ATK Bike Shoes

[tnrider]

Ok, got two of these on my open trailer. The stories of their greatness is only partially true... yes, it holds the front wheel of my CRF450 with sufficient force that the wheel will stay in place. However, something those of you with enclosed trailers may not notice – there is side-to-side sway (is my trailer bed really flexing that much) AND even more significant, the entire bike will pivot when you hit a bump - it jumps and will swing side-to-side (trailer bed flex has nothing to do with this). Thus, IMHO you MUST secure the rear tire to the trailer bed too – otherwise it will collide with other things within the arc of the bike.

I have been viewing trailer interiors on dirtrider.net and see no one with bike shoes using any tie-down on the rear wheel. What is the story here? Does this somehow go away with an enclosed trailer too?

 

[tbrooks]

I tie down the rear wheel on my open trailer but not in the enclosed, if I can't see it it didn't happen right? usally I have so much crap packed around the bikes in the enclosed it could not move anyway.

 

[Jonala]

I bungee cord the rear wheel ot my bike to the floor inside my enclosed trailer. The one time I forgot, I found the rear wheel had swung to one side of the trailer.

The pictures that I have of seen, some people mount their Shoes on the diagonal. This would reduce if not eliminate the swing action . My trailer was to small to mount my bike on the diagonal.

 

[Smit-Dog]

Mine are mounted diagonally alongside one wall of a 6x12 enclosed trailer. Very little rear wheel movement. There is a small ~ 8" x 8" footprint of tire scuff where the rear tires rests, probably due to minor movement while traveling.

I'd suspect that the amount of rear wheel movement you're experiencing may be due to the suspension of the trailer. Is it bouncing and jiggling around? My 6 x 12 rides much smoother when weighted down with bikes and gear.

You could also take one tie down, hook it around the rear tire and secure the other end onto the bike shoe (running underneather the bike).

 

[BRush]

I have the bike shoes mounted in my van. I have zero problem with rear wheel hop, but I have found that without ties down, there is too much side to side movement (the van floor flexes).

 

[MWEISSEN]

I use tiedowns and a bungee cord on the back. The tiedowns are just barely tight enough to keep the bikes from moving around.

Why? One time while coming home on my open trailer I noticed one of the bikes moving more than normal. I stopped and saw that the clamp on the bike show had either been forgotten, or had unclamped itself because it wasn't done right. Had I not had the tiedowns, I'm certain the bike would have fell off the trailer. So the tiedowns are a few seconds and dollars worth of insurance to me.

 

[Vytas]

I have ATK shoes in my enclosed trailer and use tie downs on all of the rear ends.  Already had the straps and it takes only 20 seconds to strap them on.  Bikes are too expensive to not properly secure while transporting.