New VW bike rack issue

[makemefaster]

Hi Guys and Gals,
I recently upgraded my 2012 Beach for a 2019 version. In the 7 years with the old van the only issues I had with the bike rack was the wheel ties trying to escape when I wasn't looking or the bike frame clamps trying to scratch my bikes.

One of the upgrades I was looking forward to was the new bike rack with the ties attached and the frame clamps all in plastic.

I've now had 3 close calls with bikes nearly falling off the new rack. It is really not nice! If I'd not used a bungee cord as well they would have caused a crash yesterday.

Has anyone else got the new rack?
Any problems?

I'll obviously be as careful as I can be and back up the built in grips with lots of stuff but I've had 7 years an no problems with the old rack. 7 months (of low covid use) and scared the **** out of myself!

Thanks!
M

 

[rupertpoon]

I’ve had the T6 rack with the ‘new look’ and found it to be fine. I don’t have it any more but I used it for 4 bikes on a camping trip to the west coast of France.

From memory the clamps are chunkier than the old style ones and don’t wrap around as much. However they are softer so you need to tighten them firmly. They will not scratch the bike paint.

The other point is the wheel straps are really strong and should cinched down nice and tight to take the bulk of any up-and-down and left/right forces. The upper arm clamps are there to take braking and acceleration forces. To get the wheel clamps tight you may have to squish the bike wheel down against the clamp with the other hand while tightening the strap. With both the straps done up the bike should not be able to move left/right. In that respect it’s much better than the light straps on the old racks.

I would say that on balance the new bike racks for T6’s are better but need to be used differently to be safe.

On a related note I switched to a Thule EasyFold XT and the clamping system is very similar. The main difference is the wheel clamps have a ratchet lever to tighten the straps which works better.

Hope this helps!


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[Nolan]

What came loose to let the bikes go on the new rack?

Can't say I've had any issues other than it's a pain arranging 4 bikes to the clamp arms can attach where they need to, seat post works well as I'm less worried about clamping that hard than my carbon frame.

Having said that, if I'm carrying bikes any distance, I use a webbing strap around the bikes and the rack frame for peace of mind. I made a bunch of them up and they come in handy for all sorts of things (strapping the mattress to the multiplex board one travelling for example).

 

[makemefaster]

Yes 4 different bikes all of different sizes are tricky to load! The new rack with its sliding base can make that a bit easier.

I've had one of the strap fasteners on the plastic tyre chock things break. That means a tyre wobbles a little. It seems the new clamps are less firm and if the tubing is wide or you have to clamp at an odd angle it is less secure.

I'm now using 3 ± bungee cords to cover all the bases as the idea of loose bikes is no funny matter! I'm also locking the clamps so the can't loosen with tension and vibration.

Glad to hear it is only me, obviously ill be very cautious indeed.

Thanks for the responses!