Bike rack for car

[Hokiefyd]

Somebody local to me is selling a 2-bike rack that was front-mounted on a municipal bus. I asked how it mounted and he said 4 holes were drilled into the bumper of the bus, but one could weld a square tube to it to use in a receiver hitch. I have a friend with a welder, so that is no problem.

This is one of those fold-down racks, and the bike stands up straight in the rack with bars that fold down over the wheels I believe to retain the bike.

But in general, is the quality of a commercial-grade transit bus bike rack going to be better than a consumer-grade rack one might buy at a bike shop? I figure it has to be. The guy wants $75 for it. Including the tube stock for the receiver hitch mount, I could have a really nice rack, all in for $100.

What do you all think?

 

[supton]

Have you seen it? Got pictures?

What is it going onto? I'd think it'd be overkill. At the least you may want a 2" receiver to put it into. When I asked about using a carrier in a 1.25" hitch, one person indicated that they had bent theirs somehow with just a couple of bikes. Seems implausible to me; but I'd think a rack meant for a city bus is going to be much heavier than anything meant for cars.

 

[bepperb]

I'm sure it's massively overbuilt for your use. This could be really good, but it could also pose a problem if it's too heavy to lift on and off. If you need access to the hatch it's take the bikes off or slide the whole thing out, which would be a problem if the rack weighs 100 lbs.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Good points. I will see.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
I'm sure it's massively overbuilt for your use. This could be really good, but it could also pose a problem if it's too heavy to lift on and off. If you need access to the hatch it's take the bikes off or slide the whole thing out, which would be a problem if the rack weighs 100 lbs.


True...

 

[Brons2]

Originally Posted By: supton
Have you seen it? Got pictures?

What is it going onto? I'd think it'd be overkill. At the least you may want a 2" receiver to put it into. When I asked about using a carrier in a 1.25" hitch, one person indicated that they had bent theirs somehow with just a couple of bikes. Seems implausible to me; but I'd think a rack meant for a city bus is going to be much heavier than anything meant for cars.


I didn't bend my 1.25" receiver with 4 bikes on it, can't see it.

The only advantage to using the city bus rack that I can see is that it's cheap. I wouldn't put my bikes on what I have seen on the front of the buses around here. But then again I ride 2 full customs so maybe you don't care as much.

 

[FirstNissan]

Some of the University campus buses had those at Penn State. If they are anywhere close to same size, unless you are carting 5+ bikes in one go, it will be wayyy overkill. Check out Thule bike racks, while I was in Boston, I used to see them all the time. They are pricey however.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I got some more details from the guy. It's all stainless steel, except for the bracket that mounted to the bus, which is regular steel. So I'll be able to weld a 1.25" or 2" receiver tube to it pretty easily. I'm not sure which size I'll use...probably 1.25". The Honda has a 1.25" hitch and the Acura has a 2" hitch. If I put a 1.25" tube on this, I can use an adapter sleeve in the Acura's 2" hitch if I use that to carry the bike(s).

He said it's 62" wide and weighs 35 pounds, so it's not all that heavy.

What I like about this style of carrier is I can open the hatch with the carrier still in the hitch. I may have to take the bike off for a minute to do so, but it's still easy to open the hatch, because the carrier is more or less a tray.

He said it's the same one as Metro Bus in the DC area uses:

http://www.wmata.com/getting_around/bike_ride/bikes_bus.cfm

He actually has THE bus at his barn, and the carrier is in the bus. Who knows why he has a municipal bus at his property, but that's the story.

I hope $60 will buy it (asking $75).

 

[Hokiefyd]

I bought the rack on Saturday. It's pretty sturdy. It's slightly tweaked (like the bus hit something), but I think I can straighten it. All of the tubing is stainless steel, and well-done. The bracket is heavy that mounts to the bus...the whole thing does seem to weigh the 35 pounds he estimated, maybe even a bit more. The bike fits into the racks very nice, and there's a single spring-loaded arm that pulls over one of the wheels on the bike. You could physically lift the bike upward while in the rack, but I'm sure it'd stay there in transit. I'll probably use a few simple bungee cords for extra security.

Now I need to fashion a hitch adapter to the front of it and I'll be in business. I'll follow-up with pictures once I get it mounted.