Bike Holders for Trailer

[bobkx]

Folks,

I just bought, installed, and used some new bike holders for my trailer that solved a couple of problems that I had. I have a 16 foot enclosed and had bike shoes mounted in the front. We like to camp in the trailer if we are overnight and this wasn't the most effective use of space. Plus I blew a number of fork seals with the bike shoes, and some other "shoe" owners shared the same seal experiences. Lastly, the shoes were "permanent" in that removing them to make the trailer useful for other tasks was a problem.

I saw an ad in one of the DB magazines for this bike holder that mounts to the roof trusses in the trailer. After a great deal of consideration (and talking to the mftr of my trailer), I made the plunge, sold my shoes and bought these new holders.

I can't say enough about how good they are. It apparently is a small company and the owner was really nice, gave good advice, shipped on time and provided a good product. Check out the website at www.rmimx.com. It held my two bikes perfectly still during a recent 450 mile roundtrip through some mountainous and twisting roads.

Just wanted to share a positive experience.

Bob

 

[Flying Scot]

Looks like a good Idea. I would wonder about the longevity of the mountings as after a few thousand miles I suspect the vibration would start to work this free. Post back after you've had a few weekends on with them.

 

[Senior KX Rider]

What was the cost on those mounts?

 

[JTT]

I really like the look of those too and would love to hear about costs. I too saw them in an ad, but good to hear from someone with personal experience :cool:

That said, how did bike shoes cause fork seal leaks? Even traditional chokes don't harm seals. :think:

 

[bobkx]

The overhead mounts were about $125 each, compared to $75 to $100 for bike shoes. Yeah, they were more but I felt like it was worth the difference to free up the floor space and stop blowing seals. I think he will probably discount for two or more, I think I got about $10 off of that pice for 2. Best I can tell, the seal problem was caused by flexing the fork when the front wheel was held static, while the weight of the bike caused lateral pressure. I'm not an engineer but after I put tie down bolts on the shoes and started using tie downs vs the shoe fold over, I didn't blow a single seal. I replaced about 6 sets on 3 bikes in a 6 month period prior, so thats all I have to rely on.

Based on the installation, the holders are held in place with pressure in drilled holes, so I don't think that miles/vibration will have any impact, but I will report that back, good idea.

 

[JTT]

Thanks for the responce. Interesting about the seal problems you experienced with the shoes....I always wondered if there was any problems with holding the bike by the wheel like they do.

So, how do the overhead holders grab the bars? It looks like a giant velcro tab in the pick. Also do they tear or wear at the grips?

 

[MX-727]

I have a friend that had the same concerns.

What I can't visualize is how the bike shoe could possibly put any kind of force on the fork or steering stem that comes anywhere close to the forces and stresses that are placed on the bike when riding. Furthermore, the force of the clamp on the top of the rim cannot be anything like what the rim experiences during a hard landing while riding. I'd go so far as to posit that years of bike shoe use cannot impose more stress than one day of riding.

As an aside, four years of bike shoe use and nothing bad has happened on our bikes. That's four bikes riding in bike shoes for the last four years. Furthermore, they are riding at an angle, which, if the lateral fork forces are a problem, should be worse than the typical straight in mounting which most people use.

 

[adamsoffroad]

I've had lots of folks say that they never had any problems with shoes, definitly the majority of people I spoke with. This was just my (unfortunate) experience. To answer JTT's question about how they hold the bikes, there is a flat piece of metal postioned horizntally with floor with a foot long piece of velcro flat riveted into the metal. The metal bar is postioned over the top of the grip, the velcro is wrapped around the grip securing the bike in place.

I did have some minor grip scuffing (due to not wrapping tight enough probably) so I attached a short piece of PVC pipe, cut lengthwise, so it cups the grip and is more secure too.

Mainly I just love the way it clears up space in the trailer.

Bob