All these good ideas on how to protect the bikes when being transported on the rack. And I guess if you are only doing it a couple times a year, it's okay. But otherwise, it's like packing the bike up for shipping, about my least favorite activity involving bicycles. You also need to figure out what to do with all the noodles, and put together a kit to hold tape, knife, zip ties, etc. to do it all again for return trips.
My experience has been that the most damage occurs with movement==often handlebars, brake levers, gear shifters rubbing against paint. Make sure these things are out of range of painted tubes so when they inevitably move, they don't do damage. And definitely make sure the movement will be as minimal as possible. If using noodles, maybe one on the top tube of every other bicycle would do the trick, depending on how the bikes are held in--I'm not familiar with the big industrial hitch rack designs. On Tuesday, July 14, 2020 at 3:56:58 PM UTC-4, Scott G. wrote: > > Plastic bags first, then some packaging stretch film, them some clear > packing tape > to secure the stretch film. Zip tie the pipe insulation. > I do the above routine for the seat, and shifty bits on the handlebars. > Carry the tape & film with you on the trip, you can make repairs at rest > stops. > Think like an Egyptian Embalmer, wrap for the ages. > > On Tuesday, July 14, 2020 at 7:18:14 AM UTC-4 Julian Westerhout wrote: > >> It is time to buy a small enclosed cargo trailer! >> >> :) >> >> >> For the saddles double plastic bag them, tape the bottom, and then put on >> a saddle cover so the bags don't shred in the wind. They'll stay dry that >> way. >> >> Julian Westerhout >> Bloomington, IL >> >> >> On Monday, July 13, 2020 at 4:08:50 PM UTC-5, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! >> wrote: >>> >>> Every year I point the van north and drive from Vegas to small town >>> North Dakota, and the lakes country of Minnesota. And every year I drag 3-4 >>> bikes along with us on a Saris rack. I’ve gone through several different >>> bikes in the past several years (the kids are growing, I switched to That >>> Clem Life, etc) so I’ve never found an exact formula to make the bikes fit >>> perfectly. This year I hauled my new loooonnnnngggg 52 cm Clementine (2019 >>> geo), the old 1st gen 52 cm blue Clem H, #theClemRider’s little 45 cm 2018 >>> Clem H, and Baby Bear’s 24 inch Specialized Hot Rock. >>> >>> I never regret bringing my bikes, but I do admit I lament that they come >>> back to Vegas in poorer condition than when they left. We always get caught >>> in a rainstorm at some point, and usually more than once. After that I >>> always notice creaking where there hadn’t been, rust on the heads of bolts >>> or inside the braze-ons. I usually have new scuffs from the bikes knocking >>> together on the rack, dirt and grit where I hadn’t had it before. One year >>> I drove to a shooting range on 20 miles’ worth of gravel roads and the >>> bikes were completely trashed at a level you can’t fathom. The Betty Foy >>> (now sold) had a permanent ugly mark on the top tube where the arm bar of >>> the rack had mashed the cable into the paint. >>> >>> You would think I would learn and get this dialed in but I never really >>> do. This year was really something - when was the last time you tried to >>> get 3 Rivendells with Bosco bars on a rack? Boscos don’t play nicely. Three >>> of 4 of the bikes had baskets, and all 4 had racks. Yeah, nightmare. >>> >>> So, this vacation I have discovered new ways to damage my bikes. I’ll >>> provide the photos and explanations in the next post... >>> >>> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/aae42808-031a-405e-8d35-4ccaa538003fo%40googlegroups.com.
