Mountain Bikes - show/tell me how you lug yours around! (4 Viewers)

[Patineto]

Patineto..........awsome

For me Californias "share the lane" law was perfect, I don't like to be "traffic dependent" so I can plan very accurately when I was getting somewhere regardless of traffic, plus I have to admite lane splitting is as fun as is dangerous..

In any time their state the motorcycle and the rack those not make that much sense, then again the road densities are usually less than the bay area

 

[Marco Lau]

another vote for NS rack.

 

[TXSunDevil]

I just bought this swing out rack off of craigslist. I am concerned with these top bars for the female and kids bikes. Do these things work well? I am afraid it will jerk the seat post out and drag the bike once I hit the gravel roads.

 

[Funner]

I just bought this swing out rack off of craigslist. I am concerned with these top bars for the female and kids bikes. Do these things work well? I am afraid it will jerk the seat post out and drag the bike once I hit the gravel roads.
View attachment 1627390 View attachment 1627391

As long as your seatpost is tight you'll be fine. No more likely to fall out than your gooseneck is.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

I’ll put my vote for North Shore Racks.

They are stout and simple, but hold bikes securely no matter the size, but you must have sufficient clearance on the fork crown. Here’s our setup with the 4x4 labs bumper.

Everything clears for me (but just barely). No extensions needed.

My 27.5+ tire Kong’s Honzo just rests on the spare (315 general AT2).

Swing arms clear and the bikes are off the ground when the rack is fully lowered. Much nicer than my Subaru Forester with the same rack! I should have gotten the six bike rack!

 

[Marco Lau]

I’ll put my vote for North Shore Racks. View attachment 1669413 They are stout and simple, but hold bikes securely no matter the size, but you must have sufficient clearance on the fork crown. Here’s our setup with the 4x4 labs bumper. View attachment 1669414 Everything clears for me (but just barely). No extensions needed. View attachment 1669412 My 27.5+ tire Kong’s Honzo just rests on the spare (315 general AT2). View attachment 1669411 View attachment 1669410 Swing arms clear and the bikes are off the ground when the rack is fully lowered. Much nicer than my Subaru Forester with the same rack! I should have gotten the six bike rack!

Are you running the stock hitch receiver? I have the NSR-4 and wanted to get a rear bumper with swingout and always wonder if the front tire on my 29er will clear the top of the spare and also will the swing out clear the rack when its fully lowered. Once again, you answered most of my questions =)

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

I’m running the ns4 in the receiver integrated in my 4x4labs bumper. The PO setup the bumper/ swing outs, so my knowledge of how the bumper goes to get and gets setup is from observing mine, rather than doing the actual install. The spare mount is adjustable on the labs bumper and mine is positioned as close to the vehicle as possible. I’m not sure if this answered your question, but I can snap more photos if that’s helpful.

The NS has only one drawback in that it won’t haul my 20” bike to the local DJ Park or the skate park. The crown is too small to fit on the rack, so it goes into the back.

The other vertical rack that folks run around here is the Recon, but I’m not sure it lowers enough to drop the tailgate all the way or clear the swing arms. I do like that they hold various wheel sizes regardless of crown configuration, but the mechanics are more complex. I purchased my NS over the recon originally based on cost and the robust simplicity of its construction. I can replace every piece of hardware on my ns4 at my local hardware store, and it’s extremely simple and robust.

 

[Marco Lau]

I’m running the ns4 in the receiver integrated in my 4x4labs bumper. The PO setup the bumper/ swing outs, so my knowledge of how the bumper goes to get and gets setup is from observing mine, rather than doing the actual install. The spare mount is adjustable on the labs bumper and mine is positioned as close to the vehicle as possible. I’m not sure if this answered your question, but I can snap more photos if that’s helpful.

The NS has only one drawback in that it won’t haul my 20” bike to the local DJ Park or the skate park. The crown is too small to fit on the rack, so it goes into the back.

The other vertical rack that folks run around here is the Recon, but I’m not sure it lowers enough to drop the tailgate all the way or clear the swing arms. I do like that they hold various wheel sizes regardless of crown configuration, but the mechanics are more complex. I purchased my NS over the recon originally based on cost and the robust simplicity of its construction. I can replace every piece of hardware on my ns4 at my local hardware store, and it’s extremely simple and robust.

Now that i look more closely at your pic, it all make sense now. The 4x4 lab hitch receiver is a good 4-6" higher than the stock hitch receiver height. That would probably give you enough clearance above the spare tire plus the adjusting the spare tire mounting position. Does your dual swing out a center split design or rather one swingout is longer than the other? I suspect the center split will have a better chance to clear the bike rack when fully lowered??

Thanks again
-M

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

You are correct. Dual swing outs. I’d add that there was only one bike placement on the rack that had tire clearance issues. The other three has zero issues, so put your buddy running his vintage 2015 26” rig in that spot!

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

And yes, I can’t imagine a full length swing out would be compatible with many of these receiver mounted racks unless you fabricated a receiver onto the swing out. 4x4 labs has a bike rack swing arm thing, but I’m not sure it accepts through axle style hubs. It believe it’s a quick release only style.

 

[coleAK]

For a hitch rack Another vote for north shore racks. I have friends with yakama, Thule, Kuat and north shore tops them all in terms of simplicity (fee moving parts) functionality, ease of use, ,ease of storage, it is just a better design. I will also mention I use to transport 4 Full suspension mountain bikes wheel size 26”, 27.5” and have used with a 24” when my daughter was on the specialized Grom. I have 5 people I ride with that have sold their Kuat racks for north shore after comparing to mine.

For 2 bikes the others mentioned with the tray style are all pretty much the same, the Kuat seems better built and better thought out but based on my opinion not worth the extra $$$. I could almost buy 2 yakama racks for one Kuat.

I also have a Yakama roof rack that I use for skis, a cargo box, and a gear basket as well as 4 roof mount bike trays that I use if my kids bring more friends. Only use the roof if the hitch is full as getting tired of getting 30+ lb bikes off the roof.

 

[Marco Lau]

Agreed, my only complaint with the NS rack is the lack of ability to lock the bikes, while i notice a cable lock is just an insurance to keep ppl honest, but having a build-in cable lock or similar design would make this bike rack perfect. Also not a deal breaker by all means, but i find it annoying for the front wheels to free spin while driving down the highway. I ended up using a bungee cord to secure the wheels in place.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Agreed, my only complaint with the NS rack is the lack of ability to lock the bikes, while i notice a cable lock is just an insurance to keep ppl honest, but having a build-in cable lock or similar design would make this bike rack perfect. Also not a deal breaker by all means, but i find it annoying for the front wheels to free spin while driving down the highway. I ended up using a bungee cord to secure the wheels in place.

I keep a dedicated big ass cable and u lock with my rack. I can’t imagine using a cheesy built in cable lock!

 

[coleAK]

I also use a bungee on the front wheels. In terms of lock I have a stout cable I run through the bikes (and rack) to the chain attachment points on the hitch receiver. My only complaint is I had a dropper post and saddle stolen off a bike a while back and it probably wouldn’t have happened if the bike was on the roof.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Rubber band/ ranger band on your front brake lever eliminates wheel spin. Leave it on your bars and it’s all set. I’m not sure why that annoys me too, but it does.

 

[Marco Lau]

Rubber band/ ranger band on your front brake lever eliminates wheel spin. Leave it on your bars and it’s all set. I’m not sure why that annoys me too, but it does.

That's a good idea...not sure why i didn't think of it before.

 

[PabloVTA]

4x4 labs makes a kit, still have it sitting on the shelf, waiting to weld it together.

still got it?
wanna sell it?

 

[40Man]

My friend designed a rack similar to the NS years ago. Between wheel spin, size to store and awkwardness mounting, it just had too many issues. Not to mention he was in business when bike stuff was a lot cheaper, so the cost to build vs market price left little margin.

I have a Kuat NV 2.0 and a classic Thule T2. The fact that the fold easily, mount without touching the frame, have integrated locks, etc., make them #1 in my book.

The built in locks work great for my use, but I would never leave bikes on and go in a store without having a visual on my car using only the integrated locks. I do have additional chain locks for that.

But the integrated locks ensure they stay on when I am driving, and no one nabs a bike during a gas stop, or at a stop light, which I actually saw happen off a NS style rack. Think the guy got away too. Here is a video posting someone trying to nab a bike off a moving car.


http://www.cyclingweekly.com/videos...-to-steal-a-bike-off-the-back-of-a-moving-car

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Those are great points bama. I was really sweet on the Kuat, but the decision point for me was that I needed to haul 4 bikes. I think if I was only hauling 1-2 I would have gone with a system that folded.

That being said I’m not sure what would have worked with my labs bumper. I just got lucky that when I switched it from my Subaru, everything fit, the swing arms cleared etc. If I was shopping for a new rack, this would be a large factor for my specific situation.

Oh I also really like the aesthetics of the rack, it was a factor as well.

One thing I appreciate about the NS rack (I can’t speak for the recon) is it’s ultimate simplicity. It has two moving parts, and I can replace all the hardware at my local hardware store. There are no linkages, plastic fittings, or small parts to size, weather or fail.

It is a gargantuan PITA to store, but that’s been my experience with all car rack things (roof top boxes etc.), so it stays on one of our vehicles all the time. That being said we can ride Galbraith trails 360 days out of the year, but I haven’t figured out how to ride all those days yet...

I will concede that the rack rubs on my
head tube and crown a little bit, but so far no regrets.

 

[coleAK]

when comparing 4 bike to 4 bike NS tracks are tiny folded down when compaired to the tray racks and 25-50 lbs lighter.