Bike Rack On Ultralite Rear Bumper
I constantly read posts warning against mounting a bike rack on the rear bumper. People say they've seen bumpers & bike racks laying on the side of the road. People say they've seen bikes dragging dow...
Forum Discussion
westend wrote:
IMO, it's not so much of welded to the frame or not but how it's welded to the frame and the dimensions of the parts involved. Some of these ultralights have very thin bumpers and the welds are only a small filet weld to the frame. There is a very real chance of the bumper material tearing or an individual weld failing when a large amount of force is put on them.
This. I had a welding shop add a piece of 4" square tubing between the back of the bumper and the back frame crossmember on either side of the bolt on hitch receiver. That adds a lot of stability to the bumper and reduces the flexing to near zero. It also adds 32" of weld to the bumper and to the trailer frame. I was not comfortable with the flexing of the bumper with the bike rack before adding reinforcement. Now I don't worry about it. It wasn't a very expensive mod for the peace of mind it gives me.
I also only carry two bikes and move the mounts in on the bike rack as close to the bumper as possible to reduce the length of the lever arm.
