as far "rearward" (toward the trunk) as possible. You could remove the battery (if possible), front wheel (as Speedy said), seat and post, if still worried. Also, I would ensure the bike was "anchored" or insulated with a blanket (or equivalent) so it didn't swing against your trunk in a panic stop.

MNebiker

I also use a Saris Bones 2 rack for my ebike and it works great, but it is only rated for 2 bikes at 70lb - you probably have a Bones 3 model: https://www.saris.com/catalog/racks/trunk

I sold a lot of them, they are good solid racks, better than most trunk racks and are fairly easy to set up and attach. The weight load should be within the specs, but I would load the ebike closest to the trunk and as 2old suggests, if possible, pull the battery. Do a trial setup and see how it feels, them make a judgement call based on your comfort level.

Some advise I always gave to the buyer: Follow the setup instructions and make sure the hooks are secure! After initially loading the rack, drive 5 miles and stop to tighten the straps - they WILL work loose. If you are travelling a distance, stop every 30 - 45 minutes and check them again. Make sure the bikes are secured and unable to swing back and forth as you start/stop. Spare bungee straps are your friend. Pad the pedals on the inner bike to prevent dinging the trunk.

Also, mark the arm and support settings with an indelible marker. Since the Saris racks can be knocked down flat for storage, this makes it easier to return them to the proper settings without searching. If you use it on 2 cars, use a different color for each car's setting.

2old

I used a Saris "one" (one bike system) for my daughter to take her e-cruiser (weight 40 - 45 pounds AIR) from socal to Las Vegas (300 or so miles). Everything was tightened well as MNebiker suggested and she stopped a couple of times to check. We even left the battery on the bike because it wasn't as removable as it looks in the picture.

Made it, no problem.

MNebiker

2old - I owe you an apology! When I went back and re-read this thread I discovered that I just duplicated a lot of the good advice you had already posted. Should have paid attention because your posts are usually full of good info.

2old

MN, you added plenty.

veganbikes

Keep in mind folks the weight is not for the whole rack it is per bike. If your bike exceeds the per bike weight it will not work on a trunk rack. Trunk racks are a poor solution for carrying bikes anyway and putting a heavy e-bike is just asking for issues. Plus if these are leases have fun trying to get all the scratches out of the car as the rack moves and slides along the paint.

Hitches are designed to carry weight, Trunks are really not. If you are worried about it I would just put the e-bike in the back of the car or ride it to the trails.

I have a feeling though someone maybe OP, maybe not but someone will just disregard safety and everything else and just go for it. Check those straps often, make sure they are extremely tight, put a sign on the back telling people to keep distance possible falling bikes/safety hazard, drive extra slow and cross those fingers that nothing happens. Or just get the dang hitch, the rack can move from car to car and sometimes the hitch can move as well, in the case of Stealth Hitches you can get the actual extension piece to come off and just buy the hitch holder for the next car and in some cases the new model will be the same frame and you can move the whole hitch. If you plan on using the car to transport bikes a bunch it will pay for itself and usage and you will just give someone else a hitch option but you will have a safer way to carry bikes.

Doc_Wui

Even if you have a hitch, there's homework to be done to ensure the hitch is capable, as well as any rack you buy. If a car is leased, why can't the hitch be removed when it comes tome to turn in the car?

I've had my last two hitches installed at U-Haul, but prior to that I installed two on my own, and while it was over 20 years ago, I recall there was no drilling or damage. I used available holes.

That said, it's a tough problem, especially if your car can only take a class 1 hitch.

Calsun

I would have a shop bolt on a 1-1/4" hitch receiver and leave it on the car when the lease ends or have it removed for use with another vehicle (if it fits the new car). Usually with a lease it is financially better to buy the vehicle at the end of lease as compared to rolling the lease over to a new lease.