Bicycle Rack Mishaps?

NYRides said:

Does anybody know of any statistics regarding bicycles (on or off trunk/hood racks) falling off
automobiles while in transit?

No hard numbers, but I've had TWO narrow escapes just this year. First one was on my own car,
carrying three bikes (claimed capacity) on a Byke Ryder brand rack, Model 9640. A flimsy little
pin meant to hold one of the supports in position gave way and the arms that hold the bikes
sagged. Straps held the bikes on, but it was scary anyway. Three bikes dumped all over I-215 at
rush hour would have been way nasty. Second incident involved a homemade rack mounted to the
receiver hitch of a large van. We had eight bikes on this contraption (owner claimed it could
take ten) going out to a Scout campout. We had just turned off the paved highway and were
starting up a bumpy dirt road when the rack snapped at the first weld and dumped all eight bikes
on the ground. Again we were very fortunate, the only damage being a bent chain guard on one
younger boy's bike. The rack owner plans to get it welded back together, this time with diagonal
bracing. I'm lobbying him to drop by REI and get some Kevlar cord to string over the van to the
front bumper as a reinforcement. The plan for that camp, incidentally, was to ride twenty-five
miles as the penultimate requirement for the Cycling Merit Badge. Instead, we "got" to do
thirty-plus--all the way home. Good preparation for the Fifty.

Bill
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"NYRides" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Does anybody know of any statistics regarding bicycles (on or off

trunk/hood

Quoted message said:

racks) falling off automobiles while in transit?

I worked in a shop for 10 seasons and the only good case I remember was a guy with a Porsche 911 and
a BIC bike rack. He had two bikes on and they escaped custody at about 90mph somewhere in Michigan.
His bikes hit about 4 cars and he had to pay up for damages. Fortunately no secondary accidents
occurred, but he was plenty [censored]. I think we mentioned that the BIC rack is a POS and he should
upgrade to a Thule but that didn't happen. He bought a Thule after that little episode though. Other
than that, though, I don't really recall bikes falling off at a regular pace. I agree, some look
pretty lame, but I think they do keep in the bike on the car, but sometimes damage the car or other
bikes by flopping around back there.

Cheers,

Scott..

My brother's girlfriend was driving his car after a race. He was asleep in the passenger seat. She
had forgotten the fact that his Cannondale R600 was in the bike rack on the roof. Her attempt to
park the car in the garage was his wake up call.

He no longer has the bike nor the girlfriend.

Matt McKinney, TX "NYRides" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Does anybody know of any statistics regarding bicycles (on or off

trunk/hood

Quoted message said:

racks) falling off automobiles while in transit?

I was always very paranoid about carrying my bikes on a rear rack, and

have

Quoted message said:

since moved them inside the car for all trips. But I still see people carrying them around on
unsteady looking racks that swing back and forth, jump up and down, etc. I've even seen a lot of
makeshift carrying

methods,

Quoted message said:

like bikes stacked on their sides on the roof and tied down with bungies.

I've always thought there should be laws regarding proper ways to carry bikes on an automobile,
but I wonder if there are any statistics to back this up.

NYRides said:

Does anybody know of any statistics regarding bicycles (on or off trunk/hood racks) falling off
automobiles while in transit?

I was always very paranoid about carrying my bikes on a rear rack, and have since moved them
inside the car for all trips. But I still see people carrying them around on unsteady looking
racks that swing back and forth, jump up and down, etc. I've even seen a lot of makeshift carrying
methods, like bikes stacked on their sides on the roof and tied down with bungies.

I've always thought there should be laws regarding proper ways to carry bikes on an automobile,
but I wonder if there are any statistics to back this up.

You have to think about how statistics get collected.

Briefly, it costs money. Someone (probably a police officer or insurance company serf) has to record
the incident in the first place. The incident has to get stored in some sort of accessible database
- which, of course, will be different state by state, if not city by city.

Someone else has to propose this as a problem worth studying - either a government paperpusher
trying to get an "attaboy" for a calling attention to the Next Big Thing That Might Kill You, or
perhaps a college researcher hoping for a "publication" to allow staying in a low-paying
teaching job.

Someone else with bucks available has to buy into the idea of the study; they have to fund it.
Alternately, grad-student slave labor could be used, but then the researcher has to find a
publication that thinks this is worthy of attention, and has to hope a handful of reviewers and an
editor agree.

Basically, it's a lot of work, time and trouble, and some expense. If there's no public perception
that bike racks kill people, there's not going to be any collection of data. None of it happens. And
I think that's were we are now.

Quoted message said:

I've always thought there should be laws regarding proper ways to carry bikes on an automobile...

There are. Without looking into the various state codes, I'm positive there are laws that state that
you're responsible for damage done by objects falling off your vehicle.

These are sufficient, IMO.

--
Frank Krygowski

Matthew Plummer said:

My brother's girlfriend was driving his car after a race. He was asleep in the passenger seat. She
had forgotten the fact that his Cannondale R600 was in the bike rack on the roof. Her attempt to
park the car in the garage was his wake up call.

If you have a roof rack and a garage door opener, here's a tip. Put the activator for the garage
door opener in the seat bag of the bike on top of the car.

Quoted message said:

If you have a roof rack and a garage door opener, here's a tip. Put the activator for the garage
door opener in the seat bag of the bike on top of the car.

=v= Even better: mount the garage door opener on your handlebars and get rid of the car entirely.
Works for me! <_Jym_

Jym Dyer said:

Quoted message said:

If you have a roof rack and a garage door opener, here's a tip. Put the activator for the garage
door opener in the seat bag of the bike on top of the car.

=v= Even better: mount the garage door opener on your handlebars and get rid of the car entirely.
Works for me!

Go turn on The Weather Channel.

We can't all live where what works for you is practical. Before you tell me about snow tires for
bikes, recall that most drivers are worse in the winter, especially during the first major snowfall,
clearing a 9-inch circle from the snow and ice on their windshield. Me and my bent would be a
slurpee within a couple of miles. This, however, mnhpva.orgIce2003.htmlOpen ↗ is GREAT fun.
Not enough ice yet.

Just got off the Air-Dyne after a "fast" 2 hour ride. It's sometimes the thought that counts.

No stats. Just an anecdote. Yes, this is technically OT.

I was once carrying my road bike on a rear rack on my car. I was rear-ended at about 35 mph by a guy
in a pickup. About $4000 worth of damage to the car, the bike was a total loss. No injuries to me or
the guy in the truck.

Had to argue with his insurance company to get reasonable compensation for the bike. Their initial
reaction was " A bicycle? Would $100 cover it?". In a tone of voice that suggested they thought this
was generous.

But the rack itself was good quality. I always took the time to convince myself that it was securely
fastened to the trunk, and that the bike was well fastened to the rack. I can't say that it ever
seemed likely to fall off.

NYRides said:

Does anybody know of any statistics regarding bicycles (on or off trunk/hood racks) falling off
automobiles while in transit?

I was always very paranoid about carrying my bikes on a rear rack, and have since moved them inside
the car for all trips. But I still see people carrying them around on unsteady looking racks that
swing back and forth, jump up and down, etc. I've even seen a lot of makeshift carrying methods,
like bikes stacked on their sides on the roof and tied down with bungies.

I've always thought there should be laws regarding proper ways to carry bikes on an automobile, but
I wonder if there are any statistics to back this up.

I have never had a problem. I currently use a Saris bones 3 bike rack. I love it and highly
recommend it. It is solid as a rock.

"NYRides" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Does anybody know of any statistics regarding bicycles (on or off

trunk/hood

Quoted message said:

racks) falling off automobiles while in transit?

I was always very paranoid about carrying my bikes on a rear rack, and

have

Quoted message said:

since moved them inside the car for all trips. But I still see people carrying them around on
unsteady looking racks that swing back and forth, jump up and down, etc. I've even seen a lot of
makeshift carrying

methods,

Quoted message said:

like bikes stacked on their sides on the roof and tied down with bungies.

I've always thought there should be laws regarding proper ways to carry bikes on an automobile,
but I wonder if there are any statistics to back this up.

In article <[email hidden]>, "NYRides"

Quoted message said:

Does anybody know of any statistics regarding bicycles (on or off trunk/hood racks) falling off
automobiles while in transit?

Most responses have been anecdotal rather than statistical. This one is no different, but it does
provide an interesting counterpoint.

My brother was driving at freeway speed with a bike in a Yakima rack on the roof. The bike
detatched and landed in traffic. It was run over and destroyed by following vehicles before my
brother could get it out of the roadway. On arriving home, my brother found that the rack had not
failed, but the front fork had. One leg of the fork had broken, evidently due to a flaw in the
metal (I think he said it was a big bubble). The stresses that resulted were too severe, and the
bike ripped itself out of the rack and became airborne for a short while before landing in the road
behind my brother's car.

A bike must be able to take the stress of travel on the roof at your maximum speed, otherwise it
doesn't matter how good your rack is.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Dave

NYRides said:

Does anybody know of any statistics regarding bicycles (on or off trunk/hood racks) falling off
automobiles while in transit?

Just one: I bought my first LBS bike, and a trunk rack to go with
it. I let the LBS guy put the rack on the car to show me how, and I didn't check if everything was
tight myself.

Driving home at 60mph, having never ridden the bike outside of a test ride, I am scared for my
expensive investment as I watch it swing and sway in my rearview. Then, the front of the bike
disappears from my mirror!

I pulled over and saw that the rack was not sufficiently tightened at it's pivot point, and the arm
that held the front bike rotated down, and the front wheel dragged lightly on the ground. Luckily,
no damage.

Ever after that, I was completely paranoid. I'd tighten the rack as much as I could, I ran lots of
extra straps around the bike, the rack, and the spoiler on the car, and sometimes even in through
the front of the trunk lid and out through the rear. Since then, I've gotten a pickup truck where I
happily throw the MTB in without removing the computer or anything, and my road bike gets strapped
in standing up, but it's still faster and more secure than a trunk rack.

Quoted message said:

I was always very paranoid about carrying my bikes on a rear rack, and have since moved them inside
the car for all trips. But I still see people carrying them around on unsteady looking racks that
swing back and forth, jump up and down, etc. I've even seen a lot of makeshift carrying methods,
like bikes stacked on their sides on the roof and tied down with bungies.

What bothers me is people with empty pickup trucks, vans, and full size SUVs, using trunk racks or
hitch racks. If they're not going to put stuff in there, they'd probably be better served by a
smaller vehicle.

Quoted message said:

I've always thought there should be laws regarding proper ways to carry bikes on an automobile, but
I wonder if there are any statistics to back this up.

There are, though they're not specific to bicycle. There's loads of load control laws, and they're
quite widely applicable -- failure to secure load can mean that a car rolled off a flatbed, a bike
that's loose on it's rack, or napkins flying from a dumptruck full of garbage.
--
Rick Onanian

"NYRides" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Does anybody know of any statistics regarding bicycles (on or off trunk/hood racks) falling off
automobiles while in transit?

I was always very paranoid about carrying my bikes on a rear rack, and have since moved them
inside the car for all trips. But I still see people carrying them around on unsteady looking
racks that swing back and forth, jump up and down, etc. I've even seen a lot of makeshift carrying
methods, like bikes stacked on their sides on the roof and tied down with bungies.

I've always thought there should be laws regarding proper ways to carry bikes on an automobile,
but I wonder if there are any statistics to back this up.

I had a Road Gear Transport trunk mounted rack on my tercel for a number of years (before it was
stolen). On a trip from New Hampshire to NYC I had 3 mountain bikes on it with no problem. I didn't
like going faster than 60 or so because the bikes would swing a bit but never enough to pull over
and re-work the bungies.

I was never really fond of having the bikes perpendicular to the travel direction. Nor did I like
them where they could be the point of contact in a rear end collision. But in the 5 or so years of
use the only damage I encountered was when the tire of a bike was in the stream of the exhaust pipe
and burned the tire to a crisp.

I now have a fold down rear seat so they get to ride inside. I am looking for a roof mounted rack
because if I decide to take more than a few days worth of gear on a trip it would be a tight squeeze
with the bikes.

Nothing statistical, just anecdotal.

Andy

"Rick Onanian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What bothers me is people with empty pickup trucks, vans, and full size SUVs, using trunk racks or
hitch racks. If they're not going to put stuff in there, they'd probably be better served by a
smaller vehicle.

Now that's a silly thing to be bothered by. I'm looking forward to getting a hitch rack for my
truck. Partly so I can keep the pedals and barends from rubbing on the truck bed, causing paint
loss on both the bed and the bike parts. Partly so I can load up the bed of the truck with camping
gear and not have to strap the bikes on top. In an SUV, it's even harder to carry all of your gear
and the bikes if you have to load the bikes inside. Outside racks also keep the inside of the SUV
from being mucked up by the dirt from the trail. There are lots of reasons to not put a bike into a
truck or SUV.

-Buck

David Newman said:

A bike must be able to take the stress of travel on the roof at your maximum speed, otherwise it
doesn't matter how good your rack is.

While that is true, the stresses the bike are subject to while riding are much higher than those
while on the rack. Yes, in a sharp turn at 90mph there is a stress on the fork due to the
acceleration, the fact that the bike only weighs 20lbs makes that insignificant.

Your story was about a bike that was failing. Frankly, better for it to let go on the rack than on a
downhill. Also, on my Yakima rack the bike is secured not just by the fork, but also the rear wheel
is tied down. It shouldn't go flying if the fork fails.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Enron's slogan: Respect, Communication, Integrity, and _`\(,_ | Excellence. (_)/ (_) |

Rick Onanian said:

What bothers me is people with empty pickup trucks, vans, and full size SUVs, using trunk racks or
hitch racks. If they're not going to put stuff in there, they'd probably be better served by a
smaller vehicle.

I've puzzled about this, too. I've seen a number of big 'ol SUVs pulling a trailer, in which was
a small load of stuff -- which would easily have fit inside. I presume they don't want to scuff
the leather interior with their shingles or whatever. But then, why buy a truck if you aren't
going to use it?

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Accept risk. Accept responsibility. Put a lawyer out of _`\(,_ | business. (_)/ (_) |

David Newman <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, "NYRides"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Most responses have been anecdotal rather than statistical. This one is no different, but it does
provide an interesting counterpoint.

Probably the only source for statistics are the rack manufacturers, and I doubt they will release
them for public consumption.

Quoted message said:

My brother was driving at freeway speed with a bike in a Yakima rack on the roof. The bike
detatched and landed in traffic. It was run over and destroyed by following vehicles before my
brother could get it out of the roadway. On arriving home, my brother found that the rack had not
failed, but the front fork had. One leg of the fork had broken, evidently due to a flaw in the
metal (I think he said it was a big bubble). The stresses that resulted were too severe, and the
bike ripped itself out of the rack and became airborne for a short while before landing in the
road behind my brother's car.

A bike must be able to take the stress of travel on the roof at your maximum speed, otherwise it
doesn't matter how good your rack is.

If the fork failed under these conditions it was likely compromised and should not have been
ridden, either.

A friend had a different experience. One of the clamps holding the roof rack failed and that led to
the whole rack failing and flying off the roof and landing on the freeway. Fortunately the wind
direction carried the rack and two bikes so it landed (upright) on the left shoulder. Both bikes had
some damage. The manufacturer replaced the rack and paid 1/2 the damage to the bikes and the car.
They only offered 1/2 as they claimed the rack had been mounted 1/16" off the recommended mounting
position. How they can determine from a twisted piece of metal that it was off by 1/16" is beyond
me, but it begs the question: if the mounting position is so sensitive that a 1/16" difference means
failure or not then is the system safe?

- rick

"Rick Onanian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What bothers me is people with empty pickup trucks, vans, and full size SUVs, using trunk racks or
hitch racks. If they're not going to put stuff in there, they'd probably be better served by a
smaller vehicle.

Yeah, no kidding. I used to laugh to myself at the huge SUVs arriving at the trailhead with bikes on
racks -- when they could easily have been put inside the vehicles. Even worse was watching people
try to put bikes back on top of these behemoths, occasionally dropping them, and ruining their
expensive SUV's paint. Worse than that, most of these people lived less than 10 miles away!

I have racks, but I almost always put my bike inside the car. The only time I use the rack is when I
have to carry more than one bike, and they won't fit inside.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've always thought there should be laws regarding proper ways to carry bikes on an automobile,
but I wonder if there are any statistics to back this up.

There are, though they're not specific to bicycle. There's loads of load control laws, and they're
quite widely applicable -- failure to secure load can mean that a car rolled off a flatbed, a bike
that's loose on it's rack, or napkins flying from a dumptruck full of garbage.

Such laws are widely ignored anyway. I've lost a few windshields to flying gravel, from uncovered
trucks. Debris is one of the major causes of accidents and backups on southern CA freeways. I used
to see ladders, mattresses, plywood, cans of paint, bags of cement, bricks, boxes, etc. on the
freeway every day. Never any bikes, though.

The most common bike rack mishap seems to be driving into the garage with bikes on the rack. Almost
every rider I know has a story of someone they know who has done this.

Matt O.

David Newman said:

My brother was driving at freeway speed with a bike in a Yakima rack on the roof. The bike
detatched and landed in traffic.

Quoted message said:

...my brother found that the rack had not failed, but the front fork had.

Since I fly down mountain roads at close to freeway speeds on my bike, this possibility is not a
comforting thought.

Are there any statistics or anectodes of road bike fork failure at high speed? (I'm aware of the
Missy Giove's QR failure this last summer).

RFM

Rick Warner said:

was off by 1/16" is beyond me, but it begs the question: if the mounting position is so sensitive
that a 1/16" difference means failure or not then is the system safe?

Of course you know the answers to this. Yes, that would mean that the rack wasn't safe, but no,
1/16" cannot matter that much, it's just the excuse they are using to avoid liability, because of
course they cannot tell whether or not the mounting was "off" by 1/16"

I noted that Yakima was very specific in the mounting points of their roof racks for roofs w/o
factory rails. Now we know why. I'm also glad that I now have factory rails on my car.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | More people object to wearing fur than leather because it is _`\(,_ | safer to harrass rich
white women than motorcycle gangs. (_)/ (_) |