We recently purchased a Honda Element Sports Utility Vehicle. Most everyone is familiar with the boxy profile of the Element, and its usefulness as a transportation for getting our bikes to the trails. It is more like a Subaru AWD car than a truck, but with all wheel drive and rubber interior, it fits our active lifestyle well. We wish it had better fuel economy, but the reality is there aren’t a lot of affordable utility hybrids in the used market. (for the record, we’re planning to offset our carbon footprint by riding our bikes as much as possible and leaving the car at home)
So we now have the car. The next step is to figure out how the hell we’re going to carry our bikes to the trails. (our primary intended use for the vehicle)
the Northshore 6-bike rack
Our first option was to use the existing Thule roof rack system I already own. I already have the wide bars, and really only needed to replace the towers and fit kit to make it work. The roof rack works well and I have a lot invested in it. (roof rack system don’t come cheap.) That said, I’m completely over it. Placing bikes on the roof of a car is great in a city like San Francisco, where we wanted the shortest clearance end to end in order to fit ninja-like into ridiculously small parking spots. (for the record, I have mad skills in the parallel parking area and have managed to park in some remarkably silly spots)
The drawback to having bikes on the roof is that it is much like having a sail, except instead of making the car move, it simply takes more energy to propel the vehicle forward, and completely kills the gas mileage. This is pretty lame if you specifically chose a under-powered vehicle for the fuel economy alone. The roof rack completely killed any advantages of the city car, (a Scion XB) so when we took our traveling job last year we sold it. Now we’re living in Portland, we ride our bikes everywhere or take the streetcar. The car stays in the garage, so parking clearance is now a non issue. There is also the fact you have bikes on the roof. Many have experienced the horror story of driving under a low over hang, or into the garage with bikes on the roof. That always has a bad ending, no matter how it plays out. Ditching the roof rack would also lead to peace of mind.
The decision was made: the roof rack goes on Craig’s List.
Now that we’d committed to a hitch rack, we’d need a hitch. A trip to U-Haul solved that problem. Now it was on.
The mounting hooks on the Northshore Rack.
There are a number of rack designs available for off-the-back- hitch mounted racks, but for the most part, the choices come down to two styles. Two-arm racks and platform style racks.
The two arm racks tend to be the best value, and is most popular with families. However, they are a bit of a pain in the ass to put bikes on- especially if you don’t have a standard double diamond frame design. I had one in the past, and if you are carrying three downhill/ freeride bikes, they are a bit scary- the light arms flex all over, and bikes often rattle around and into the others.
The second style is a platform or tray-style rack. This system is the most versitile out there, and can hold the widest range of bike styles, shapes and sizes. It will also cart around two to four DH bikes with out a hitch. (get it? pun intended)
There is a new player in the game though. When asking around, one of the most highly regarded racks for riders that shuttle and transport downhill bikes has been by a company called NorthShore Racks based out of Vancouver, BC.
These racks are especially popular with in the DH race scene, as their unique design allows carrying up to six bikes off the back of a vehicle using a 2″ hitch. Unlike conventional platform style or two arm racks, the NorthShore Racks hang off a hook system. The rear wheels are kept from moving using “marine-grade” fixings, and because of the way the front wheel is turned while mounted, bikes can be packed close together. DH riders do quite a bit of shuttling, and having the capacity to carry more bikes is key. (Which is why you see so many trucks in the freeride mountain bike videos.)
The lash points for the rear wheels.
On a recent outing to the Mckenzie River Trail, we elected to utilize the shuttle, and ride the entire length as an all mountain ride, with as much descending as possible. I highly recommend this option, as it was wicked-fun, and even though we’ve been riding a decent amount, by the end of the ride, everyone was low on energy.
It also was our first chance to check out the North Shore 6-Bike Rack. At a first glance, these things are pretty sweet. Mounting up bikes goes quickly, and is just a matter of hanging the bike on the hook, and tying down the back wheel. Because the way the bars are turned on the bikes, this rack packs them tight, didn’t bounce around and the bikes don’t even block the rear brake lights. In fact, the only drawback to this rack design appears to be for those that also ride bikes of the skinny tire variety. The fork mounts don’t play well unless you have a mountain bike, due to the way the hooks fit. Kid’s bikes? Maybe. It would depend on the clearance on the fork. However, for mountain bikers with that play hard and often, it is a pretty sweet system that should be checked out. It is a simple design, and folds down when not in use. Two, four, as well as six bike options are available and are priced in line with other brand models with similar capacity. We’ve talked to a few guys that have them, and they love theirs.
Mounting our bikes on the NSR-6 bike rack.
There are a few cons to the system though. The high weight capacity comes at a price. The rack is heavy and apparently is a pain to install or remove it. Because the bikes hang vertically, there can be some clearance issues- if you were moving away from roof racks because you keep scraping your bike on the parking garage, this rack plus a large SUV will probably have similar issues. The rack doesn’t offer a lockable hitch pin either, so security of the rack could be an issue.
North Shore Racks is a new company and availability is also an issue. They don’t have a dealer network here in the states, so if you want one, they have to ship it to you, and that won’t be cheap based on the weight of the rack.
We haven’t made our mind to pull the trigger on a North Shore rack, and are still in wait and see mode with a Kuat Rack demo rack scheduled for our trip to Ashland. Stay tuned to see how it worked for us.
For more info on the North Shore Racks:
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- Mounting our bikes on the NSR-6 bike rack.
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- The lash points for the rear wheels.
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- The hooks.
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- Northshore 6-bike rack
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I’ve had he NSR 4-bike for almost two years, and you won’t find a more intuitive, durable, or stable rack. Period. Especially for “big bikes”. Shipping to the states was $45USD. The rack is also by no stretch of the imagination a “pain” to install and/or remove. Indeed, I find it MUCH less cumbersome than the behemoth Thule or Yakima 4-bike solutions. Finally, locking pin solutions can be had for about $12 at your local auto parts store. Use a product called the Hitch Vise for $30 more, and the NSR is both locked and bolted to your vehicle (yielding security and rock-solid stability, respectively).
Also a point to consider is that the NSR reduces ground clearance the LEAST of all the hitch rack solutions. It also is built tough, and can handle rough offroad shuttles to remote trailheads with aplomb. Be prepared to bottom the back end of a (4-bike) Thule or Yakima frequently if you take it off level pavement, especially on low-clearance vehicles.
Even given some of the more recent rack offerings, if I had to make a buying decision again right now, it would be the NSR without hesitation.