Saturday, January 10, 2009

I need a new bike carrier

Because someone decided to remove mine from our Explorer by running into it. Hit and run. Nice. Police report filed. I'll be looking at passenger-sides of all SUVs, Vans and Pickups in the parking lot for a while, too.

At least the rack spared the Explorer of any real damage: Bonus!


As much as I love the Saris Thelma, I'm pretty much broke. I don't use the carrier a WHOLE lot, but there are times we take both bikes to the trails, times my wife meets me and picks me up somewhere, or times I have her drop me off somewhere and ride somewhere else. When we moved apartments, and when we went camping with my parents, the cargo-haul mode this old rack had was handy, but I really don't require that kind of functionality. I just want opinions on a 1 ¼" Hitch-mount rack that can hold two bikes and won't break the bank. I'll check craigslist in a bit.

Random Tunage:
Depeche Mode - Precious
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2009 9:07 PM

    that's ironic somehow.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2009 10:09 PM

    I have the older version of the Performance XPort hitch rack. It takes literally 5 seconds to load my bike and I love the way it holds the bike stable. We just have the 2-bike rack but it's expandable to 4 bikes.

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  3. DariusJanuary 11, 2009 11:45 AM

    You could probably get a welding shop to either replace the bent part or bend it back pretty cheaply.

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2009 11:37 AM

    Bummer, I've got an older Thule Rack that I used on my Hyundai Elantra for years before the car got totaled. Let me know if you're interested.

    It's a roof rack, though. Would come with all parts.

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  5. Tim OJanuary 12, 2009 2:02 PM

    1) Hit-and-run seems to be the local sport of choice...someone whacked the bumper of my car a couple of weeks ago. $500, ka-ching.

    2) I have a Saris Bones that you can borrow for a while, I use the Forester (which I guess we're keeping for now, another subject that is a sore one around my house) to tote the bike around nowadays. If I could get my old BMW running I would use that, probably....but anyway. Another project.

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  6. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2009 3:22 PM

    Ouch! Good thing the rack was there....

    If you're going to have to spend the bucks, I highly recommend the Thule 2 bike receiver mount rack. The straps make for almost instant loading of the bikes, and the thing swivels down to get out of the way of the tailgate real easily. Besides, it's well made, and Thule provides replacement parts with almost no questions asked.

    ReplyDelete