How are you transporting bicycles?

[bugeyedriver]

.......I think most people who put bikes up there aren’t going off road. Or they leave the bikes and rack at camp when they do.........

 

How right you are.  I'll travel down the occasional developed dirt or gravel road, but not after they have been recently washed out, and I'm not likely to purposefully pull The Wonder Egg anywhere deep off road into uncharted territory.  But that's just the way I roll.  I'm looking forward to some pictures in the future of where John takes his Ollie.  I bet they will be spectacular.

[GaryJona]

I wanted to use a front mount Draw Tight but on the Chevy High Country I had to use the Curt because of the Crome front the Draw tight would have been even with the tow hooks but had to go lower and use the Curt.

[Mainiac]

Thanks, I like the look of a hitch on the front of the Ram, not not sure we can mount with the plow frame...

[Vector - Lanham]

Hmmmm....i paid a good chunk of coin for that bicycle hitch...trade in credit would be nice...

[Kgoodusav]

 

 

Yvonne,

 

We are due to also get the new bike rack on May 1st.  Would love to hear from you and how it works.

[Hikegsm]

Kgoodusav, my husband will be taking his bike to test out the new rack.  I will post pictures of it right away for you.  Sure hope it works well!

 

Yvonne

[Hikegsm]

Well we are at Oliver picking up our new baby and I promised to post some pictures of the new bike rack design. It looks great snd very sturdy but we havent gotten to test it yet. There is some problem with the satellite and they have been working on it since noon Thursday.  Oliver put us up inna hotel last night. I hope we get to stay in our camper tonight. Glad we booked extra day at Fall Hallow.

[Overland]

Ah, that looks very much like the rack that Steve built for the Outlaw Oliver.

 

It looks pretty useful - does Oliver's price for the new rack include the actual bike rack, or is it just the cross bars and then whatever accessories you want to add?

 

I wonder if it's deep enough to fit a standard cargo basket.  Someone used to sell a 2' wide half-rack basket that would certainly work there.  And I suppose you could find a rooftop cargo bag that would work well there too.

[Overland]

Just to toss another option out there, for those who are sporting the coverless spare look, a tire mounted rack for a jeep might be a good choice...

 

[Hikegsm]

Overland, it is like Steves rack. They copied the design. The rack comes complete with the thule bike mount already attached.

[Try2Relax]

The new rack will certainly be more stable, not having that single hitch pivot point. It doesn't look like there would be any flex or bounce whatsoever.

 

Two concerns, license plate visibility and tank dumping access.

 

What are they pricing the new mount for, coming with the Thule?

[Hikegsm]

My husband likes the rack. We have not had it on rough roads yet to give it a real challenge but seems good for the highway. We will find out just how good it is this summer when we are traveling on the rough forest service roads in Colorado. It is a pricey option at $995.  And yes, I think we will have to relocate the licence plate. As far as access to the stinky slinky, yep more of a challenge but certainly doably. Worth it to us to have a place to carry the bike besides inside the truck bed or blocking the access to the truck bed.

[DavidS]

When I started researching bike racks for the back of the Oliver, like Don Thompson who started this thread, I found that for many bike racks, mounting them on a towed vehicle voids the warranty. I wondered why, and I searched the internet with terms like “catastrophic bike rack failure trailer.” There are lots of examples and discussions on trailer forums. Most (all?) of these failures are on stickbuilt trailers, where they have bolted a receiver hitch onto a possibly flimsy bumper. And catastrophic failure can occur.

 

 

After seeing this, I figured that the lawyers for Thule and Yakima were simply doing their jobs and voiding the warranties when the racks are on trailers. I felt that the Oliver bike rack was much stronger, and I would take my chances. After my research I decided on the Yakima Holdup bike rack that fits into a receiver hitch, and I am quite happy with it. I have the rear view camera, and I can see the rack as the car travels, and the rack and the bikes are remarkably stable.

 

The new Oliver design for a rear bike rack that Yvonne & Doug posted pictures of looks very good; it was not available when we ordered our unit. However my reason for posting here is that for some people there is a good rationale for a standard bike rack.

 

I am an experienced bike rider. I commute to work by bike and I did cycle touring multiple summers. I am comfortable riding on many kinds of roads. My wife, in contrast, is happiest riding on an empty road with wide shoulders; even better is a protected bike path. So for us, the campground may be on a poor road by my wife’s preferences. However, if we transfer the bike rack from the trailer to the tow vehicle, we can transport the bikes to a more desirable bike path.

 

We camped at a BLM campground last month near Moab. The road was narrow with no shoulders. However, eight miles away there was a great bike path along the Colorado River. Some photos enclosed. There is a bridge across the Colorado River for bikes and pedestrians, and at each of the bridge piers there are wonderful sculptures of rock and steel.

 

David

[Bruce W]

Do bikes get really dirty mounted back there?

[DavidS]

Do bikes get really dirty mounted back there?

No, the bikes do not get very dirty, from my limited experience with bikes in the back of an Ollie, and from greater experience with bikes mounted behind a car.

 

David

[ShallowGal]

Not sure if you are aware but Oliver has redesigned their bike rack. It is a bar type  not a hitch mount anymore and comes ready to go rack and all. We are getting one. We may be the first to get it. We have a pickup date of April 27. I will be sure to post pictures and tell you how it works. Yvonne

Hi Yvonne! We are in the process of choosing our options & I wanted to know how the bike rack system is working for you. Thanks!

[Hikegsm]

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. We have rarely had cell service since leaving for the summer. The new bike rack works great! We have been in the Colorado rockies since July 1 and have had the camper down many dirt forest service roads with the bike loaded. Everything is stable with little movement even on the rough roads.

Yvonne

[John E Davies]

Any updates onthis thread? The rack is not listed as an option - could I order one to be shipped, without bike rails? Cost?

 

Do the rear lights show through the bike wheels “adequately”? Would additional LED brake/ running lights down low on the rack crossbar be advisable?

 

Roadrunner posted a pic today and his brand new rack has FIVE front to back beams. Plus those way cool 1Up roof rack trays...

 

 

I have to say that it is one sexy looking system. Am I allowed to use that word?

 

Thanks.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

[Try2Relax]

For long travels I like to keep my fat tire EBike inside, for short trips it can ride in the isle, once stationary it lives in the back of the truck. No racks.

 

[dbp05ret]

I have been researching bicycle racks for my new Oliver. A friend of mind from Minnesota stopped by over the holiday. He is into mountain bikes, fat tire bikes, touring bikes and road bikes. I told him that I was thinking about buying a Kuat 2.o hitch rack that I could use on the Oliver as well as the Subaru. He said that if he was buying another rack it would be by 1 UP. He said it is a great rack. I then saw that some of the people on this forum have racks made by 1 UP. I would be interested in your opinion of the 2 inch Heavy Duty Double or Super Duty Double. Of course, I would need to purchase a hitch expander as well. Thanks! Darryl

[geokeg]

I put a class lll hitch on the front of my Silverado and use a Thule bike rack on it.  We like it.  You can leave the Oliver at the park, put the bikes on the front of the truck and go to another destination and ride the bikes.  The rack can also be used on our Outback when we are not taking the truck/Oliver.

 

Have not had to use it yet but could move the Oliver with the front mounted hitch if it needed to be put in a tight parking spot.