General Cycling Discussion - Very disappointed with the new Saris lock fork mounts! Bike fell off today.

Great way to start my morning - put my commuter bike on the roof rack, and as always its a struggle with the clamp. With the new fork lock mounts, it either is to tight to clamp or is to loose. Well, finally got it clamped in tight, with all my strength. Got half way down the road and there goes my bike off the back? Yeah, it was my fault not having the rear wheel strap. But I have the older fork mounts w/o the locking device and no problems getting the right tension. These new ones are a struggle every damm time, tight or loose, never the right tension to close the release arm. Well, off the bike shop for the damage report.

Agh...that would hurt me, to see my bike go flying off my roof. How fast were you going? Good thing no one was injured behind you.

ouch, i could not imagine that... it would hurt too much to see my baby come off the rack. I would start using a wheel strap, i know that will at least save me from the fork clamp comming lose. although, it does sound like you shoule replace that clamp.

I was only going 10 mph, but I found out that it was enough to trash the frame, found bubble marks on the top and down tube! The bike is trash, except for the rims. It was just my commuter, but it was a nice Schwinn Voyager. Im glad noone was behind, or that it was one of my serious bikes. I must not have had the clamp fully locked in, allowing it to pop loose. At least it will be much easier explaining to my wife that I needed the second set of rims for the atb, now I need it for commuting on top of trail riding.

So who's fault was it? Saris' or Nikos'?

Still not sure, Im very careful to make sure the clamp is set, keeping the bike in place is something that alerts my attention each time. Im not saying that Saris is at fault - Im just saying that the clamp is difficult to get set, and it might be that I didnt get it set correctly due to that. Im just more upset that a perfectly functional bike is wasted.

Someone in our club had a rack failure. He contacted the company and they not only replaced his rack, they replaced his bike as well. Contact Saris.
I don't know which company it was, but it's worth a try.

I too have the Saris locking fork mounts, and you are totally right they suck.
They are too tight or too loose, and you have to keep futzing with them to get them not to crush the hell out of your fork.
They are a pain. I lock them when they are tight enough, but even then I worry about actually damaging the fork due to the pressure of the locking mechanism.
Poor design in my opinion. Oh and the strap they sell for the securing of the rear tire blows. I use a micro bungie cord which is much faster and more convienient. Also I get the feeling that the one they sell for that purpose could slide off the back of your rack and onto the highway if you leave it on the rack without a bike attached to it.
I'm just not that impressed.

Oh and by the way you should not have to go far to complain Saris is right there in Madison.

Glad Im not the only one who finds these clamps as being crap. Its hard to believe that the older models (w/o locks) work so well. I guess one reason the new ones suck, on the right side mount, you have to fit the clamp notch into the fork opening - thus, the only loose or tight adjustments can only be made by the left side?? I will contact Saris, really just to let them know what I think of the new lock models - and the cost I paid to have a less workable unit?

The Saris racks are not very well thought out and the hardware is junk. We sold Saris at the shop for a short time and I ended up with one on my car. It has been the biggest pain in the.... We no longer sell Saris at the shop.

wat i'd so is just chain it to the bumper and get my friend to sit on it and steer