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Best Bike Rack for Model X

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Sweet! Congrats on the 2nd place! Yeah, there are quite a few finishes I've had like that. Stuck in my head for weeks!

Wait, you ride for Canyon Bikes? Are you aware of their partnership with the AUDI Cycling Team out of Seattle for some of the bigger US races?

Canyon Bicycles is a local Utah bike store chain. They do have a successful traveling team, but I'm too old and have a "real" job :(. Canyon Bikes (a European team I believe) is actually suing the owner of Canyon Bicycles over the name, even though we had the name first. Canyon Bicycles is sponsored by BMW, which causes me pain to see all the BMW team vehicles (should be Tesla!). Our riders are all on Specialized Tarmacs. Since I race 95+% on the mountain bike (S-Works Epic World Cup), they let me ride my Delta 7 for the few road events I do.
team car.jpg
 
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Canyon Bicycles is a local Utah bike store chain. They do have a successful traveling team, but I'm too old and have a "real" job :(. Canyon Bikes (a European team I believe) is actually suing the owner of Canyon Bicycles over the name, even though we had the name first. Canyon Bicycles is sponsored by BMW, which causes me pain to see all the BMW team vehicles (should be Tesla!). Our riders are all on Specialized Tarmacs. Since I race 95+% on the mountain bike (S-Works Epic World Cup), they let me ride my Delta 7 for the few road events I do.
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You have a PM!

Sorry folks! Decided to take the bike racing chatter off thread! ;)
 
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I have the Softride Dura. It's very robust, but weighs a lot more than the smaller aluminum version that you pointed to. The reason I switched to the 1Up was the amount of time it took to secure bikes to it and the fact that it hangs them from the top tube. They make you think that all you have to do is lay the bike on top of it and wrap the strap around it, but...

The straps would rub against any external cables you had.

If the top bars are not all level, the bikes are hard to get on and stick out at odd angles (I once transported a bike for some people I ran into on the trail with a flat tire - they couldn't ride home so I gave them a lift, their bikes had odd top tubes and they were balanced very precariously on the rack).

The bikes are so close together that it takes many minutes of delicate bike tetris skills to fit them all together, not counting odd fitment for bikes with angled top tubes or small triangles.

Even if the rack has an anti-sway feature (my Dura has the same one the Alumina shows), they still sway a bit and can bonk against each other so I would take to strapping them to each other. Then the wheels would turn and turn the cranks and the cranks might then start bonking against the car so I took to strapping the wheels to prevent rotation while transporting them. By the time I was done I would have about a dozen little velcro and bungee straps just to secure the bikes.

So, I was looking at 5-10 minutes of fiddling just to transport my one bike, and longer periods if I was going with a friend.

With the 1Up it is about 15 seconds to grab it and attach it to the car. Then it is about 15 seconds per bike to place them on the platform and cinch the arms down nice and tight. Then they don't move so there is no having to strap anything down to keep them from tangling or spinning and bonking things. I'm done in less than a minute and on my way.

Another difference with those Softride racks is that they attach via a bolt through the side. I found that way more fiddly to attach and detach than the rear-mounted wrench activated lockdown of the 1Up. Maybe 30 seconds for the 1Up vs. 2 minutes (and crawling underneath) for the Softride. (The main fiddliness is having to get the hole in the rack lined up with the hole in the side of the hitch so that the bolt can go through - you can generally position yourself so it is easy to see the alignment, or so that it is easy to slide the rack in and out a little without accidentally dislodging it and dropping it on something ouchy, but not both at the same time. However, I have since discovered "Hitch Bar Stop" accessories which take out all of the guesswork since you can attach them to a rack at the proper depth so you just slide the rack on until the stop hits the hitch and it's at "the right depth" right there, so YMMV...)

I still keep the Softride as a backup since technically I could take 4 bikes on it, whereas I went for only the 1+1 on the 1Up (given that I'm travelling alone 90+% of the time and only have one other bike the remaining times - until an emergency transport scenario happens out on the trail some day and then I guess I'll start throwing bikes through the hatch...).
 
How about a recommendation for people who are just recreational bikers? I want to bring my family's bikes to the beach. 3-4 bikes. An adult mountain bike and two smaller kids bikes. The 1UP looks like overkill and I am not trying to spend $1,000 for something I will use 2-3x per year. Anything wrong with the Yakima rack made for Tesla? Is it any good? My bikes are inexpensive, I just need a way to transport them with my X.
 
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After looking around for a few days, I decided to buy the Yakima Fullswing (FullSwing).

I just came back fro a road trip to Acadia and it worked flawlessly. It swings open to allow for trunk access and is also Supercharger friendly.

A few pictures below.
 

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How about a recommendation for people who are just recreational bikers? I want to bring my family's bikes to the beach. 3-4 bikes. An adult mountain bike and two smaller kids bikes. The 1UP looks like overkill and I am not trying to spend $1,000 for something I will use 2-3x per year. Anything wrong with the Yakima rack made for Tesla? Is it any good? My bikes are inexpensive, I just need a way to transport them with my X.
I've always been a fan of Yakima products but, honestly, you can't really go wrong with anything from Yakima, Thule, or Küat. I would steer away from ones that rest on your trunk lid though and get a hitch mount version that you can hang your bikes from. Which is probably what you're leaning towards anyway.

Cheers!
 
Have any of you looked at your energy consumption when carrying 4 bikes? I just tested out my Kuat (before we take a long trip) and was surprised at how much the range dropped. Just went 18 on an 18 mile test run (basically up/down a freeway by my house at 70mph) and average was 418 with 4 bikes/rack, and 328 doing same thing with no Rack...ouch about 30 %...gonna have to figure something out since I have one 200 mile shot between 2 SC's (and will have more people/luggage in the car).
 
Have any of you looked at your energy consumption when carrying 4 bikes? I just tested out my Kuat (before we take a long trip) and was surprised at how much the range dropped. Just went 18 on an 18 mile test run (basically up/down a freeway by my house at 70mph) and average was 418 with 4 bikes/rack, and 328 doing same thing with no Rack...ouch about 30 %...gonna have to figure something out since I have one 200 mile shot between 2 SC's (and will have more people/luggage in the car).
Ouch indeed. Thanks for the test!
 
I ordered the "Accessory Hitch" and want to know if that can support the weight of 4 bikes plus my rack which comes to almost 200 lbs. Or do I need to get the "Tow Package"? I tried to get answers from Tesla, but nobody seems to know! User manual stated Accessory Hitch only supports a tongue weight of 120 lbs.
 
The Model X bike rack by Tesla is a bit of a let-down. The one on stage (curved) looked so cool and more "Tesla" than the one they are providing now which is just re-branded. May have to go aftermarket on this one.
Not posting here anymore but feel obligated to respond to this one. I got the Thule one and very happy with it BUT did not realize when getting it your backup and forward sensors will not work when its on the car. Constant warning that park assist not available. The rack (without the bikes on it) interfere with the sensors. Just an annoyance but if I knew that would have gotten their rack instead. Just be warned. I have no idea how it will interact with AP2, no affect on AP1
 
What makes you think this? The hitch has at least a 350lb. weight limit (based on the 22" wheel trailer tongue weight listed on page 68 of the owners manual). Or are you buying their story that the "Accessory Hitch" that doesn't exist can only handle 120lbs?

Exactly! They said the accessory hitch only handles 120lbs, and that's the option I ordered for my car being delivered in January. I'm so confused, and don't know why Tesla is doing this.
 
Exactly! They said the accessory hitch only handles 120lbs, and that's the option I ordered for my car being delivered in January. I'm so confused, and don't know why Tesla is doing this.
They are doing this because; A) They have yet to find a solution for the "Accessory Hitch" that actually matches the specs they have committed to. B) They have yet to find a supplier for said solution. or C) They got a great deal on a bunch of the Bosal hitches.

:rolleyes:o_O:p;)

Perhaps by January they will actually have an Accessory Hitch to put on your X. So far all orders for Accessory Hitches I've seen have gotten the same Bosal removable 2" receiver that I got with my full Tow Package. Which you already know because I know I've seen you posting in the other threads on this subject.

If I were you, I would wait to see what you actually get delivered on your X before deciding what bike rack to get.

Besides, you don't want to ride your bike in January in Vancouver do you? :eek:

Kidding of course. Just like today, we get some very nice winter days here in this part of NA don't we? ;)

Cheers!
 
Yes, I was wondering whether to upgrade from the Accessory to the Two Package so that I can mount 4 bikes and a rack weighing 200lbs. Do you think I should change my option? I'm being cheap as I definitely don't want to tow, so hoping Accessory Hitch would do the job.