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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Posts
    1,218

    PSA: Are your rack straps UV-stable?

    Just a reminder to check your PU and misc plastic bits on your racks for wear and fading periodically.

    I lost a bike today off one of my Yakima Front-Loaders doing 80 on I-90, after the rear wheel strap failed. Que emergency stop, Max reverse speed, dash out into oncoming traffic and successful rescue of what was seconds away from becoming a bike-pancake and maybe worse for whoever would have hit it. The damage to bike was minimal due to sheer luck. I can't say as much for the damage to my wits...

    On closer inspection of the strap it looks like a simple fatigue failure, but I wonder if UV exposure may have played a role. Definitely looking into a cable or some kind of redundancy going forward...

    Click image for larger version. 

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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Not Brooklyn
    Posts
    8,319
    Thanks for the heads up. Glad your bike isn't destroyed.

    Someone here mentioned using Voile straps for redundancy or in place of a ratchet strap.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Posts
    5,529
    Quote Originally Posted by Huskydoc View Post
    Definitely looking into a cable or some kind of redundancy going forward...
    Old-school toe-strap works well for this.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Posts
    19,214
    I use a rollercam that I keep inside.

    https://www.rollercam.com/
    Is it radix panax notoginseng? - splat
    This is like hanging yourself but the rope breaks. - DTM
    Dude Listen to mtm. He's a marriage counselor at burning man. - subtle plague

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    9,300ft
    Posts
    21,938
    You can use a ski strap in a pinch
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Park City
    Posts
    1,857
    I put a ski strap on every bike after having one fly off once.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    880
    +1 for ski strap redundancy

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Your Mom's House
    Posts
    8,302
    I have nightmares about yeeting my bike off the rack at highway speeds. I'ma start Voile strapping it.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    northern BC
    Posts
    30,885
    yeah I would use Voile straps for redundancy, i always carry at least 3 on a ski tour, 5 is best

    I've had a bike fall off one of those racks that grips the top tube, basicly the bike strts moving and wiggles it way out, I had short pieces of 2x2 to go in the empty spots on the 3 x rack and that helped cuz the clamp couldn't flex

    been doing the pickup truck since 2010 which is the way to go, with the Tacoma/ cap I can lock the tail gate, lock the bike to a bed loop and back the truck up 1 ft from the wall in the carport so the tailgate can't be openned so its pretty theft proof, take the battery out to charge inside
    Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    11,148
    If highway driving I lock the two bikes on the tray rack together with a cable lock that also goes around the rack - if a bike falls off it’s not gonna go flying and cause an accident.

    I also ski strap the rear wheel down (in addition to the strap on the rack) - because on my Thule tray rack if the tire deflates the strap can just flop open and then one good bounce and your rear tire is gonna be off the back

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    50 miles E of Paradise
    Posts
    15,570
    A gazillion years ago my MtB was attached via buddy’s roof rack to buddy’s vehicle. My bike and his rack (Thule) left the vehicle at about 65 mph. Heard ugly noise looked in mirror to watch vehicles dodging my bouncing bike

    Only damage was to a bar end and the saddle. Roof of buddy’s subie was way worse.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Paper St. Soap Co.
    Posts
    3,303
    Wow. I have never used that rack(just thule t2), would have guessed the front wheel part should have kept the bike on the car? Glad you got it back.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    ECO
    Posts
    5,805
    Somebody lost a red bike about EB mm217 on I70 today. It is, uh, no longer rideable.
    Secure your shit, somebody gonna blow a tire.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    The Pacific Northwet
    Posts
    337
    I watched my Cervelo go right into the front of an audi through the rearview mirror. It turned out to be the result of a catastrophic QR failure (skewer snapped at the nut). The insurance covered the damages, but I got ticketed for an unsecured load.
    Quote Originally Posted by hortence View Post
    When I did twice the work for half the control, I was a whiny little bitch

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    The Bull City
    Posts
    14,003
    rubber and plastic BREAKs down over time. Used to be worse. As for UV, it wrecks pretty much everything. I keep my wheel straps in the back when not in use.. also so they don't get stolen. But, they're very old and I'd not run with just one. My tray has room for front and back wheels.
    Go that way really REALLY fast. If something gets in your way, TURN!

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Posts
    6,643
    Quote Originally Posted by Huskydoc View Post
    Just a reminder to check your PU and misc plastic bits on your racks for wear and fading periodically.

    I lost a bike today off one of my Yakima Front-Loaders doing 80 on I-90, after the rear wheel strap failed. Que emergency stop, Max reverse speed, dash out into oncoming traffic and successful rescue of what was seconds away from becoming a bike-pancake and maybe worse for whoever would have hit it. The damage to bike was minimal due to sheer luck. I can't say as much for the damage to my wits...

    On closer inspection of the strap it looks like a simple fatigue failure, but I wonder if UV exposure may have played a role. Definitely looking into a cable or some kind of redundancy going forward...

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	PXL_20210928_210424161.PORTRAIT.jpg 
Views:	111 
Size:	848.4 KB 
ID:	387192
    I have driven long distances without the back straps on the wheels due to being an idiot and forgetting on multiple occasions. Now feeling lucky. How did the bike come off with the front QR tight?

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Posts
    1,218
    Quote Originally Posted by EWG View Post
    I have driven long distances without the back straps on the wheels due to being an idiot and forgetting on multiple occasions. Now feeling lucky. How did the bike come off with the front QR tight?
    Front Loader is a Wheel-on rack with a jaw-type front clamp. In retrospect it occurs to me that the front must've let go first, and the torque from the wind catching it at 80..ish may have just been too much for the strap

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Posts
    151
    Had the strap on my Front Loader fail as well. Luckily it failed in my driveway while loading the bike onto the rack, and not at 60+ on the highway. Been rocking a ski strap ever since with no issues.

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