Any special considerations when transporting a bike with carbon fiber forks and bars on a top mounted car rack? Concerned about road debris hitting $400 forks and causing permanment damage.
Thanks for you comments.
By, I don;t mean to be a nag NJ_Triathlete, but if I had my way, you’d put your bike in the vehicle.
Outside racks are really hard on bicycles- much harder on them than people realize. WE regularly see fork/frame and component damage from roof and trunk racks on nice bikes. It is a shame.
If you can skip the rack and get it in your vehicle you will be much better off in my opinion.
Good luck!
There are people who actually spend that kind of money on bikes and don’t keep them inside the vehicle with them?? For shame. That would be kind of like buying a Ferrari and leaving it outside all the time…egad. If I can’t find a way to keep my bike in the vehicle…I’ll find another vehicle. I hear horror stories about people getting home and forgetting they still have the bike on top and driving into the garage only to hear that sickening sound of splintering carbon/tin can crushed aluminum. Having one teeny stone chip a hole in your windshield (infinitely more durable than your average bike) would say that nothing outside the vehicle will ever be safe. For your bikes sake…please keep it inside.
Thanks for confirming my suspicions. Brand new bike and by far the nicest that I have ever owned. So, I thought ahead and thinking that if I did need to place it on top or rear that I would use some sort of foam wrap and duct tape to protect the carbon bars & forks from the elements.
Which leads us to another question, top or trunk mounted racks. Which do you prefer?
PS - I almost alway’s transport my bike inside, but there are times, where I have to throw it on a rack.
Depending on make/model of vehicle I would think
A)roof mounted is usually more stable but more prone to projectiles
B)trunk mounts would be more prone to fender bender stupidity from people staring at your bike but less likely to suffer road debris damage.
trunk mounts are easier to access as well…I like the idea of wrapping things for transit…as long as they stay on at highway speeds…maybe use some kind of velcro wrap to keep it on rather than tape or the like.
the reason i’ve never owned (or wanted) a roof rack is because i’ve seen too many bikes on the highway oscillating at high speeds. oscillating… i believe is the correct term (i’m not an engineer). I don’t have $850 for a new SID for my MTB. I would imagine it would slowly break down your fork whether it be a fork with travel, or rigid carbon.
trunk mounts (or hitch mounts) seem to be a necessary evil.
Burns
I’d definitely recommend a roof-mounted rack over a trunk-mounted one- it’s FAR more stable. I’ll agree with others in principle that keeping the bike in the car is the ideal way, but sometimes that’s just not an option. I used a Thule roof rack on my Jetta to carry my Trek OCLV for a couple of years without a single rock chip to the bike, so I wouldn’t worry about damage (other than bug splatter, which is annoying but not permanent) any more than you worry about chipping it when riding. You can also get one of those elastic covers that protect the front end and saddle, and that will keep the bike pretty clean and protected. Of course, it won’t protect it from you driving it into the garage. An easy way to remember is to leave the sun shade on your sunroof open- that way you can remember that there’s a bike up there and not do anything stupid.
i use a bike bra whenever i take my bike anywhere. it could be 2 blocks down the street and i got a bra on her. It protects everything on the bike from rocks, bugs etc. It wont help with the low overhead, thats what brains are for.
I bought 2 for $20 on Ebay, cut a hole in the middle for aerobars to stick out of. then made a little bar that goes over the aerobars to protect them as well.
jeremyb
My consideration- put it inside. Would you want your significant other riding on the roof? If you’re considering divorce/breakup, don’t answer that question. But if you love your bike, put it in the car.