Bike racks - Saris bones

[Ghisallo]

A long shot this one but am considering getting a bike rack, a Saris Bones as shown below.

Has anyone used one of these or have any opinions on them? I have a couple of concerns:

How are two bikes placed on it kept apart from eachother around the pedal area?

Is there any hassle with externally routed bare brake cables impinging against the top tube holder of the rack?

All feedback most welcome :-)

[esuuv]

I' have one - been using it for about the last year and its really good - done a good few thousand miles with it on.

There are two straps that hold the cross bar - and another that you clamp around the seat down tube - the second bike has its own mounted further back on the other side so the bikes dont touch - and you have to put the second bike on the other way round so the pedals / handlebars dont interfere.

I've carried my mountain and road bike on it and not had any problems with cables - it does pinch the brake cables on my roadie (they run underneath the cross bar) but I dont see it as an issue - I use a bungee on each of the bikes around the downtube and through the front wheel to keep the handle bar straight - on my MINI the front bike wheel can rest against the bumper without it and I dont want to wear the paint off the car.

Only issue I have with it is due to the design there is a bit of lateral movement in the whole assembly loaded up - when I first got it it was a bit disconcerting, but as I said have done a few thousand miles with it on - london to the lakes and back, and london bordeaux and back being the biggest and never had a problem, just check its tight when you stop (it always has been)

[anonymous-user]

you see a lot of them in trail centre car parks, me i just stick the bike in the boot...

[Ghisallo]

Thanks for your detailed reply esuuv, is very reassuring to hear that my concerns are non-issues after all. I guess that some foam padding between the exposed brake cable and the frame would stop any rubbing anyway.

Much appreciated.

Edited by Ghisallo on Thursday 8th October 18:18

[Ghisallo]

pablo said:

you see a lot of them in trail centre car parks, me i just stick the bike in the boot...

I can just about fit my present road bike in the boot (A4 cabriolet) by removing handlebars and saddle but tomorrow I'm picking up a new Scott road bike which has integrated seat tube so a bike rack is my only option.

[RickIV]

Ive used a bones rack for a couple of years now and have the same comments as below. Took some adjusting to get 2 bikes sitting correctly but once you have worked it out it works great. I always put a small piece of sponge where the straps wrap round the top tube. I think its worth the extra over other racks as no parts of the rack can rust (had cheaper racks in the past that fell apart due to corrosion).

esuuv said:

I' have one - been using it for about the last year and its really good - done a good few thousand miles with it on.

There are two straps that hold the cross bar - and another that you clamp around the seat down tube - the second bike has its own mounted further back on the other side so the bikes dont touch - and you have to put the second bike on the other way round so the pedals / handlebars dont interfere.

I've carried my mountain and road bike on it and not had any problems with cables - it does pinch the brake cables on my roadie (they run underneath the cross bar) but I dont see it as an issue - I use a bungee on each of the bikes around the downtube and through the front wheel to keep the handle bar straight - on my MINI the front bike wheel can rest against the bumper without it and I dont want to wear the paint off the car.

Only issue I have with it is due to the design there is a bit of lateral movement in the whole assembly loaded up - when I first got it it was a bit disconcerting, but as I said have done a few thousand miles with it on - london to the lakes and back, and london bordeaux and back being the biggest and never had a problem, just check its tight when you stop (it always has been)

[CatherineJ]

Where is the best place to pick one up from?

I'm going to buy a rack for the back of my Civic.

[Roger645]

got mine from wiggle

[CatherineJ]

Was it a good price

[Roger645]

CatherineJ said:

Was it a good price

Yea, I have the Saris RS and it was about 40 quid cheaper that I saw it elsewhere, you could do a google shopping search and see what prices you get.

[CatherineJ]

Ok well i've been and picked one up locally. I've paid a little bit more I think than I would online, but at least I didn't have to wait for it to come.