[ChrisRobin]

When you look at a car with DH bikes on the roof, you see them swaying side to side right?...especially if it's one of those racks that hold the entire bike up.

What if you were to have a DH bike upside down on a roof rack without the front wheel on? I'm thinking having the handlebar clamped to the front roof rack bar somehow and have the seat clamped to the rear bar. Seeing the handlebar is really wide, the bike would be more stable on the roof. Plus, without having the front wheel on, there's less wind resistance.

I'm thinking this because I'll need to drive my car and bike across the country and I don't know if I 100% trust those regular gutter racks.

A hitch rack might be better....

 

[paranoid56]

i have that king cobra one from yakima and i have driving like 400mi with it, and with my big hit on it, with out any problems. just remember that you have it up there, as i backed up under a overhang and put a damn dent in my subaru right above the drivers window. but if you had more consern you could strap the bike more with some string.
or, you can use one of the 20mm atapters so it will rid just like every other bike rack. thats the way i did before i got my new rack. it worked real nice.
Shane

 

[fuzzynutz]

I dont think they would sell those products if they were gonna fail at high speeds. So you'll probably be OK with any route you choose.
I'm sure if you could rig your rack to hold your bike upside down it would be more stable, but probably not worth the time and effort to set it up. Besides, I've never noticed bikes swaying to the point that I thought they would come flying off the car.
A hitch rack is probably better for wind resistance and ease of access to the bike, which might also save you money on gas, which has apparently hit a record high (something like $45 a barrel for crude oil). So you might want to take that into consideration.

 

[ChrisRobin]

Yeah but I see DH bikes moving back and forth even with the 20mm fork-up adapter. Where the bike rack mounts to the roof rack bars, there isn't a lot of surface contact.

 

[kidwoo]

What if you were to have a DH bike upside down on a roof rack without the front wheel on?

Just make sure your boxxer has fresh seals.

It would be more stable if you could affix it this way but do you really think you can get it on the bars without messing up your shifter/brakes any better than a ratcheting clamp on the wheels?

If so take some pictures.

 

[paranoid56]

you can just strap them down like moto bikes then, they will not sway then.
Shane

 

[dondon]

We have just done about 20 000 miles this year in our honda element with the Yakima king cobra system. Travelling to all the Norbas, Canada World cups and Feastivals. Perfect set up - the bikes do move a little side to side in the wind but its all okay. Check out our site www.dhracers.com in the road trip photos. Cheers
Honda Turner.

 

[cali4niabiker]

I have Yakima lockjaws and I've had one snap off completely when I drove through the desert from Kernville, CA back to the beach cities in So Cal. It gets h3lla windy in the desert during the cooling months (October/November) with gusts upto 50/60 mph. So, I hear this (crrrraaack!) and the awful sound of aluminum to aluminum contact & scratching (like taking a fork and scrap it across a chalkboard). It turns out that my friends' bike (Ellsworth ID) fell onto mine ('03 NRS) and scratched the h3ll out of my bike (both of our bikes got scratched stanchions and frames) :angry: I now use the trailer hitch model and clip the bikes on the back of my Explorer.

I would resort to getting straps and strap the handlebars to the roofrack. That adds the lateral stability.

-CAbiker

 

[OGRipper]

Well in theory flipping the bikes upside down and removing the wheels will result in less stress because there will be less surface area to catch the wind and I guess the center of gravity will be lower. But it'll probably be a big pain to get the bikes on and off that way.

if your gutters are pretty solid I'm not sure you need to do it. I've had four dh rigs on my yakima rack for drives over 6 hours with no problems. That's on a Jeep Cherokee, basic gutter-style mounts with sportworks bike racks.

The only real problem is cleaning all the dead bugs off at the end of the road.

 

[FlynHawaiian]

Hey Chris-

Like Paranoid mentioned, get those motobike straps that will hook onto your handlebars then back onto your roof rack and cinch it down.

I got mine from Leows and they work just great. Just make sure that the "S" hooks on those straps will go around your handlebars and the bars on your roof rack. The only thing is, reaching your handlebars with those hooks while its on the top of your car can be a real STRETCH.

Good Luck,
FH

 

[Repack]

A hitch will save you a ton on gas money. The roof rack also depends on how strong the roof or factory rails are. The factory rails on my Pathfinder suck. The rails on my bros Blazer and my gf's g cherokee are both very good. In my experience, real metal gutters are strong when they are part of the roof and not just tacked on. Also, the stiffes roof set up I have found is Rocky Mount trays and fork-ups. Not the most convenient, but stiff as hell. They kill every Thule and Yankima tray I have seen and retail for <$50.

 

[buildyourown]

I dont think they would sell those products if they were gonna fail at high speeds.

Yeah, manufactures never sell anything that fails.

Most bike racks aren't designed for 40-50# bikes. I've had roof racks come off before and it sucks. I don't trust them, especially on newer cars without gutters.

As for the upside down technique. If you try this, be careful to remove the wheels or at least tie them to keep them from spinning. Once you are at speed, the wheels will be turning pretty fast. This creates a nice gyroscope. If you have to turn suddenly, the wheel will want to continue in a straight line and the bike might not stay attached. This goes for those front wheel holders too. I've seen people take hard corners at speed and the wheels just pops out.

 

[J]

-J

 

[Transcend]

Get a hitch rack like foster's. Save on gas.

 

[MMike]

What fraser said.... what you'll spend on a GOOD rack would just get burned (and then some) in fuel by getting a cheapy roof rack......

 

[Transcend]

What fraser said.... what you'll spend on a GOOD rack would just get burned (and then some) in fuel by getting a cheapy roof rack......

not to mention you will be paranoid the whole time that you will lose your bike.

 

[MMike]

Peace of mind is priceless...especially on a long road trip.

 

[S.G.D]

have you seen mine Chris? it's the shizzle.

you can check it out in person if you want, just lemmi know.

 

[mplutodh1]

Just got my Factory Bob Ratchet, having my Lenz up there isn't bad.. don't want to go doin corners at 60 but only because I don't trust my factory load bars, if I had a Yakima or Thule bar setup I wouldnt worry at all. Seen several team riders and locals use them without a problem.

I do however like the Freerider for DH bikes seeing as loading 40+ bikes on the top of my Jeep isnt the easiest thing in the world.

 

[RatAgain]

i also have a pair of yakima king cobras, and yes there is a little wobble with the wind but i trust them i definitely have gone close to 100mph down the mass pike with my Gemini on the roof trying to get to plattekill faster and not had a worry of seeing the bike bouncing down the road behind me

 

[Freddy]

Don`t put downhill bikse on roof racks. I have personal experience with watching your bike bonce down the road behind you and it\s no fun!!
I used a good quality roof rack from thule and the bike was (pay attention to "the bike was" RIP) a Stinky Deeluxe, a fairly small light bike.

Go for a hitch rack, these things are safer, more gas-friendly and produce o lot less irritating noise from drag.

 

[fatguysmiling]

I've been running the new Thule Super G's on my old Civic Wagovan for about a month and half and have had a number of longish road trips without event. I went through a couple pretty intense storms too. I use moto tie-down straps from the seat to the front bar to stablize things. Members of the various convoys have remarked at how stable the Dh bikes look with this setup. The only downside of the Super G is that it looks like a rowing machine on your roof, but I only use my car for bike-transport so I don't mind.

Simon

 

[Repack]

Just an idea...

You can get a basic ~4.5'x2' receiver cargo basket at WalMart for $70. I have seen many people either just use tie down to hold a dh bike or build some basic 2x4 wood wheel holders. I plan on doing this. I have a Thule now, but its a pain in the ass to load and effectively blocks my view out the back. I don't know the model, but it uses a hook with a threaded knob to hold the bikes down by the pedal spindle. My gf has a Saris Sportworks knock-pff and the thing is awesome.

 

[buildyourown]

Just an idea...

You can get a basic ~4.5'x2' receiver cargo basket at WalMart for $70. I have seen many people either just use tie down to hold a dh bike or build some basic 2x4 wood wheel holders. I plan on doing this. I have a Thule now, but its a pain in the ass to load and effectively blocks my view out the back. I don't know the model, but it uses a hook with a threaded knob to hold the bikes down by the pedal spindle. My gf has a Saris Sportworks knock-pff and the thing is awesome.

Yeah, but then you'd be shopping at wal-mart, and you don't really want to get me started on that.

 

[Repack]

Yeah, but then you'd be shopping at wal-mart, and you don't really want to get me started on that.

SOrry I said that. I hate them too. Only an example of what they can be purchased for. Any large company that schedules its workers for <40hrs per week to avoid paying benefits deserves a :nuts:

 

[frorider]

remember, you don't want to flip yer DH bike upside down. entrained air bubbles in brake fluid = big time expansion when fluid heats up = bad brake performance.

i suppose you could mount the bikes upside down for every big road trip, then bleed the brakes once you arrived. sounds like a pain to me.

hitch racks are the shizzle. you won't rip yer bikes off in a garage. fuel mileage improves. you won't get 2 inches thick worth of bugs on the bikes. etc. etc. etc.

and as an added bonus, your bike won't fly away at 80 mph.

 

[ChrisRobin]

Yeah...in the end hitch is the smarter way to go.

Are hitch mounts usually bolted or welded?? It'll be going on a 1994 Saturn. I called the other day and for a 1-1/4, it's $183cdn...I wonder if they can get a 2" on there.

 

[bagtagley]

remember, you don't want to flip yer DH bike upside down. entrained air bubbles in brake fluid = big time expansion when fluid heats up = bad brake performance.

Dude, if turning your bike upside down introduced bubbles into the brake system , then you'd be screwed everytime you crashed. It's a sealed system, bike orientation makes no difference.

 

[TN]

we just did a 40000 mile road trip across the US with our big bikes on the roof (yak king cobras) & they were fine. They swayed a little but were OK. our gas mileage sucked ass though & the front end was caked with bugs.

 

[Transcend]

Dude, if turning your bike upside down introduced bubbles into the brake system , then you'd be screwed everytime you crashed. It's a sealed system, bike orientation makes no difference.

You'd think, but you can definetly leak air into the system by storing them for extended periods upside down. No $100 brake system seal is perfect. Not to mention is wreaks havoc on fork seals as well.

 

[bagtagley]

You'd think, but you can definetly leak air into the system by storing them for extended periods upside down. No $100 brake system seal is perfect. Not to mention is wreaks havoc on fork seals as well.

Yeah, now fork seals are something to worry about.

Honest question though. How does upside-down storage allow the introduction of air into the system?

 

[S.G.D]

Chris,

my hitch is bolted.

if you can, get the 2", it's much more secure.

~SGD

 

[zedro]

Well in theory flipping the bikes upside down and removing the wheels will result in less stress because there will be less surface area to catch the wind and I guess the center of gravity will be lower. But it'll probably be a big pain to get the bikes on and off that way.

i disagree...i think the lower center of gravity with the bikes upsode down would make it easier to install, especially since you can balance an upside down bike by itself, but the bike wants to fall over when you install right side up

 

[Ratfink]

Across Canada, Across the United States with no problems on either the roof or the hitch rack!!! A roof rack really affected the gas milage!

Click here for the photos!

 

[mealsonwheels]

Just did 1300+ miles of driving around the Sierras in California with 2-3 DH bikes on my Yakima roof rack. I've driven nearly 10,000 miles with my DH bike on the roof with no problems. I use King Cobras and the Viper for friends' XC bikes.

Hitch rack would be way better, but I'm stuck with a friggin' car right now, so no hitch.