New post on bike carriers

I use a Rola "Convoy" to carry my heavy, electric, fat tire bike on the back of my vehicle (not trailer) and keep it from bouncing around with a Hitch Vise.
Works very well and is well made.
Barney

way2roll wrote:
Was never a fan of racks that attach to the bike's top tube and hang. They bang into one another and wear the paint and cables. They allow the bikes to swing and puts the weight high on the rack which exacerbates a bouncing effect, especially with more than 2 bikes.

We have not experienced that with our bike rack. We carry 4 bikes and the bikes are spaced about 6 - 8 inches apart. Some times the last bike on the rack will move towards the 3rd bike on the rack, but we've never them rubbing together. Our hitch pin is threaded, so the only bouncing around is with the vehicle. The threaded hitch pin definitely makes a difference. We also have a hitch haul platform that does not have a threaded pin. It does rock around as we drive.

-Michael

FWIW, I was impressed with the rack I bought (the Swagman) as it BARELY fit into the 2" reeceiver (it was tight!!!) and on the bolt on receiver, there was another bolt that put pressure on the rack itself when it was slid in and pinned. I really don't think that sucker's goin' anywhere. Plus, in the other thread the Swagman rack was HIGHLY recommended for stability.

Guy Roan wrote:

Dick_B wrote:
Three bikes is a lot; we carry two and they bounce around on our front receiver of our Suburban.
If you haven't yet bought the bikes I'd suggest looking into foldup bikes. We used Dahon's for years folded up in our sailboat. They are adjustable for almost any age group.

Already have the bikes and have been carrying them for years on Yakima roof top carriers. They are light weight road bikes with 700 x 23 wheels.
We would be laughed out of the senior games time trials if we showed up with fold up bikes

Guy

A quality carrier will not break a sweat with 3-4 bikes.

magicbus wrote:
Looks like it would work, the only information I did not see is whether there is an anti-sway wedge on the receiver shaft. On my Yakima swing away there is a wedge that expands the shaft when securing the rack in the receiver. This prevents the motion caused by the rack shaft being able to move around in the receiver. Maybe not so important mounted on a pickup.

Dave

Thanks, I don't think there is one, but I figure if there is any slop I can come up with a shim.
I like that Yakima full swing double down hitch, but I just can't get myself to spring for that $570 when this one is less than half that and looks sturdy.

Guy

Dick_B wrote:
Three bikes is a lot; we carry two and they bounce around on our front receiver of our Suburban.
If you haven't yet bought the bikes I'd suggest looking into foldup bikes. We used Dahon's for years folded up in our sailboat. They are adjustable for almost any age group.

Already have the bikes and have been carrying them for years on Yakima roof top carriers. They are light weight road bikes with 700 x 23 wheels.
We would be laughed out of the senior games time trials if we showed up with fold up bikes

Guy

way2roll wrote:
Was never a fan of racks that attach to the bike's top tube and hang. They bang into one another and wear the paint and cables. They allow the bikes to swing and puts the weight high on the rack which exacerbates a bouncing effect, especially with more than 2 bikes. Heininger is a brand I have never heard of. I would stick to trusted brands like Thule, Yakima, Swagman etc with a tire mounted design and a threaded pin to mitigate play in the receiver. You will spend more money, but you get what you pay for.

Here is an example of the rack I have. Had it for almost 10 years and never an issue.

Swagman XC

I second that. Used to be that was the only option. But with modern racks I definitely would go with a tray type mount. Less possibility of damaging a bike, no worry about frame geometry, and just easier to use and secure.

Guy Roan wrote:


From my many years of rv'ing if it is "RV rated" then it must be cheap junk !

Guy

Sadly, i agree that is god's own truth.

Theres plenty of good options for hitch mounted bike racks. We'd never had a problem with Yakima or Thule.

Was never a fan of racks that attach to the bike's top tube and hang. They bang into one another and wear the paint and cables. They allow the bikes to swing and puts the weight high on the rack which exacerbates a bouncing effect, especially with more than 2 bikes. Heininger is a brand I have never heard of. I would stick to trusted brands like Thule, Yakima, Swagman etc with a tire mounted design and a threaded pin to mitigate play in the receiver. You will spend more money, but you get what you pay for.

Here is an example of the rack I have. Had it for almost 10 years and never an issue.

Swagman XC

We have a similar hitch mounted rack made by Bell, the Hitchbiker 400. We bought it many years ago at Target. Ours uses Velcro instead to secure the bikes to the bars. The Velcro is nice because it snuggly secures the bike to the rack. Our 4 bikes all have different sized frames.

We have used ours on the back of our Class C motorhome as well as the back of our CRV and have not had a problem with the rack. It's spent many miles on the back of both vehicles without incident.

-Michael