Mountain bike racks?

fluidj · Mar 1, 2012

Those 1 up's look like what we have on the city buses here in D.C. They work VERY well in my experience. I can toss my bike on and get it off fast. And the way it compresses down on the tires only also is pretty nifty.

Mountain_Smith · Mar 5, 2012

BlazinPond said:
After comparing many different styles and brands, I have decided on a 1up. It sounds like it is by far one of the best out. Although most reviews discuss mountain bikes, how well does it hold race bikes?

Also, I'm debating on color choices of silver/aluminum or black anodized... How does your black 1up do as far as scratches? How deep is the black anodized?

Thanks again Mountain Smith for your pics and reviews!

The black was a no brainer for me with a black truck. . .I agree, if I had another color, I'd think about it especially since the black is more expensive.

The black finish is matte and very deep looking. So far, I don't have any scratches that are through the anodized finish. A quality finish for sure. But, I think the only way to avoid the inevitable scratch through to aluminum would be to stick with the silver rack.

norsecarnut · Mar 5, 2012

RE: 1 Up racks.

I thought it looked interesting and just read through the design on their website.
For a single bike, sure, for a 14 lb road bike on the 2nd or 3rd tray, sure, maybe.

But by placing nearly 100% of the force into those two single bolts and aluminum plates, the design is terrible in terms of long term structural integrity. The twisting forces will be trying to pull the bolt through the aluminum. This area is weakened because they though it was more important to cut out a sliding attachment to make things easier. However, this only reduces strength in that critical area.

This rack looks cool but now way would I put my $10,000 mtn bike on any but the first tray. Highway driving introduces a lot of vibrational stress and constant wiggling which will just eat away at the aluminum fitting which relies heavily on a snug connection to do it's job.

If you think about a simple structural design, such as the Thule, while being heavy it is also very simple in regard to dealing with forces. It's a simple 2"x2" steel beam with the weights just resting on it. The bolted fittings have to do almost no real work when you have the bike balanced. In fact when setting it up, you can actually just balance the bike before tightening the clamps that hold the tray.

The 1 Up is really cool looking but lacks some serious structural design input.

Would you stand on a deck that is simply through bolted to your house? No, you would have one of two simple structural systems, a cantilever extension from within or a vertical post.

ccrocket · Mar 6, 2012

I've had a triple mount 1 up for the last year, and nothing's fallen off yet. The thing is pretty rock solid, but also slightly flexible in a way that I imagine reduces some of the stresses from road vibrations. I know these have been around for a number of years, and I would think we would see a couple of reviews on mountain bike review if there was a structural problem with the unit.

These are very popular racks with my mountain bike club, with some of the units several years old now. We put a lot of miles on these things, and no problems noted, certainly no cracks or structural issues with the multiple mount units that I've seen.

BlazinPond · Mar 6, 2012

Mountain_Smith said:
The black was a no brainer for me with a black truck. . .I agree, if I had another color, I'd think about it especially since the black is more expensive.

The black finish is matte and very deep looking. So far, I don't have any scratches that are through the anodized finish. A quality finish for sure. But, I think the only way to avoid the inevitable scratch through to aluminum would be to stick with the silver rack.

Thanks my friend! Appreciate your insights

BlazinPond · Mar 6, 2012

norsecarnut said:
RE: 1 Up racks.

I thought it looked interesting and just read through the design on their website.
For a single bike, sure, for a 14 lb road bike on the 2nd or 3rd tray, sure, maybe.

But by placing nearly 100% of the force into those two single bolts and aluminum plates, the design is terrible in terms of long term structural integrity. The twisting forces will be trying to pull the bolt through the aluminum. This area is weakened because they though it was more important to cut out a sliding attachment to make things easier. However, this only reduces strength in that critical area.

This rack looks cool but now way would I put my $10,000 mtn bike on any but the first tray. Highway driving introduces a lot of vibrational stress and constant wiggling which will just eat away at the aluminum fitting which relies heavily on a snug connection to do it's job.

If you think about a simple structural design, such as the Thule, while being heavy it is also very simple in regard to dealing with forces. It's a simple 2"x2" steel beam with the weights just resting on it. The bolted fittings have to do almost no real work when you have the bike balanced. In fact when setting it up, you can actually just balance the bike before tightening the clamps that hold the tray.

The 1 Up is really cool looking but lacks some serious structural design input.

Would you stand on a deck that is simply through bolted to your house? No, you would have one of two simple structural systems, a cantilever extension from within or a vertical post.

What's interesting to me, is their newest bike rack is a full 2x2" Heavy Duty version.
Due to this increase in size/strength, the unit (2 rack) can no longer be folded up into a nice small package or reduced down to only one rack/bike.

norsecarnut · Mar 6, 2012

I'd like to see one with 30,000 miles on it and used as at least double or triple with mtn bikes. My road bikes are of course lighter but not worth any less $.

The thing is that aluminum does not like to get jiggled so much, it will develop cracks where there are pressures from those bolts and the torsional stresses trying to pry apart the two rectangular section.

ccrocket · Mar 6, 2012

What's interesting to me, is their newest bike rack is a full 2x2" Heavy Duty version.
Due to this increase in size/strength, the unit (2 rack) can no longer be folded up into a nice small package or reduced down to only one rack/bike.

The single tray version is still available. The 2" version is really only needed if you want to carry 4 bikes as the 1.5" version is limited to a total of 3.

ccrocket · Mar 6, 2012

I'd like to see one with 30,000 miles on it and used as at least double or triple with mtn bikes. My road bikes are of course lighter but not worth any less $.

The thing is that aluminum does not like to get jiggled so much, it will develop cracks where there are pressures from those bolts and the torsional stresses trying to pry apart the two rectangular section.

You might want to just contact the maker and ask what kind of testing they've done on the design. The founder is very accessible.

I'll be sure to check that area, but so far it looks fine. Some of my friends are probably approaching 20K miles on theirs. The aluminum is quite thick in that location and the things are guaranteed for life.

The best part about this rack is that it doesn't touch your bike's frame, and the bikes don't touch or wobble against each other like with many other designs. Balancing bikes from the frame, or using extension bars for my full suspension were non-starters for me.

Mountain bike racks?

fluidj

Mountain_Smith

norsecarnut

ccrocket

BlazinPond

BlazinPond

norsecarnut

ccrocket

ccrocket

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