Cycling in Waterloo Region

[Canard]

Ahh, yes! That makes a lot more sense. It's just... common sense.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2825346/toront...-roadways/

[Canard]

Looking for some advice on car racks...

Growing up, we had a Thule roof rack for our Volvo wagon that my dad swore by, and we had a custom-made hanging rack on the back of our camper that my dad had fabbed up at a local shop. We used to do trips to the States and ride all the "Rails-to-Trails" runs we could find. As I got older, I made a bike adapter for the "basic" rack arch on my Smart fortwo out of extrusion (extruded aluminium profiles) when it was my daily driver, but the Prius does all the long-distance drives now, so I need to find a better solution than taking off my front wheel and laying it in the back all the time.

I've narrowed down my choices to installing a Curt hitch (1-1/4") and going for a tray-style (vs. hanging) style rack. Couple of reasons: my bike's brake and shift lines run along the bottom of my upper tube, which I don't like the idea of suspending a bike on... And I don't like the idea that they'll be swinging around. 2" reciever isn't available for my car. Folks around the corner from me (Velofix) have a Yakima HoldUp that I ride by every day and it looks really sharp and solid. It doesn't look like there are any local dealers for Yakima though, which I find strange. There's a Thule and Küat equivalent but they're hella expensive... The Küat intrigues me because it has some kind of expandable mandrel that removes all play between the reciever socket and the stem of the rack. I really like the concept on that.

Any thoughts/experiences/recommendations?

[jamincan]

I just put the bike in the back of my car as I hate the idea of rocks and what not hitting it. I have heard, however, that people have accidentally driven into their garage with their bikes on the roof of the car, so that's something to consider.

[clasher]

I drive a matrix so it'll swallow a whole bike when I have to drive to the start of a ride. I have also used one of those trunk racks with the straps and driven 2 bikes to Barrie and 3 bikes to Vaughan on it. I was worried at first but with all the straps cinched down tight everything seemed really solid. I was worried about getting rear-ended more than anything falling off. I was really surprised at how solid it was considering the cheap appearance.

If the rack you want is 2" receiver only, they make 1-1/4" to 2" adapters, wal-mart even sells 'em. Probably TSC or princess auto also.

[eizenstriet]

...installing a Curt hitch (1-1/4")...

This is a good starting point for bike carrying, IMO. Some people think hitches are klutzy, but they fade into the background when void of attachments, and get the scratchy stuff off your vehicle, which is after all the most expensive piece of equipment.

Check a forum for your particular car and find a thread on hitches to make sure this one mates well. I have had a couple of Curts, and they have a good reputation, but on one of my vehicles, it was minutely out of measurement tolerance and caused a buzz/knock against an exhaust hanger which drove me nuts until I fixed it myself.

The hitch lends itself to other uses which you may not yet envisage. I adapted my bike carrier into a ski carrier (because my roof won't support a load) and also ended up hitching a light trailer for kayaks (for the same reason). The 1-1/4" is perfectly adequate for these uses, so don't worry if your car manual is not recommending a 2" ( a capacity which might tempt people to hook up heavier items than the vehicle is built for).

As for the carrier itself, I went with a cheap hanging-type, and it seems to me to do the job, and has caused no evident harm to bikes. Mind you, I'm not extravagant or fussy with the bikes, as my friends with the celestial models are paranoid about theft and it's not worth the worry to me.

I know you appreciate good technology, but some of those exotic bike carriers cost more than my first student-era car, so I've aimed for utility, and think you can't beat a humble hitch and an elementary carrier.

[jamincan]

For what it's worth, my parents have the same style of bike carrier as the Yakima Holdup (Thule's version, I think), and it works very well.

[Canard]

I just put the bike in the back of my car as I hate the idea of rocks and what not hitting it. I have heard, however, that people have accidentally driven into their garage with their bikes on the roof of the car, so that's something to consider.

Yikes - I can't imagine forgetting you have a bike on the roof and doing that!  But I won't do a roof rack due to wind resistance and the hit in fuel consumption (I'm a hypermiler).

I drive a matrix so it'll swallow a whole bike when I have to drive to the start of a ride. I have also used one of those trunk racks with the straps and driven 2 bikes to Barrie and 3 bikes to Vaughan on it. I was worried at first but with all the straps cinched down tight everything seemed really solid. I was worried about getting rear-ended more than anything falling off. I was really surprised at how solid it was considering the cheap appearance.

If the rack you want is 2" receiver only, they make 1-1/4" to 2" adapters, wal-mart even sells 'em. Probably TSC or princess auto also.

The Prius can eat my bike, but only if I take the wheel off (I suspect the Matrix is the same; the rear cargo volume is similar).  I don't really mind the act of taking the wheel off, but I just hate setting my bike upside-down on the ground (which is sometimes sharp gravel), which is eventually going to chew up my seat and handlebars.  I also don't like setting my bike in the back of the car because of how it sits on the crank arm - I'm worried that over time, this will damage the bearing.  I also worry about having lose cargo in the event of a collision.

The 2" vs. 1-1/4" thing is driven mostly by my dad, who is adamant that I go with a 2" receiver because is convinced (and he's right) that a smaller receiver will introduce more wobble and play.  But he also has a massive Diesel truck, so he's used to everything being massive and overbuilt.  A 2" isn't available for the Prius and it would be sort of ridiculous to even attempt something that large, I think.

The hitch lends itself to other uses which you may not yet envisage. I adapted my bike carrier into a ski carrier (because my roof won't support a load) and also ended up hitching a light trailer for kayaks (for the same reason). The 1-1/4" is perfectly adequate for these uses, so don't worry if your car manual is not recommending a 2" ( a capacity which might tempt people to hook up heavier items than the vehicle is built for).

Oh yeah, I'm very familiar with modding racks!    I loved the system for the smart.  You buy a "base rack" which is a T-slot extrusion frame, and then the idea is you'd buy smart's own accessories to convert the rack into whatever kind of carrier you wanted.  I just bought the base rack, and built my own adapters - for my bike, for my snowboard, and then even for my pocket bike (I used to race in an organized minimoto league.).

   
Rack for my smart fortwo for my pocketbike.

   
Racing at Mini Indy.  I miss these days!

As for the carrier itself, I went with a cheap hanging-type, and it seems to me to do the job, and has caused no evident harm to bikes. Mind you, I'm not extravagant or fussy with the bikes, as my friends with the celestial models are paranoid about theft and it's not worth the worry to me.

The problem with a hanging carrier for me is that there are cables that run along the bottom of my upper tube - so I can't use a hanger there.

For what it's worth, my parents have the same style of bike carrier as the Yakima Holdup (Thule's version, I think), and it works very well.

This one has caught my eye - mostly because it looks almost exactly like something I would have designed at work, anyway - small US shop, well built, sturdy and the locking mechanism into the receiver tube is fantastic (zero wobble).  It's as much as the Yakima Holdup, but the clincher for me is a) no straps at all, and b) the mounting method to the receiver.  I also like how I can buy just the 1x bike version, and if my other half eventually gets into biking, I can buy another tray, and bolt it on!

[jamincan]

You definitely don't need to flip your bike upside down to remove the front wheel. Facing the front of the bike, loosen the front quick release, letting the bike continue to sit on the wheel and supporting frame so it doesn't fall over while you do this. Once it's loose, grab stem and lift the forks off the wheel, grabbing the wheel with your other hand. Prop the wheel against the car and then put the bike in the care (I normally grab it by the stem and the rear seat stay so that chain is facing upward.)

[chutten]

So... how exactly _does_ one go about finding a garage to install a hitch? I have a small car for which installing a hitch may or may not be a questionable enterprise (a Honda Fit), and I'm relatively certain I don't want to learn how to weld to install one myself.

My use case: light boat trailering (international 14 sailboat sitting on my aunt's farm), carrying extra cruft at Christmas (my daughter takes up more cabin space each year), bicycles (mine, my daughter's)

[Canard]

It's super easy! 4 bolts.

I ended up ordering the Curt hitch and the 1Up Single!

Edit - oops, a bit more complicated - you'll need wiring, too.

[eizenstriet]

So... how exactly _does_ one go about finding a garage to install a hitch?

Try this place (no affiliation).

[Canard]

Just be careful - From Canadian Hitches my hitch was $183... Toyota wanted $244 for the same hitch, plus $109 for installation (an hour - it's a 15 minute job).

I took a guess at your MY but here's the installation guide, just so you can see what's involved, and make a determination yourself: https://www.curtmfg.com/masterlibrary/11...58_INS.PDF

[eizenstriet]

modding racks! ...the smart...my pocket bike...

 
You could achieve some real gas savings by making a rack to carry your Smartcar on the back of your pocket bike, to be dismounted when you have a passenger.

[chutten]

Just be careful - From Canadian Hitches my hitch was $183... Toyota wanted $244 for the same hitch, plus $109 for installation (an hour - it's a 15 minute job).

I took a guess at your MY but here's the installation guide, just so you can see what's involved, and make a determination yourself:  https://www.curtmfg.com/masterlibrary/11...58_INS.PDF

(2009 Fit LX, FWIW) Handful of bolts? I can totally do that. And I see from casual googling that the lights hookup (necessary if towing a trailer) is pretty plug-and-play, and things just sorta snowball from there.

Wow, this is a lower barrier to entry than I was expecting.

[rangersfan]

Now that I'm biking down Weber St on a daily basis I am beginning to realize how crazy those diagonal train tracks are near the new Spur line trail. It reminds me of the rail intersection with the IHT near Victoria Park before the trail realignment from a couple of years ago.