rxlawdude
Active Member
The other note about this rack is, on a 500 mile road trip with one ebike on it, efficiency was hit at most around 10Wh/mi at speeds under 75.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Best Bike Rack for Model X
- Thread starter EV-lutioin
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Model X
BigMskiman
Active Member
Clean looking setup & secure, thks for those pics.
I need to get a hitch installed next and follow you.
rxlawdude
Active Member
Unless your bike(s) have fenders. :-( That would have been my first choice, except for that significant limitation.
@djillusion
1Up is what I plan to get as well as soon as I get my X.
I have 4 Trek bikes in my family, each is 26lb or less. one of them is a kid 19" bike.
I was browsing the site to make sure I order what I need.
I believe I need to get the 2" Heavy duty double. The super duty can carry a bit more load, I believe.
I can get an addon to carry the 3rd bike and put the 4th kid bike in the back of the X.
1Up is what I plan to get as well as soon as I get my X.
I have 4 Trek bikes in my family, each is 26lb or less. one of them is a kid 19" bike.
I was browsing the site to make sure I order what I need.
I believe I need to get the 2" Heavy duty double. The super duty can carry a bit more load, I believe.
I can get an addon to carry the 3rd bike and put the 4th kid bike in the back of the X.
djillusion
Member
hitch installation is easy, peasy too. once that get installed and you'll be ridin' in no time!
djillusion
Member
djillusion
Member
you are spot on. go with the 2" heavy duty double. the add on's are great to increase as you need them based on number of bikes.
there are literally no plastic parts with the 1up USA rack and its extremely stable/sturdy. while spendy, there isnt a better rack (which also looks amazing behind the X) on the market. Kuat is a close 2nd, but i still went with 1up USA.
smorgasbord
Active Member
I have the Super-Duty version, and I disagree. The 1Up is what a decent engineer in a basement would whip up, but it's not what I consider a professional nor usable product. Even just getting the bike off requires three hands:
Hand 1: on the release lever, and has to remain there
Hand 2: on the wheel locking arm, and has to pivot it away from
Hand 3: stops the bike from falling over since the locking arms are no longer holding it in place!!!!
Since I don't have 3 hands, I either borrow my wife's or I use my head. Not fun.
Don't even get me going on the ramp attachment Rube Goldberg-ness or that you pay extra for a too-heavy handle to swing the rack up and down. Or that the aluminum locking tracks wear quickly and the bind frequently. And there are plastic parts (the little handles), but that's the least of the problems (although my rack arrived with one of the them cracked, which 1UP promptly replaced)>
If my 1Up rack broke or was stolen, I would not replace it with another 1Up rack. I'd be looking at the Saris or maybe even the Kuat platform racks.
djillusion
Member
bummer on your issues, etc. i dont rack more than 2 bikes ever, so my experiences are based on that.
smorgasbord
Active Member
I also only rack 1 or 2 bikes.
If you have lightweight non-eBikes, it's probably less of a problem. But I still gotta believe there are better engineered bike racks out there.
I looked at Kuat and 1Up and I plan to go with 1 up for the heavy duty double + 1 addon for 3 bikes ( around 90Lb total). I see universal positive feedback about the 1Up so I would definitely want to understand the negative experience you have a bit better.
Do you have any pic or vide that better illustrates the issues? From what I read, it seems the loading/unloading of the bike takes 10 second and one person.
I usually release one of the sides and move it aside as far as it can go. The bike is held just fine by the remaining arm which is gripping the tire well enough that the bike neither rolls out from under it nor does it fall to the side. It isn't secure enough to drive around like that, but it is secure enough that I don't need to hold the bike during the unload.
Then, without releasing the second side, I roll the bike out from under that arm and am able to lift the bike and set it on the ground. Then I fold both arms in. I may have to turn the handle bars slightly to clear it from the 2 arms (one in "hold" position and one in "wide" position), but it comes out easily.
Only 2 hands needed.
rxlawdude
Active Member
smorgasbord
Active Member
Here's a photo:
The red arrow points to the release lever.
The blue arrow points to the locking arm.
Note that first you have to push on the locking arm towards the bike to relieve enough of the tension that you can actually release the lever.
Then, while holding the release lever up with one hand, you use the other hand to pivot the locking arm away from the bicycle. You have to hold the release lever up the whole time you're moving the locking arm (and it normally likes to catch on the track even so), so it's a two-handed operation.
So far, so good. But, now to the other wheel.
You repeat the process, pushing on the locking arm (although there's no tension on it now so it's easier), then lifting up on the release lever while swinging the second arm out of the way.
Note that at this point the bike is unsupported and will tilt towards the car or you.
@flar 's description of rolling the bike out from the second arm, lifting it and placing it on the ground ONLY works if Both of the following are true:
1) The bike's wheelbase is short enough that rolling it out of the second arm doesn't have it roll into the folded first arm. My bike's wheelbase is 52", so it does. The bike in the photo appears to have a shorter wheelbase than mine AND has smaller diameter wheels (mine are 27.5's).
2) Your bike is light enough that you can lift it up enough to clear both arms. You have to be pretty darn strong to lift a 60-lbs bike several inches up above the rack platform to clear the arms AND not have the front wheel spin in ways you don't want.
Perhaps @flar would be willing to post a video showing how easy it is for him to unload his eBike, especially from the slot closest to the vehicle.
I'll see what I can do, but I haven't been riding much lately. One of my bikes weighs about 19lbs and the other around 28.
WRT fenders, I have a bike with fenders and so I ordered the Wheel Stop accessory for $50. It works pretty well and I use it even with a bike with no fenders. It is basically a foldable wheel chock that goes behind the front tire. When you close the front wheel arm you are then exerting pressure between the front arm and the wheel chock instead of between the two arms. At that point, the rear arm is only needed to apply light pressure (on the fender) to keep the rear wheel from bouncing out. It also comes with a strap to tie the rear wheel to the track so that the arm is basically just for side-to-side stability, but the rear arm does a good job of that even without the strap. They also sell large foam "fender cushions" that have a nice finish to them that keeps the arm from scratching the fender when it is against it. I would use all 3 when I was dealing with the fenders (stop, foam cushion, strap).
Eventually, though, I took the fenders off the bike as I'm a fair weather recreational biker so I wasn't going to see much use for them. The accessories did work well, though, but it's just a lot easier to lift, close, close, winch tighter, and go. Having said that, I still use the wheel stop for longer trips even without the fenders. The wheel stop is really quick to deploy - the main fiddly aspect of dealing with the fenders is not the wheel stop, but considering how much to tighten the rear clamp and whether it is worth it to tie the wheel to the rack. Using just the wheel stop alone adds maybe 3 seconds to the process. The reason to use it if you aren't dealing with fenders is that there is always a tiny amount of head-tube wobble even when a bike is clamped tightly and the wheel stop reduces that to zero. It's a minor consideration, not worth getting the accessory, but if you have it already, then its a nice additional piece of stability.
WRT fenders, I have a bike with fenders and so I ordered the Wheel Stop accessory for $50. It works pretty well and I use it even with a bike with no fenders. It is basically a foldable wheel chock that goes behind the front tire. When you close the front wheel arm you are then exerting pressure between the front arm and the wheel chock instead of between the two arms. At that point, the rear arm is only needed to apply light pressure (on the fender) to keep the rear wheel from bouncing out. It also comes with a strap to tie the rear wheel to the track so that the arm is basically just for side-to-side stability, but the rear arm does a good job of that even without the strap. They also sell large foam "fender cushions" that have a nice finish to them that keeps the arm from scratching the fender when it is against it. I would use all 3 when I was dealing with the fenders (stop, foam cushion, strap).
Eventually, though, I took the fenders off the bike as I'm a fair weather recreational biker so I wasn't going to see much use for them. The accessories did work well, though, but it's just a lot easier to lift, close, close, winch tighter, and go. Having said that, I still use the wheel stop for longer trips even without the fenders. The wheel stop is really quick to deploy - the main fiddly aspect of dealing with the fenders is not the wheel stop, but considering how much to tighten the rear clamp and whether it is worth it to tie the wheel to the rack. Using just the wheel stop alone adds maybe 3 seconds to the process. The reason to use it if you aren't dealing with fenders is that there is always a tiny amount of head-tube wobble even when a bike is clamped tightly and the wheel stop reduces that to zero. It's a minor consideration, not worth getting the accessory, but if you have it already, then its a nice additional piece of stability.
djillusion
Member
i get what you outlined here too. but honestly its not that big of a deal for me. i much prefer the wheels and everything be very secure vs loosey goosey while on the road. so what you pointed out can be perceived as a bit complicated, it really hasn't been an issue for me. i didnt want the wheels secure via straps or some other plastic components while im rolling down the highway or hitting major bumps. that does not mean the other racks on the market suck, but i was aiming for total stability and security.
FWIW, my son or nephew is with me when we ride (thus i usually have 2 bikes on the rack). so having extra hands has been there when needed. even if the extra hands weren't around, it still would be a matter of mins to get the bikes off the rack. again, this is all based on my experience and use for the past many years.
Yeah, for that you will want the wheels top accessory, and the FENDER kit, which is.... um, two foam rollers with soft velcro on top
. Your front wheel would be fine with the stop, for the rear position the arm with said foam on the spindle just above the red tail light on the fender (YMMV on scuffing: it should not move)
rxlawdude
Active Member
Thus the frame hook on the Hollywood that doesn't go over wheels.Yeah, for that you will want the wheels top accessory, and the FENDER kit, which is.... um, two foam rollers with soft velcro on top
mbp11
Member
Hi, gang, I am new to this thread but I am tired of storing my bikes for riding inside my Model X... and the Hybrid ICE SUV that I use to haul bikes around with a strap to the back bike carrier is in the shop and probably on its last legs... so I finally went out and installed the Bonsil hitch that came with my car and found an inexpensive Avenn two bike hitch mount that has most of the things I need... a two arm hanging mount, two bike capacity, and a swing down option to get into the back trunk.
However, one of the drawbacks that most have not mentioned is that while backing up, the proximity alarm goes wild and alarms constantly. Do I need to put the car in trailer mode while backing up, or is there another way to turn off the alarm? I did not see this mentioned in any of the posts!
Reminder to self! With a bike in the back, do not release the trunk until the bike is off the rack and the bike rack has been tilted!
Mike P
Bicycle Rack 2 BIKES - bicycle parts - by owner - bike sale
Bicycle Rack 2 BIKES $110.00 Premium 2-Bike Carrier Rack Hitch Mount Swing Down Bicycle Rack W/2" Receiver The Hitch 2-Bike rack is born out of the design and function of our best-selling rack and...
sfbay.craigslist.org
However, one of the drawbacks that most have not mentioned is that while backing up, the proximity alarm goes wild and alarms constantly. Do I need to put the car in trailer mode while backing up, or is there another way to turn off the alarm? I did not see this mentioned in any of the posts!
Reminder to self! With a bike in the back, do not release the trunk until the bike is off the rack and the bike rack has been tilted!
Mike P
Similar threads
- Question
