Fiamma T5 Pro Bike Rack

[comfortz]

Yeah it says up to 4 bikes in the instructions - I'll price up the extra fittings.

We're in Chesterfield - I have one made up here if you are on you're way past!

 

[CALI FATE]

Yeah it says up to 4 bikes in the instructions - I'll price up the extra fittings.

We're in Chesterfield - I have one made up here if you are on you're way past!

Hi Nick - will be closeby Tues afternoon - happy to pop in and en route from Leeds - please let me knoe contact / address and i can give you a better time impression on the day - but est 1530 ish - thanks

 

[Monkeytree]

Could you please work out a price for the 4 bike version if it fits the t6. Looks better than the VW one! Thanks.

 

[comfortz]

Hi Nick - will be closeby Tues afternoon - happy to pop in and en route from Leeds - please let me knoe contact / address and i can give you a better time impression on the day - but est 1530 ish - thanks

Works perfect for me

01246 825873
S44 6BJ gets you the closest. East gate of the industrial park - close to the Castle Cafe which is very well sign posted!

See you Tuesday!

 

[comfortz]

Could you please work out a price for the 4 bike version if it fits the t6. Looks better than the VW one! Thanks.

Sure will

 

[comfortz]

Thanks CALI FATE for visiting us yesterday unfortunately this rack doesn't fit the T6 correctly due to the profile on the top of the tailgate rather on the bottom....although its close!
For more details - see this link here https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/mystery-bike-rack-for-t6-cali.13587/
I've messaged my contact at nova leisure to talk to Fiamma if they have any plans on bringing a T6 rack out - it would only be a slight mod from this one - I'll let you know how I get on. But for now its a T5 rack only I'm afraid!

 

[Bigted]

Hi All,

I have just fitted one of these to my beach and thought I would share my thoughts with you. I purchased the rack from Nick at Comfortz Leisure and the service was top draw.

So to the fitting - the rack arrived in a box about the same size as a cycle box. This is what all the bits look like once removed from the box.
The first stage is to assemble the centre square of the rack. Easy enough but the left and right bar were not marked but with a close look at the picture in the manual you can work it out. then you fit the sides to make the main body of the rack again easy to do.

The next steps are to add the side and bottom braces. Had a little problem with the bottom brace but a quick call to Nick and all sorted - the countersunk holes in the bottom bar need to face in and the nuts on the bolts will do up further than you think.

 

[Bigted]

Next up was fitting the rack to the van - like Nick I had to deviate from the way the manual tells you to do it. Its a tight fit and bottom brackets don't have enough adjustment to slip over the edge of the door

 

[Bigted]

I found it easier to remove the side braces and slip over the mount the reattach the side braces. Bit of a faff but worked and once on the frame is very solid.

 

[Bigted]

it was the just a case of fitting the Bike carrier which was easy.

 

[Bigted]

I then tried it for size with a 24 and 20 inch bike to check they fitted. They would both fit easily so good for smaller framed bikes. Will check both a 14 amd 16 inch bike once I have unearthed them to see how small a bike the rack will take.

 

[Bigted]

So my observations are

There were no M6 washers in the pack like Nicks one (kindly added by Nick)
The Manual needs some work - at one point it tells you to put a M6 bolt into a M5 nut - however as guide its fine and the mistakes are easy to spot.
I have 4 plastic nut caps that are not on the parts list left that I have no idea what they are for.
Fitting to the van needed to be thought about as the manual was no help.
The rack is of very high quality and looks like it will stand the test of time.
The fit is very good and the rack is going nowhere.

Overall I am pleased with my purchase and it represents much better value than the VW oem one which is over twice the price.

If you are in the market for a rack give Nick + comfortz a ring.

 

[Silver]

Bigted

Thank you for a very helpful posting......I'm waiting for the T6 version from Fiamma

Cheers,

 

[comfortz]

Great review Big Ted!
Just one thing to add, pop some of the protective film around the bottom edges of the tailgate, I'm not sure if the instructions said this but there was spare film in the package to do so.
Same as the VW rack....will pop a photo on shortly

 

[weeve]

Do you also have the additional bike trays for sale so can increase number of bikes (with a price)? or know a place that does?

 

[Bigted]

Anyone in the market for one of these please hold fire for the time being - there is a issue with the rack that is currently being looked at by Fiammia. I'll update you all when I have an answer.

 

[comfortz]

Hi Folks, the rack Ian (big ted) has placed on his van has dinted his tailgate so we're just waiting to see what fiamma's response is. We originally thought this was down to the bottom attachment bolts being too short. But on reflection and comparing it against the VW rack I beleive its a design fault. The VW rack places pressure on the very edge of the tailgate where the metal is folded and strong. Whilst the fiamma rack has a bigger surface area on the attachment, I personally beleive its on a weaker area of the tailgate. I'm currently feeding this back to fiamma.

Will update when I get some response.

 

[Bigted]

Just to update on this - I have now returned the rack to Nick and got the VW one. The rack cause 2 dents in the tailgate above the rear lights. The design of it to the VW one is different as the pads it rests on are a lot bigger and not just on the edge of the panel. Fiammia have paid for the repair to my van and changed the length of the retaining bolts and now say all is good with their design. I however am once bitten twice shy so decided on the VW rack. Nick is currently testing the new design I believe and will restock if he is happy that no damage is caused. Many thanks again for your help Nick we got there in the end!

 

[bilberry]

We were just about to choose the Fiamma and fortunately I carried on to page three of the thread! What happened next and what should we buy for a light, two-bike option?

 

[CALI FATE]

We were just about to choose the Fiamma and fortunately I carried on to page three of the thread! What happened next and what should we buy for a light, two-bike option?

Light 2 bike option - look at the Bones rack - very clever and totally adequate if used on odd occasion. Not so good if you want something permanently attached.

 

[Bigted]

To be honest you can tell the difference in design between the Fiammia and the VW rack. The VW rack is expensive but very nice.

 

[andyinluton]

Bit of a thread resurrection here.

Does anyone know if the problems with the early Fiamma Pro bike racks causing dents in the tailgates of T5s been solved.

I need a reasonably cheap two kiddy bike rack for next week. Am already using the towbar for my usual westfalia rack but with a storage box on it. Will probably never get used again so don't want to shell out for a vw one.