DH Bike Car Carrier

[VTSS350]

I own a Gaint Downhill comp and need to get it on the back of the SS commodore.

Has anyone used on of these, what are your impressions of it.

http://www.gripsport.com.au/main.php?part=products&prodID=30

Thanks

[kizza]

Iv heard they are very good, and am thinking of getting one when i get my p's. But i havnt used one, yet.

[MATTY R]

i used mine for the first time on the weekend,

they are excelent, so easy to load the bikes, the bikes dont hit / rub on each other and scratch

i would highly recomend them

plus grip is really good to deal with :)

[donthucktoflat]

hey grip. could you manage to make one that doesn;t need a towball? or could anyone suggest a decent roof rack to fit up to 4 bikes on the roof of a volvo 740GL

[Darkness]

not bad.....just 1 thing, it looks a lil close to the car would the bars hit the car if you owned a wagon?

[demo man]

yeah man, they are the shit!

i've had one for around a month, and i love it.

they do make ones designed for square hitch towbar systems, if that's what you mean.

i just put the bike on the rack, tie down the wheels with some cable/rope, and off you go. and the bike is much more secure than on a ceonventional rack.
my only gripe is because of my bike. because the demo 9 is a massive travel bike, the bb is fairly high when travel is fully extended. this means that the crank arm is only in the thingy by about 3cm. i simply put some thick cardboard to make the crank fit in more 'snugly'. i will however, be welding on a 1 to 2-1/2 cm long extension to the top of it to suite my bike a little better. if i had thought of that earlier, grip wold have happily made up a custom one to fit it al properly. oh well, shit happens.

a DH comp or Team or whatever would have no such problems though.

as for the handlebars, yeas, they will probably hit the boot lid when opening (well, definately is more the word). but, it is so easy to take the bike onand off it doesn't really matter. besides, how often do you open the boot while the bike's still on the back?

my recomendation, get one of those beauties!!!!

they will save you loads of time, space, and hassle, even if they don't save you money. but hey, you never know, they might give you a deal....

Cheers

[RedPill]

Yes they are very good, looking at getting 1 myself, they used 1 like that at the Stromlo race a while back but with like 20 of them. no hassle's at all. Easy to load and unload bike, you do scratch your crank a little but thats about it. would recommend!

[andy73]

hey grip. could you manage to make one that doesn;t need a towball? or could anyone suggest a decent roof rack to fit up to 4 bikes on the roof of a volvo 740GL

I've got a Thule roof rack but it really is designed for lighter bikes. I need to use tie down straps from my stanctions to the side bars on my Forester to feel confident about it. The other issue is, try lifting a 25kg downhill rig onto your roof after a day's riding.

[andy73]

http://www.yakima.com/home.html

Follow the links and check out the King Cobra - supposed to be awesome (think you'll have to buy it online though :confused:)

[Daver]

I've got a custom Gripsport 3 bike rack and i'm glad i did. It wasn't cheap, but it works really well and i'm super stoked.

[demo man]

have you thought about a trailer?

oh, but then you'd need a towbar for that, and if you had a towbar you could get a gripsport rack. hmmm....

it just doesn't fit does it.

how much money have you got to spend? because there r about a million ways to get around it, if you are willing to put in the cash.

one obvious one is get a towbar. i have no doubt that someone would do it for you, i.e. a custom car part store etc.

another is you could get a custom roof rack built up, with perhaps some sort of dealy that healps you get the bikes on the roof? :confused: you know, like a winch or something! :D

there are bike racks that hook onto hatchbacks that don't use a towbar and can hold upto 4 bikes, but they all use the traditional 'hang the bike' style of mounting.

i say go get a damn towbar!!!!

[Richlude]

i have a small ford fiesta , and this soooooooooo what i have been looking for , where can i get one ?????

[cam-o]

www.gripsport.com.au

Here's the deal, They're tough, simple, fast to load and made by an Aussie business that supports Farkin. What more do you want?

[richiev]

I have the 2 bike DH bike rack and it sure is the shi*t. Like everyone has said, it's easy to load bikes on and off, and the good thing is there is no need to remove wheels.
I secure my bikes with a ratchet strap for total peace of mind. I've had a Giant DH Comp on mine and it fits like a glove.
As for the boot touching the handle-bars, it depends how you position the bikes in the rack. I have a VX commodore and if I position the bikes correctly (specifically the handle-bars) I don't have any problems with the boot touching the bikes when I open and close it.

Definately worth the purchase.

[mchammer]

Do you have to take a pedal off?

[Crank]

Do you have to take a pedal off?

Nope. see pic.

[bradmc]

I carry my DH Comp on this Thule Rack.

The fastest growing hitch rack on the market - Quote from Thule :o

Convenient vehicle access - carrier easily tilts down
Maximum bike security - integrated locking cable stores conveniently in carrier.
Bike-friendly, Sweet Spot cradle accommodates all frame styles
Greater bike stability and anti-sway with the all-new included Zip Stick
Fits all types of bikes - dual arm design eliminates the need for top-tube adapters on certain bikes.
Bike arms fold down when not in use.
Locks to receiver with included Snug-Tite lock.
One Key System. Locks included.


Part No:
BA995 4-bike for 40mm receivers - $495.00
BA996 4-bike for 50mm receivers - $495.00

For bikes with sloping top tubes, you can buy an adapter that fits from the seat post to the stem. I have driven long distances on all types of roads with four bike attached, and had no problems.

[BrumbyJack]

Hey Grip, do you remember me asking you about a 3 bike carrier about a year ago?????

I see someone has one now, but I guess they don't have a 4WD spare tyre to get around???? (Nissan Patrol)

Any new ideas??? I'm sick to death of knocking our bikes around on a rep rack :mad: mine is OK, but the kids are really badly scratched etc.

[andy73]

got any ideas on how to prevent damage to crank arms in the grip carrier?

[donthucktoflat]

my car (Volvo 740GL) doesnt even have anywhere to put a towbar. i have investigated all this already. i mean a secure bike rack with no need for anything down there

[Gripper]

got any ideas on how to prevent damage to crank arms in the grip carrier?

I've had a gripsport 2 bike carrier for over 6 months.

It's carried 2 heavy bikes on several 3000K+ journeys without me having to worry about my bikes dragging on the bitumen behind me everytime I hit a bump in the road.

You can load/unload your bikes in seconds..... it's just a plain and simple piece of no fuss equipment.

You can address the cranks damage in a couple of ways.

1) Go to a Clark rubber store and buy some rubber edging and epoxy it to the tops of the crank holders...this also makes the cranks fit nice and tight.

2) Don't spend shitloads on fancy cranks in the first place.

3) Put an old crank arm on for the journey

Buy one mate, they are the only way to ensure your bikes get there in 1 piece.

[andy73]

Don't spend shitloads on fancy cranks in the first place.



I might try running my old Sugino One piece cranks off my Hotfoot BMX :D

sounds good thoough - will check it out.

[Grip]

Hey Grip, do you remember me asking you about a 3 bike carrier about a year ago?????

I see someone has one now, but I guess they don't have a 4WD spare tyre to get around???? (Nissan Patrol)

Any new ideas??? I'm sick to death of knocking our bikes around on a rep rack :mad: mine is OK, but the kids are really badly scratched etc.

I remember. At the time though I hadn't done the maths for loads etc. I'm now happy to do 3-bike carriers but ONLY for certain vehicles fitted with 2" sq hitch (Hayman Reece type) towbars. Getting around spare tyres isn't a problem... just need a few measurements before we make it.

got any ideas on how to prevent damage to crank arms in the grip carrier?


Most popular way seems to be to take off left pedal... stretch a couple of 6" lengths of inner tube over the left crank arm... replace pedal... then repeat when you see the inner tubes getting worn.

We don't provide crank protection for one simple reason; it would have to be INSIDE the crank holders where it can wear out without people noticing it. If that happens and people's cranks THEN get dammaged they get annoyed with me. But if I say right from the start that crank protection is YOUR responsibility then we all know where we stand.

[Daver]

I'll have to say that i love my 3 bike carrier a la grip. It works perfectly (even fits saint cranks) is fairly solid, and wasn't overly expensive. My only gripe is that i need to remove the spare tyre to fit a bike on the innermost position, but once the tyre is off it works perfectly. Thanks John.

[spyderman_au]

What about the mighty work ute?
Fit as many bikes as you want.

[VTSS350]

With a bit of luck the ute is on its way too.