Date:         Sun, 26 Oct 1997 16:11:55 EST
Reply-To:     Sean Bartnik <sbart7kb@WWW.MWC.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon mailing list <Vanagon@Gerry.SDSC.EDU>
From:         Sean Bartnik <sbart7kb@WWW.MWC.EDU>
Subject:      OK one more thing on bike racks....

Hey all,
I may be getting a rack soon, and I want to thank everyone for all their
helpful info.

Looking around, I've seen the rack that David Higgenbotham recommended,
and while nice it's a little out of my price range.

In the local bike store they have a rack by a company called Hollywood
for about $60.  It's made for the backs of vans and sport-utes, and
straps on w/ a 4-point harness.  There are foam pads on contact points
and the tubing is covered by vinyl or a similar substance :-)

They have this particular rack assembled and mounted on a wall there in
the store.  It appears to be quite sturdy, no play in the rack, etc.  It
has the typical two bars that extend out horizontally from the rack and
hold the bike.

So, while considering bikes and racks, I am also of course considering
how I will be holding the bike to the rack.

The obvious answer is bungees, which I've checked out and would probably
work fine.  Wal-Mart has an amazing selection of bungees in the
automotive section.  Of course, I would lock the bike to the rack with a
u-lock.  But that wouldn't keep it right in place on the rack, and I
obviously don't want the bike bouncing around back there.

Also, I will need something to tie up the front wheel so that it doesn't
turn side-to-side and bash the rear hatch, etc.  Bungees may also work
here.

But, what I've also seen at Wal-Mart are those spiffy ratcheting
tie-down thingys.  They work sorta like a rear seatbelt.  You put the
webbing over whatever you want to tie down, then click the latch
together and yank on the leftover to tighten the thing.  Sounds perfect
for tying a bike to a bike rack, or tying the front wheel to the frame
to keep the bikes front wheel in line with the rest of the bike.

These are the two basic avenues I've considered.  Does anyone have any
experience with bungees and/or ratcheting tie-downs?  How do YOU hold
your bike(s) to the rack?  I wanna know! :-)

I'd really appreciate hearing from a bunch of people on this so I can
get some good ideas.  And since it's only tangentially VW-related,
please respond to me privately unless you think the list will benefit.

Thanks once again, everyone.

Sean
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