Transporting a three speed bicycle on a trunk rack; solutions needed
10-19-13, 05:17 PM
#1
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Transporting a three speed bicycle on a trunk rack; solutions needed
I'd like to take my Rudge Sports on adventures away from my home turf. My car is a sub-compact hatchback and I bought a Yakima Megajoe carrier for it.
The problem I have encountered with this is the shift cable has to be removed to set the bike on the rack or it compresses it too tight and I fear it will break. I've been disconnecting the shift cable which requires attaching & re-adjusting every time before I ride. The Megajoe has down tube cradles that I've already modified to clear the shift cable idler sheave by cutting a slot in it with a die grinder.
Does anyone have an elegant and secure way of setting a three speed bike on a carrier without removing the shift cable? Am I going to have to suck it up and accept removing the cable as a cruel fact of modern life?
Thanks in advance
The problem I have encountered with this is the shift cable has to be removed to set the bike on the rack or it compresses it too tight and I fear it will break. I've been disconnecting the shift cable which requires attaching & re-adjusting every time before I ride. The Megajoe has down tube cradles that I've already modified to clear the shift cable idler sheave by cutting a slot in it with a die grinder.
Does anyone have an elegant and secure way of setting a three speed bike on a carrier without removing the shift cable? Am I going to have to suck it up and accept removing the cable as a cruel fact of modern life?
Thanks in advance
10-19-13, 05:32 PM
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Can you just put it in 3rd gear and leave the cable slack? A picture of the problem would help. I haul my Raleigh Superbe on a Saris Bones rack all the time.
Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
10-19-13, 05:40 PM
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I've tried leaving it in third and the cable is still way too tight, to the point that I believe a road shock could damage it. It is too dark for a picture today, I'll take one in the morning. The cable angles from the fulcrum to the idler leaving the cable 1" below the top tube at the down tube.
10-19-13, 06:03 PM
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I did a photo search of Superbes and noticed that my idler sheave was lower on the frame than the ones pictured. I installed a metal idler (which was in the works) tight to the seat lug and moved the fulcrum back an inch. Problem solved. Left in 3rd, the cable is slack enough to set on the rack.
This is my first three speed and when I rebuilt this bike, I installed the cable set up as it was when I bought it. Lesson learned. My future three speeds, and there will be future three speeds, will be set up correctly.
Thanks
This is my first three speed and when I rebuilt this bike, I installed the cable set up as it was when I bought it. Lesson learned. My future three speeds, and there will be future three speeds, will be set up correctly.
Thanks
10-19-13, 06:08 PM
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Break? These things thrive on abuse. I throw mine and wife's on the trunk all the time, cables compress, bars touch, saddles rub and no harm is done. Your worrying about nothing.
If it is truly to tight.....move the fulcrum up the seat-tube so the cable runs closer to the tube.
If it is truly to tight.....move the fulcrum up the seat-tube so the cable runs closer to the tube.
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