So the bike I bought has a Zipp 808 rear wheel. The roof rack I have on my car is the fork mounted one with the rear wheel clamped. I am wondering if it is ok to clamp a zipp wheel and put that kind of pressure on it? I do not want to jeopardize its integrity and risk breaking or cracking it. Should I just switch the Zipp out with my training wheel everytime I transport the bike?
You should be fine. The strap shouldn’t be so tight as to hold the wheel down. It is only there to stop it from bouncing out completely. That being said I wouldn’t do it for trips of more than and hour or so, but that is just me.
I have done many times. My only problem was the roof rack straps were too short. So, simply use zipp ties. All the rear wheel strap does is keep the back of the bike from bouncing off, so you don’t need to lock it down super tight.
Thanks! I guess this brings me to my next question. Does any manufacturer make a longer rear wheel clamp?
You should be fine with this set up. I have a Yakima Steelhead and it works fine.
Bob
I don’t know… w/what those cost, I’d put on a training wheel and keep the zipp in the back seat.
of course, i usually keep the whole bike in the car anyways.
I drove 5:30 from Las Vegas to Oceanside with mine set up the exact way you describe and had no issues at all.
You should be fine with this set up. I have a Yakima Steelhead and it works fine.
Bob
The wheel strap on the Steelhead is long enough to comfortably secure a 808 wheel?
I have a thule rack and instead of the clamp they offered velcro straps that were integrated into the rack. They sold them as spare parts and they work great but after doing a search I don’t see them on their site anymore. They were offered as an alternative for deep dish wheels.
Yup. I’ve never had an issue. Sure its tight and a close fit, but it works.
I think folks need to look at the intended purpose of the wheel strap. It isn’t to keep the bike from blowing off of the rack, it’s to keep the wheel stable in the tray. If the front fork is loose, there isn’t any strap in the world that’ll hold a bike up there should it decide to fall off. Thus why Yakima nd Thule say that there is no security feature or intent to the wheel strap, it’s merely a stabalizer.
Bob
i do the same thing as when I drive with a disk: bungee the chain stays underneath the tray. Works like a charm.
You don’t need anything from the manufacturer. I use a length of nylon webbing, costs a few cents a foot at REI. You have to dork around tying and untying it, but it works.
My friend has these straps, and they work great.
Find the strap for some clips. We use to use them all the time on racks.
i do the same thing as when I drive with a disk: bungee the chain stays underneath the tray. Works like a charm.
Dan
www.aiatriathlon.com
Same here. As others have said, just needs to be tight enough to keep the wheel from bouncing out of the tray so not too much tension.
I would never do that. throw a beater wheel on there and put the thousand-dollar wheel in the car.
“of course, i usually keep the whole bike in the car anyways.”
Me too. Unless you have more than two passengers, there is no need for a rack. One bike goes in trunk with wheels off. Second can go across the rear seat with front wheel off. One exception is if you want a new bike, a rack on top is good idea because you eventually will run under something accidentally.
I don’t understand why I see single bikes on back of or on top of SUVs. But what I really don’t understand is a pickup truck with a trailer hitch mounted bike rack. What exactly is the bed of the truck for??
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I have a Yakima Viper with a Zipp 808 and have no problems.
“But what I really don’t understand is a pickup truck with a trailer hitch mounted bike rack. What exactly is the bed of the truck for??”
I have a buddy with a truck and a hitch mounted rack. Why does he do it? Because the bed is set up to hold 4 bikes, the hitch will hold 4 more. When there are 4 of us in the truck on a road trip, we can now each take a road bike and a MTB.
Can’t argue with that. But what I’m talking about is what I see at races here in Alabama where a pickup drives up with one bike on hitch rack.
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