[BNA roadie]

Other than sticking out past the car, anyone see any problem with hauling a tandem, aluminum frame, on a regular hitch mount rack? Top tube is only supported ~24".

Thanks,

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[TandemGeek]

So long as you remove both wheels, no worries. We know a few couples who have hauled their tandems around that way for years, including cross country trips. It'll get filthy as can be back there but that's about it. As for becoming an expensive bumber guard, as one of our correspondents here at BF can now attest, overhead threats to car-topped bikes may be more of an issue since given the self-inflicted nature of those incidents.

BTW, as an added bonus, the hitch racks with long arms (4 bike models) make nifty parking lot work stands... ideal for tuning up your shifting and removing the wheels for bike cleaning and transport.

[DocF]

We've done it with our Cannondale, but only around town. My wife's cousin and her husband will sometimes put their Santana on a rear rack, but they usually remove the wheels as Virginia is a bit fussy about things sticking out. Anyway, I have had no adverse effects on the bike by carrying it that way.

Right now I'm saving my spare change to get some sort of rear rack designed for tandems. I want to make my life a little easier.

Doc

[tornadobass]

We use a Hollywood hitch rack and by angling the bike with the front wheel up, it doesn't stick out quite so far and seems to hold fairly still while traveling, especially when we bunjie the frame to the rack's upright. I'm not sure I'd go a real long distance with it, although we had the front wheel off this weekend and bunjied the front bar back to the top tube to keep it steady.

[Trsnrtr]

Other than sticking out past the car, anyone see any problem with hauling a tandem, aluminum frame, on a regular hitch mount rack? Top tube is only supported ~24".

Thanks,

I've hauled a Santana Noventa and an AL Sovereign that way for several years with no problems. I usually don't bother removing the wheels unless I'm going a couple of 100 miles. They sure do get dirty back there, though. I got caught in a thunderstorm coming down the Rockies one time and it was dry as a dust bowl at the bottom. By the time I stopped for gas 10 miles or so later, I couldn't tell what color my tandem was. :)

[larrydj]

My wife and I have a softride beam equipped tandem. Will that complicate mounting the tandem on a hitch rack?

[TandemGeek]

My wife and I have a softride beam equipped tandem. Will that complicate mounting the tandem on a hitch rack?

Not really.... it will just hang there a little cockeyed.

Note: I probably don't need to write this part but I will anyway; do NOT rest the beam on the rack arm.

[zonatandem]

Not a problem.
If you leave both wheels on, it might be advisable to tie a couple red rags (bandanas?) at the extremities of the wheels. Also a bungee cord will keep wheels from spinning.
Used to carry our Follis tandem on a front rack on a VW squareback, back in the 70s.

[tornadobass]

We've been carrying our Burley Rumba softride on a Hollywood Roadrunner hitch rack. It goes on at an angle, with the front higher up. The rack bar goes by the junction of the captain's seat tube and the diagonal tube. The back end rests on the rack somewhere near where the frame takes its angle bend for the softride mounting bracket.

Lately, I've been using an old leather toeclip strap to secure the frame against the rack upright (there's a rubber pad on the rack there). On one longer trip, we removed the front wheel and fender and bunjied the captain's handlebar against the top tube. Otherwise, the front wheel tends to wiggle the whole time we're at highway speeds, even when using a strap and bunji.

A plus side of this angled mounting on the rack is that the bike doesn't stick out quite as far, especially with the front wheel off.

[larrydj]

Hmmm....the hitch mounting option, even for softride tandems, is sounding more appealing now. I have a Nissan Pathfinder, which is a "smaller" SUV, and is narrower than most. I like the idea of taking the wheels off to reduce the width, as well as the angled mounting. I also like the htich rack doubling as a bike stand, since tandems are a bit more unwieldy than single bikes. It may get dirty from time to time, but at least I won't drive into the garage with the bike on top!

[Mardi Gras Man]

Take a look at one of the rocket launchers at Draftmasters.com. I have been using mine for 5 years with no problems.

[DocF]

I'm saving my aluminum cans until I have enough money to get a Draftmaster.:rolleyes: It looks like the best of both worlds to me. The big drawback is the cost. By the time you install a class III receiver and buy the rack, one could almost buy an entry level tandem.:eek:

Doc