# Have you ever had your bike fall off a rack?



## Arkon (Apr 27, 2004)

Sunday I dropped a bike of my Saris hitch rack at about 75-80mph. I actually lost the bike because when i realized it was gone and went back to get it, it was gone. Amazingly, it was found by a rider and through the AZ boards on this forum it was recovered. Sweet!:thumbsup: 

So i've contacted Saris and they are having me return the rack first and then they will decide if it was their fault before they cover any damage. That makes sense to me but i wanted to know if this has happened to any of you and what was the outcome? Was the rack company easy to deal with or was it all about the company worming out of responsibility? 

The rack is shipping out today along with a letter of what happened, the damage caused, and how much to fix the bike. Also how long did the whole process take?


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## Fairchild (Mar 9, 2007)

What malfunction caused the incident?


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## Arkon (Apr 27, 2004)

I have the CycleOn rack. The 4th position's(farthest from the truck) hook that holds the rear tire down between the spokes, does not stay down. I can take 1 finger after pushing it down and give a quick pull with almost no force and the thing pops up wide open. I would post a pic of the part but i don't have my camera at work. 

Of course i was unaware of the problem. I was 580 miles into an 800 mile trip when it failed. I was halfway home.


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## zyzbot (Dec 19, 2003)

Arkon said:


> I have the CycleOn rack. The 4th position's(farthest from the truck) hook that holds the rear tire down between the spokes, does not stay down. I can take 1 finger after pushing it down and give a quick pull with almost no force and the thing pops up wide open. I would post a pic of the part but i don't have my camera at work.
> 
> Of course i was unaware of the problem. I was 580 miles into an 800 mile trip when it failed. I was halfway home.


I had a problem with my Cycle On rack but it only affected my 29er MTB. The rack worked fine with every other type of bicycle but the arm that ratchets down over the front wheel would not lock when I put the 29er in it. I ended up using a couple of straps to hold it in place.


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## ArmySlowRdr (Dec 19, 2003)

*only...*

only when the wife drove into a structure  :madman: :yikes:



Arkon said:


> Sunday I dropped a bike of my Saris hitch rack at about 75-80mph. I actually lost the bike because when i realized it was gone and went back to get it, it was gone. Amazingly, it was found by a rider and through the AZ boards on this forum it was recovered. Sweet!:thumbsup:
> 
> So i've contacted Saris and they are having me return the rack first and then they will decide if it was their fault before they cover any damage. That makes sense to me but i wanted to know if this has happened to any of you and what was the outcome? Was the rack company easy to deal with or was it all about the company worming out of responsibility?
> 
> The rack is shipping out today along with a letter of what happened, the damage caused, and how much to fix the bike. Also how long did the whole process take?


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## Arkon (Apr 27, 2004)

Ouch! You've got one of those wives too?


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## nmba guy (Jul 28, 2005)

i saw a bike come off a trunk mount rack one time on the highway, luckily nobody was behind the person. more than likely operator error in not strapping it down but not positive.


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## Bikehigh (Jan 14, 2004)

Had a bike come free from the fork mount while mounted in a roof tray. Luckily the buckle that secures the rear wheel held and the bike just ended up scraping the side of the car a bit as it hung down. I think this was a case of operator error, in that I somehow didn't have the clamp tight enough or the eccentrics weren't lined up quite right, and the fork has no safety tabs to prevent the wheel from dropping out. FWIW, the trays are Rocky Mounts, and I've continued to use them with no further incident.


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## zen (Jan 12, 2004)

I had a wheel fly off the wheel mount once -- operator error. Fortunately I saw it happen in my rear-view and it landed off in the ditch along the road. I didn't even have to true it!

Sorry to hear about your luck...I hope that it all works out w/ Saris.


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## bbgobie (Apr 20, 2006)

when i first got my rack (3 bike rack), me and my friend thought it would be better to moutn them on 1st and 3rd position so our bikes woulnd't rub. The instructions specfically said not to do this...
His bike almost fell off, one of the straps came loose and his bike was hanging by the last strap. I would chalk this up to user error, as I have never had this happen again even with 3 bikes on.


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## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

Arkon said:


> Sunday I dropped a bike of my Saris hitch rack at about 75-80mph. I actually lost the bike because when i realized it was gone and went back to get it, it was gone. Amazingly, it was found by a rider and through the AZ boards on this forum it was recovered. Sweet!:thumbsup:
> 
> So i've contacted Saris and they are having me return the rack first and then they will decide if it was their fault before they cover any damage. That makes sense to me but i wanted to know if this has happened to any of you and what was the outcome? Was the rack company easy to deal with or was it all about the company worming out of responsibility?
> 
> The rack is shipping out today along with a letter of what happened, the damage caused, and how much to fix the bike. Also how long did the whole process take?


Two weeks ago I lost my GF's bike off the back of a Spare Me rack going 65 mph. I must admit it was my own fault. It was an old GT frame, and the way I ran the strap through the "3rd" triangle was, in retrospect, a bad idea.

Amazingly, the damage was not too bad, and it was a bike a built from mostly spare parts. Both wheels, handlebar, stem, seat were damaged but I had a spare wheelset and handlebar. I am actually going to make a another post as to the sturdyness of carbon fiber bars and cheap seatposts displayed in this incident.


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## tekkamaki (Mar 3, 2007)

A friend of mine in HS drove his beemer into the garage with his italian racing bike on the roof. Needless to say the car made it into the garage but the bike didn't. ; )

one more reason high school kids should not have bmw's and italian road bikes.
the frame was totaled and the car had a couple of thousand in damage.


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## PittsburghRider (Apr 10, 2006)

*I've seen it before*

My shop sells Thule and Hollywood racks, I've had people come in after having their bikes fall off, and most of the time we will give them a discount if they bought the bike and rack from us. Thule is very good with customer service. The only racks that I have seen problems with are the trunk mounted strap racks where people just don't seem to install them right or not tighten down evey strap. We always inform our customers after we install the rack for them to take a picture so you know how to install it correctly.


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## Danke (Sep 19, 2005)

I had a beautiful Manitou FS eject ones. Booting home after a ride and since the TT was so thin it was clamped without white knuckle force. As we're cruising at about 60 MPH there was a thump and my buddy looked in the mirror and said quite casually "hey your bike's gone". Since we were in heavy traffic I was sure it would get run down like a dog and when I looked back it was ghost riding along the shoulder and as it ran down it flopped over.

Damage was limited to a torn seat (original blue SDG), nicked handlebar (blue acid wash Hyperlite), a huge grind on one pedal, and a minor tweak on the front wheel.

From then on it rode in the back seat.


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## neveride (Feb 7, 2004)

I've dealt with Thule, Yakima, and Saris over the years for a variety of issues (when I was a service manager for a shop). My former shop had a great relationship with all three, and as a result, more times than not the company asked my opinion if it was a malfunction or customer error, and took my word on it. I've seen them do anything from offer replacement price on a new bike to a credit for some of their product. 

Once or twice I had a company flat out refuse to do anything, despite what seemed like obvious malfunction. In those cases our shop ate the cost of fixing/replacing the bike/rack.

Of course, I've also dealt with plenty of customer error, with racks installed wrong, bikes installed wrong, etc, and the customer still felt it was either the rack company's fault or my personal fault. One fellow believed that since he only used his rear (non-hitch) strap rack once a year, it was our shop's responsibility to come to his house and personally install the rack, every time. I told him he was always welcome to come by the shop and we would be glad to check out the installation, but that was too much of an inconvenience for him, and since he spent a whopping $100 on the rack 8 years prior (before I even worked at the shop), we should provide the house call service free of charge.


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## ArmySlowRdr (Dec 19, 2003)

*yeah--*

lol. yeah it happend in Hawaii and she felt pretty crummy about it.



Arkon said:


> Ouch! You've got one of those wives too?


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## Atomik Carbon (Jan 4, 2004)

*Just last sunday.......*

I have a rear mounted rack. The 2 wheels sit in these wheel hoops and a U shaped arm slides down and holds the frame from jumping out.

Was on the phone and a sharp corner came up. Flew around the corner at about 50 mph and looked back and no bike........ turned around real fast and saw the bike in the middle of the road. It is a Brodie SS One Ball. I picked up the bike, spun both wheels (still true) , put it back in the rack and went riding. Hardly any damage. I figured out what I did wrong.....The hook that holds the frame down was located nearer to the front of the bike frame, the bike got bounced and the shock probably compressed which allowed the frame to slip out from under the hook. Next time I will turn the bike around and have the hook hold the frame down nearer to the seatpost. There is nothing to compress and release the bike.


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## SoloRider (Aug 6, 2004)

it's been almost three years ago now, but here's my story.


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## Arkayne (Dec 14, 2005)

Never lost a bike on the street but I tore my rack off w/bike when I forgot to remove my bmx from it. I just opened the garage door and pulled into the garage full force. POW. I think I did more damage to the garage than to the bike.


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## venus1 (Aug 4, 2006)

*Falling is a Huge Fear*

I keep one eye glued to the rearview when transporting my bikes on a rack. I have never had one come loose tho. I do drive like a granny around corners, etc.


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## BloorwestSiR (Dec 18, 2006)

I've had two close calls. Once with three bikes on a trunk rack one of the starps holding the rack to the trunk came loose. I looked in the rear view mirror as I was making a left turn and see all three bikes and the rack go swinging. Pulled over right away and tightened everything. 

The other time was with my bike on the roof I pulled into a supermarket witha covered parking lot. With the bike on, I was about 4 inches taller than the lights hanging down. I hda to slalom the car around every single light to try and get out.


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## DRTRIDR (Jun 26, 2006)

I saw a bike fall off a car onto the slow lane of the freeway. A big rig came up to the bike and POW- next thing you know the bike was "slingshoted" onto the right shoulder. Couldn't believe the force. Just thankful it wasn't flung into a passing car.


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## dadat40 (Jan 3, 2005)

OH YEA . forgot to fasten the rear tire down while running with bike facing backwards at 75 mph air force flipped and rotated bike into rear glass on cherokee and woom goes the glass . We thought we'd been shot at my wife still likes to laugh aat me for that one.


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## The Mongol Lord (Jul 25, 2004)

*Ugh*

I rammed my bike into the wall atop myn garage TWICE in 1997. 2 weeks apart. I now cring in a PTSD fashion every time a drive into the garage now.

I had a friend lose his bike off of a rack while driving 65mph down an interstate. The bike was never to be seen again but he turned it in on his homeowners and got a new bike out of it.


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## Mr.Tickles (Feb 21, 2006)

I have a thule hitching post(2 bike) and have almost lost my bike on 5 or 6 occassions. Not kidding. I've learned to use the accompanying straps religiously. I believe the problem lies in the rubber straps. They stretch and will dislodge causing the bike to lift off the rack. Thankfully, I used the straps. This is especially troublesome in crosswinds, be careful. And just to add I wasn't flying at 60 or 70 mph. I was cruising at around 50, 55. I don't understand why thule doesn't use a ratchet system where you can wind it down.

Why don't I get rid of it? Because at the moment I don't see a product that meets my needs. I like the T2, however, the antitheft-locking mechanism is lacking. The bike can be easily stolen. I'm waiting...


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## davidchutter (May 4, 2007)

*looking for anyone who has lost bikes off a hitch rack*

I am looking to speak with anyone who has ever lost bikes off their hitch mounted bike rack and felt it was due to manufacturer's defect. Please specify what brand rack it was. I greatly appreciate your reply.
Thanks & Happy New Year !


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## stevequest2000 (Nov 10, 2006)

I was throwing my Yakima Hookup in the receiver at dark and thought I put the hitch pin through the rack insert, but instead put it behind. I had taken out the screw stabilizer since it didn't seem to work anyway. Had a bungee cord holding the rack to the receiver for stability. I was going down the interstate about 0 when I heard something and then did not see the rack in my taillights. I had drug the rack behind me about a quarter mile. The bike stayed in the rack and received no damage other than a bar end ground off. I did shave a couple ounces off the Yakima though.


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## 41ants (Jun 12, 2007)

I would really watch your 75-80mph comment when dealing with Saris. That could be there out, since you were exceeding the legal speed limit. For your sake you might want to make sure of your speed in your communique to them


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## longman (May 9, 2007)

41ants said:


> I would really watch your 75-80mph comment when dealing with Saris. That could be there out, since you were exceeding the legal speed limit. For your sake you might want to make sure of your speed in your communique to them


mmmm... and people often wonder why manufacturers are sometimes reluctant to issue warranties, Be straight with them and they'll be straight with you.


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