Walski - thanks. I might just clean it up and leave it for now but good to know they can be bought.
Slightly worried that ripping the stuff off could cause damage...!
Slightly worried that ripping the stuff off could cause damage...!
Genuine vw rear bike rack
- Thread starter superflyguy
- Start date
Yes
Thanks for the info. I'm thinking a good Dlock as an extra looped through would be a bit of extra piece of mind..... Is the whole rack easy enough to take off the van inbetween bike trips as for us they won't be hugely frequent or is there no point and not worth the hassle?
Our van was supplied with it fitted and it has not been taken off since - I quite like the look of them on the back and it’s no hassle if you decide on the spur of the moment to go off somewhere.
It’s easier with two people, the rack hooks over the top of the tailgate to hang from but the tailgate needs to be open to locate and tighten the bottom fixings
Main issue I would foresee would be the tailgate gas struts, with the standard struts the tailgate will be heavy and won’t stay open with the rack on but if you change to HD struts then the tailgate will be extremely stiff and difficult to close without the rack so factor that in as you may want to swap the struts when you take the rack on/off but saying that it takes a minute or two each side
Main issue I would foresee would be the tailgate gas struts, with the standard struts the tailgate will be heavy and won’t stay open with the rack on but if you change to HD struts then the tailgate will be extremely stiff and difficult to close without the rack so factor that in as you may want to swap the struts when you take the rack on/off but saying that it takes a minute or two each side
I purchased the sgs struts and have never been happy with them.
One other problem could be or is a problem , is if you have a Slidepod Conversion then what happens with a bike rack & say 2 cycles on the rack and you have a rear tent to cover the kitchen area then what ?....... do you have to take your bikes and rack off before you put up your tent or ?
Sorry to possibly uset the apple cart
Sorry to possibly uset the apple cart
You can’t open the door with bikes on - weight will close it.
The uprated struts will hold the weight of the rack but not the bikes.
Thankyou for that, and I presume that you will need to take the bike rack off to be able to put a rear tent over the rear door anyway ?...... another interesting point on what you should or shouod not carry ?
We carry bikes when we go off for longer trips or dedicated bike outings.
Genuine VW rack with upgraded struts.
As mentioned above by various peeps:
Bike rack easy to take off/put on with help from A N Other to prevent scratching ones van!
Takes 4 bikes but is logistically awkward if they are all varying sizes - 4 arms lock the bikes in place - so
you have to practise the best order of bikes on rack.
All arms are lockable but need octopus arms to get to some of them when short like me!!
I always secure with thick cable lock as an extra - can't trust the EU any more when sporting my GB sticker!!
I have a LWB so when rack is on and folded, it does add extra length which the parking sensors don't correct for -
occasional near misses when reversing up to walls etc!!
When bikes on then it does stick out obviously so don't forget it and ignore the sensors!!
When bikes on then a larger gents racer does protrude above the height of roof - so be aware and careful with height barriers
in car parks!! - the 2.1 m ones are quite close to handle bars or saddle!! Yikes
My tailgate does lift with 2 bikes on but as I have a rear facing pop top then the handlebars do hit the roof cloth - not viciously,
but enough to panic the first time I did it!!
If no bikes on then tailgate opens at speed but closes perfectly.
If no bikes and no rack then stand well back when opening (chin uppercut!) and you will never need to go to the gym
when closing as it requires a severe workout!!
BUT.... I would always recommend a good rack
Enjoy your van and tailgate and rack and bikes and your rides!!
Genuine VW rack with upgraded struts.
As mentioned above by various peeps:
Bike rack easy to take off/put on with help from A N Other to prevent scratching ones van!
Takes 4 bikes but is logistically awkward if they are all varying sizes - 4 arms lock the bikes in place - so
you have to practise the best order of bikes on rack.
All arms are lockable but need octopus arms to get to some of them when short like me!!
I always secure with thick cable lock as an extra - can't trust the EU any more when sporting my GB sticker!!
I have a LWB so when rack is on and folded, it does add extra length which the parking sensors don't correct for -
occasional near misses when reversing up to walls etc!!
When bikes on then it does stick out obviously so don't forget it and ignore the sensors!!
When bikes on then a larger gents racer does protrude above the height of roof - so be aware and careful with height barriers
in car parks!! - the 2.1 m ones are quite close to handle bars or saddle!! Yikes
My tailgate does lift with 2 bikes on but as I have a rear facing pop top then the handlebars do hit the roof cloth - not viciously,
but enough to panic the first time I did it!!
If no bikes on then tailgate opens at speed but closes perfectly.
If no bikes and no rack then stand well back when opening (chin uppercut!) and you will never need to go to the gym
when closing as it requires a severe workout!!
BUT.... I would always recommend a good rack
Enjoy your van and tailgate and rack and bikes and your rides!!
And as I’ve found out when a bargain comes along they will even take a Fat Bike .
We carry bikes when we go off for longer trips or dedicated bike outings.
Genuine VW rack with upgraded struts.
As mentioned above by various peeps:
Bike rack easy to take off/put on with help from A N Other to prevent scratching ones van!
Takes 4 bikes but is logistically awkward if they are all varying sizes - 4 arms lock the bikes in place - so
you have to practise the best order of bikes on rack.
All arms are lockable but need octopus arms to get to some of them when short like me!!
I always secure with thick cable lock as an extra - can't trust the EU any more when sporting my GB sticker!!
I have a LWB so when rack is on and folded, it does add extra length which the parking sensors don't correct for -
occasional near misses when reversing up to walls etc!!
When bikes on then it does stick out obviously so don't forget it and ignore the sensors!!
When bikes on then a larger gents racer does protrude above the height of roof - so be aware and careful with height barriers
in car parks!! - the 2.1 m ones are quite close to handle bars or saddle!! Yikes
My tailgate does lift with 2 bikes on but as I have a rear facing pop top then the handlebars do hit the roof cloth - not viciously,
but enough to panic the first time I did it!!
If no bikes on then tailgate opens at speed but closes perfectly.
If no bikes and no rack then stand well back when opening (chin uppercut!) and you will never need to go to the gym
when closing as it requires a severe workout!!
BUT.... I would always recommend a good rack
Enjoy your van and tailgate and rack and bikes and your rides!!
Have you changed your gas struts or are they sill the standard units ?........ also what bike rack did you buy or is there only one VW bike rack.
Thanks in advance
peskycoots
Member
I have the vw one I think it’s great, use it regularly to carry 3 bikes to France and back. Can’t fit under 2m height restrictions with bikes on but other than that it’s cool. I leave mine on all the time, super glued the screw heads to deter thieves. I got the sgs struts too but they are weak and inconsistent so I’ll end up changing them for vw ones I guess. I did powder coat mine black though as I wasn’t keen on the raw ally colour
It’s the latest release VW 4 bike carrying cycle carrier.
Yes I had the gas struts changed at the conversion stage.
The originals will not lift the tailgate with bikes on.
Cheers
Hi All,
Thanks for all this info. Its all great so I wont ask the same questions again. I will replace my struts so just down to choosing the rack.
Im not really going to ever carry more than 2 bikes so looking at the Fiamma T6 Pro for 2 bikes. Anyone have experience of it?
Also looking at the Atera for T6, which apparently ISNT the Linea... and is only for 3 bikes minimum, but getting information out of Atera is like getting blood out of a stone. they really dont understand customer service and questions.
so if anyone has long term review/experience info of either I would be most grateful.
Thanks again.
Pete
Thanks for all this info. Its all great so I wont ask the same questions again. I will replace my struts so just down to choosing the rack.
Im not really going to ever carry more than 2 bikes so looking at the Fiamma T6 Pro for 2 bikes. Anyone have experience of it?
Also looking at the Atera for T6, which apparently ISNT the Linea... and is only for 3 bikes minimum, but getting information out of Atera is like getting blood out of a stone. they really dont understand customer service and questions.
so if anyone has long term review/experience info of either I would be most grateful.
Thanks again.
Pete
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