i've ran a Sportworks rack of some flavor for about two years now, first a 2" non-freerider hitch Transport, and now 2 Bob Ratchets on Thule bars. i'm still convinced that their design is the best on the market, and their customer service has been consistently great, even now, after the sale to Thule:
i ran into problems last year after overloading the Transport by a huge margin. the total weight was supposed to be 120 lbs. or less, iirc, and yet the rack lasted through the better part of shuttle season before beginning to bend under the strain of consistent 170-200 lb. loads (with 4 bike attachments) and off-road use. i felt understandably stupid when informed that i'd been exceeding the bike weight limits by so much, and gingerly snuck back into rei to take advantage of their no-questions-asked return policy. summary to this point: the rack worked great but i simply overtaxed it.
one of Sportworks' customer service reps recommended that i look to a roof rack + Bob Ratchet setup in the future since each of those is rated at 50 lbs. so fast forward a year, when i finally have 2 Bob Ratchets in my grubby paws. to my dismay one of them was the old style, with a 2 piece bearing that the front wheel arm rotates on vs. the bolted-together model on the new style.
going on a limb, i emailed the customer service rep with whom i'd discussed the overloading issue on my old Transport, and who had recommended i get Bob Ratchets. much to my surprise, she replied, and now sportworks is hooking me up with the new bearing setup, for free.
that's good service, and will keep me a loyal sportworks customer for the foreseeable future.
i ran into problems last year after overloading the Transport by a huge margin. the total weight was supposed to be 120 lbs. or less, iirc, and yet the rack lasted through the better part of shuttle season before beginning to bend under the strain of consistent 170-200 lb. loads (with 4 bike attachments) and off-road use. i felt understandably stupid when informed that i'd been exceeding the bike weight limits by so much, and gingerly snuck back into rei to take advantage of their no-questions-asked return policy. summary to this point: the rack worked great but i simply overtaxed it.
one of Sportworks' customer service reps recommended that i look to a roof rack + Bob Ratchet setup in the future since each of those is rated at 50 lbs. so fast forward a year, when i finally have 2 Bob Ratchets in my grubby paws. to my dismay one of them was the old style, with a 2 piece bearing that the front wheel arm rotates on vs. the bolted-together model on the new style.
going on a limb, i emailed the customer service rep with whom i'd discussed the overloading issue on my old Transport, and who had recommended i get Bob Ratchets. much to my surprise, she replied, and now sportworks is hooking me up with the new bearing setup, for free.
that's good service, and will keep me a loyal sportworks customer for the foreseeable future.
