Thread: Bike rack for D4

Epic,

I have a mate with a thule rear rack that works really well and does not seem to collect too much dirt etc, but I guess it depends on how much dirt road driving your will be doing before each ride.

The thule has a mechanism that allows it to be lowered or lean away from the rear door to give some access.

I run racks on the roof, and whilst it is tall and can be a bit of a stretch it is really not too bad when lowered to access height, but it does mean my wife can not put the bike on !

George

I ride MTB and therefore most roads leading to the trails are dirt. The bikes are heavy too so I dont fancy myself balancing on the rear wheel holding a 12kg bike and trying to plug it on the roof. Especially when its wet and dark!
The Thule one is like what I will be building in theorey but wanted to get the feedback before I commited to doing it.
Cheers

there are also a few models around that allow you to mount bikes internally (locking the front fork to the floor) which might be suitable if you are not using all the rear seats?

e.g. http://www.saris.com/index.php?page=...art&Itemid=153

Originally Posted by Epic

I ride MTB and therefore most roads leading to the trails are dirt. The bikes are heavy too so I dont fancy myself balancing on the rear wheel holding a 12kg bike and trying to plug it on the roof. Especially when its wet and dark!
The Thule one is like what I will be building in theorey but wanted to get the feedback before I commited to doing it.
Cheers

Yep,

Mine are mtb as well, my thule roof mounted rack has a jaw style mechanism that cinches the the downtube so pretty easy to position and tighten and I am not that tall but understand the issue.

Anything at the rear will still pick up a fair bit of dirt but really should not be too big a problem as they will get dirty once you ride it !

There are a few people who have made up rear mud flaps for the D3/D4 (rather than purchasing the LR ones) which would help to cut dirt and mud, have a quick search in the forum.

Good luck either way.

George

Originally Posted by Epic

I ride MTB and therefore most roads leading to the trails are dirt. The bikes are heavy too so I dont fancy myself balancing on the rear wheel holding a 12kg bike and trying to plug it on the roof. Especially when its wet and dark!
The Thule one is like what I will be building in theorey but wanted to get the feedback before I commited to doing it.
Cheers

I have been using the A-Frame on towbar/towball versions and it has been OK for dust. Having said that I am now looking at square-hitch versions to save myself from needing to reinstall the H-shaped holder each time.

I wasn't sure if you were referring to the following procedure when you said "balancing on the rear wheel", but one thing you can try in the interim (if you are using the roof-mounted rack) is to flip the lower tailgate down, then lower the upper section of the tailgate. You can now stand on the tailgate and access a lot of the roof quite easily, albeit not from the side.

I'm steering towards a rear rack so I can leave the wheels on. Less mucking about I think. Fair call re standing on the tailgate though.
As for the boot space fork mount ones.. I think this is a top idea but there will be 2 child seats in the rear. They a like arm chairs so not sure I can have a seat folded down to accommodate it.
If I end up making one, I'll post a pic or 2.
Cheers all
Scott.

I've got a swing-away rack with a 50mm hitch, works fine, dust not too bad.
The rear sensors going off constantly in reverse is the only bad part!

Hi Epic,

I have a rack that fits into the 50mm tow hitch & can carry up to 4 bikes hanging from the frame. I also ride MTB & have no problems with any weight. Any dust that my bike would collect is no more than what it picks up on the track. The rack also tilts back to allow the tailgate to open.

I'll post a pic when I'm off tomorrow & I can fit it on.

The only issue I've had is when my bike is on the rack the front wheel partially blocks the rego plate. I got past this by fitting a bike rack plate.

Cheers Rob