# 20mm thru-axles: fork mount or upright rack?



## zuuds (Jan 30, 2004)

Question for those of you with bikes that have 20mm thru-axle forks: which is less of a pain in the ass; taking the front wheel off to use a fork-mount rack, or hoisting your 30+ pound AM/FR/DH bike onto an upright rack? 

Reason I ask is that I have a Nomad that is not too sprightly (Fox VAN RC fork, Mavic EX823 rims, etc.), and I sometimes struggle getting it into my Yakima Raptor upright rack (I have the old version, with the cam-lock instead of the rotating knob). 

In any event, I need a new bike carrier because the downtube clamp on the old Raptor is too small for my Nomad, and my 2.3" tires don't fit too well in the tire tray. I'm looking at the Forklift, King Cobra, and High Roller.


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## willevans (Jun 15, 2006)

Get the High Roller. Everyone I've talked to took their King Cobra back to REI to get the High Roller.

I think it's a pain in the butt and takes away from riding time when you have to put your front wheel back on and off to get your bike to the trail and home again. I have a Lefty and I've switched all my trays to uprights. It's nice to get back the interior space and not worry about getting more dirt than necessary into the car.


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## Hurricane Jeff (Jan 1, 2006)

willevans said:


> Get the High Roller. Everyone I've talked to took their King Cobra back to REI to get the High Roller.
> 
> I think it's a pain in the butt and takes away from riding time when you have to put your front wheel back on and off to get your bike to the trail and home again. I have a Lefty and I've switched all my trays to uprights. It's nice to get back the interior space and not worry about getting more dirt than necessary into the car.


I know I baised, since I designed the Fork Up adaptors, but I really dont think 30 seconds- 1 minute, depending on which Fork Up you use, would take away from your riding time. I would use what is the most secure, not what is the quickest to mount your $5000 bike on a rack. The Fork Up is by far the most secure way to transport your bike, even if it takes a minute to install.
It was never designed to be used to shuttle your bike, although you could. It was designed to securely get your bike to and from the trailhead.

PS, I sold Hurricane and no longer do sales for them, I still believe in the product, 13 years after I developed them.

www.hurricanecomponents.com


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## British Bulldog (Sep 11, 2008)

I came on here looking for an old thread about the best way to go with a truck bed mount that does not need the front wheel to be removed. Tons of people have designed their own type of racks plus all the different stuff you can buy and also the old throw a blanket over the tailgate method. 

Well I spent a good while trying to figure out the best option for my Ridgline which as most people will know only has a short bed so a lot of the rack options don't fit. And then the fender sticks out from the tailgate quite a ways so the blanket or pick up pad option doesn't work so well on that particular truck either. 

In the end I bought a Hurricane Fork Up and it is bloody brilliant. So simple and as Jeff says it takes like a minute to get the wheel off and drop the bike on the adaptor which fits perfectly so you can let go of the bike and let the fork sit on the adaptor and slot the axel back in. $25 well spent. Secure, well made product and with a little practice you can actually get the wheel on and off in well under a minute. 

Thanks Jeff!! :thumbsup:


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## epic (Apr 16, 2005)

I use the High Roller. I also have a Fork-Up and a fork mount rack, but doing 9 bolts twice to install/uninstall the wheel is just a pain. I f I had a Maxle or something, I'd probably think different, but the High Roller works just fine.


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## Hurricane Jeff (Jan 1, 2006)

epic said:


> I use the High Roller. I also have a Fork-Up and a fork mount rack, but doing 9 bolts twice to install/uninstall the wheel is just a pain. I f I had a Maxle or something, I'd probably think different, but the High Roller works just fine.


What kind of fork do you use. I can't recall a fork that uses 9 bolts to secure the wheel.

Several years ago I had a Hanebrink fork on my tandem that used 8 bolts. I admit, that was a pain in the a$$ to remove the wheel


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## epic (Apr 16, 2005)

Hurricane Jeff said:


> What kind of fork do you use. I can't recall a fork that uses 9 bolts to secure the wheel.
> 
> Several years ago I had a Hanebrink fork on my tandem that used 8 bolts. I admit, that was a pain in the a$$ to remove the wheel


Used to have a Super-T now only 5 bolts on a Fox 40. 5 bolts (twice each time) still takes a lot more time than no bolts.


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## BrakeL8 (Nov 30, 2008)

Hurricane Jeff said:


> I know I baised, since I designed the Fork Up adaptors, but I really dont think 30 seconds- 1 minute, depending on which Fork Up you use, would take away from your riding time. I would use what is the most secure, not what is the quickest to mount your $5000 bike on a rack. The Fork Up is by far the most secure way to transport your bike, even if it takes a minute to install.
> It was never designed to be used to shuttle your bike, although you could. It was designed to securely get your bike to and from the trailhead.
> 
> PS, I sold Hurricane and no longer do sales for them, I still believe in the product, 13 years after I developed them.
> ...


congrats- fantastic product.

I love your (er their) 15mm fork-up adapter. I agree with you re: time and security. It takes me a whopping 30 seconds to flip the bike upside down, pull the skewer out, toss the wheel on the ground, pick up the adapter and re-insert skewer and then pick up the bike and toss it on the rack. If it's after a ride and I"m drained call it 90 seconds.

I'll happily spend this time not to deal with bikes wiggling around on top of a very rigid sports car.


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## Hurricane Jeff (Jan 1, 2006)

BrakeL8 said:


> congrats- fantastic product.
> 
> I love your (er their) 15mm fork-up adapter. I agree with you re: time and security. It takes me a whopping 30 seconds to flip the bike upside down, pull the skewer out, toss the wheel on the ground, pick up the adapter and re-insert skewer and then pick up the bike and toss it on the rack. If it's after a ride and I"m drained call it 90 seconds.
> 
> I'll happily spend this time not to deal with bikes wiggling around on top of a very rigid sports car.


The Fork Up is still my baby....Although I don't have any rights to it, Im still happily in contact with the owner of Hurricane and I will always support the product. Thanks guys for the kind words regarding the product.


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## SHawthy33 (Oct 11, 2010)

Now the Hurricane sells for $37....that's a little pricey for two tabs of metal and a tube. I'd love to buy one but I can build three for $20 in parts and some minimal labor.


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## Hurricane Jeff (Jan 1, 2006)

Knock yourself out. If can build 3 for $20, parts and labor, Ill like to have to think about making you a job offer


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## DWill (Aug 24, 2010)

I use both a Fork up and the locking version from Rocky Mounts. 
Both work well, it takes me less than a minute to get my bike off the rack put the front tire on be ready to ride. 

Both hold my bike securely with no wobble going down the road or the freeway. 

The Rocky Mount version has the advantage of locking my bike to the rack, with a Fork Up I had to use a cable lock, not that big of deal really. 

Both are good products and well worth the money spent.


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