# racks



## jtompilot (Sep 14, 2005)

what are my options for racks with 20mm axle? Are there any hitch ones?


----------



## cmckim (Jul 18, 2007)

I have heard of several people using non tandem specific hitch racks. I haven't tried it as none of our vehicles have hitches (nor are they wide enough to rpotect a tandem!)

In roof racks:
Sportworks used to make the U2, which you can find used or NOS if you are lucky/diligent. It is a roof rack, but one of very few that let the front wheel stay on. I have one and have driven from Washington to Kansas and back with no issues. Saris made (makes?) a rack that clamps both the seat posts - seems like it would be tough to deal with on a tall vehicle. 

Many people have been adapting existing half-bike racks with longer trays and maybe additional supports.

That's all I know of.

Good Luck!


----------



## Cleve Lansteamer (Mar 26, 2005)

I would also like to carry a tandem on a hitch rack and have been speculating that it will work fine if you take the wheels off.


----------



## jtompilot (Sep 14, 2005)

On a hitch rack I was wondering if one allowed the tandem to sit vertical? Other wise it would stick out past the car on both sides.


----------



## cmckim (Jul 18, 2007)

*round peg, square hole*

I think that folks are turning the front wheel as perpendicular as possible and securing it. Then the wheels do stick out, but not very far.

You can also use a standard tandem roof rack with a 20mm adapter, but it would mean removing the wheel each time. What fork are you using?


----------



## jtompilot (Sep 14, 2005)

Stratos S7


----------



## TandemNut (Mar 12, 2004)

Depends on what sort of vehicle you're driving, but we used to carry our tandems on a hitch rack, the sort with two arms sticking out. I had a friend of mine make some frame cradles out of medical cast materials, which protected the frame tubes. 
On our Ford Expedition, the tandem did not stick out past the mirrors with the rear wheel off and the front wheel turned. Mucho easy to carry that way.
There's another thread on this board about Speedhub Nate's homemade tandem rack. It looked to be a pretty good design.


----------



## elsievo (Sep 13, 2005)

I'm in the process of having a local machine shop make a modification for a Draftmaster rack that will allow the front wheel to stay on our tandem rack. I'll post if it works out.
I have put our ECdM on a rear rack on our Forester with the wheels removed, barely stuck out at all.


----------



## Speedub.Nate (Dec 31, 2003)

BigNut said:


> There's another thread on this board about Speedhub Nate's homemade tandem rack. It looked to be a pretty good design.


Yeah, that slow bastard I hired is still "working on it." I handed it over to a local guy with a home-garage machine shop. He promised me it'd take awhile, and it fell off my radar over the winter. I've talked to him a few times recently and the excuses are getting silly. I'm pushing him to get this relatively simple job finished.

I know, I know... I should have asked patineto to recommend a reliable machinist in Berkeley.

So for now, we're using the hitch rack with wheels sticking out on either side of the car. We've managed not to hit anything (or anyone), though I came close to whacking the telephone pole in front of the house... 

Link to the complete thread: Roof Racks for Mountain Tandems / NO wheel removal...


----------



## vuduvgn (Jan 8, 2004)

I use a Rocky Mounts tandem rack with the Hurricane 20mm adapter. It works, but makes me nervous. I finally figured out that I can have a little adapter made to have the Rocky Mounts fork mount fit my qr20 fork. I've got the adapter drawn up and just sent it to a friend today to see how well he can make it. I'll report back.


----------



## Hurricane Jeff (Jan 1, 2006)

I would'nt be nervous using the Fork Up, if thats even what your nervous about. I designed the Fork Up and we also are tandem riders. We used our tandems (Curtlo hardtail, Ventana El Conquistador and 2 Ventana El Testigos) on our roof racks driving up and down the mountain (Big Bear Lake, Ca.) and never had one problem, hell, we had but a few problems from the 10's of 1000's Fork Ups we sold.
Anyway, thanks for buying/ using a Fork Up.


----------



## vuduvgn (Jan 8, 2004)

Thanks for the reply Jeff. My concern is not with the Fork Up it'self, but that it's one extra connection that could fail with my 40+ pound bike on the roof...
I've tried finding a bolting system where I could bolt the fork up to my fork mount, but I can't find a 9mm x 100mm bolt and nut system. So, it's two quick releases in the meantime.


----------



## Hurricane Jeff (Jan 1, 2006)

Again, the Fork Up has a 10 year proven track record. We have( as well as many others) tranported our tandem(s) thousand of miles using a Fork Up in a 9mm type clamping systems with both Thule and Yakima racks. BTW, our current Ventana El Testigo weighs in close to 50 lbs. and never had any problems driving up and down mountain roads and in excess of 80 mph on open roads. I don't really think you'll have a problem. When a Fork Up is properly and securely mounted in both the fork and the rack, it will be no less stable than if you were just using a fork with 9mm dropouts. The Fork Up has been endorsed by all of the major fork companies and bike companies, as a matter of fact, most manufacturers that built a new fork system usually contact us to design a Fork Up to fit their product.


----------

