Bike Forums - Hello from Newhall, California.

Hi everyone! My name is Peter. I am a 28 year old beginner cyclist living in Newhall, California (Los Angeles County near Six Flags Magic Mountain).

The primary reason I joined this forum today is to see if anyone else has had or knows anyone who has had a similar experience as I have with a Yakima trunk mount bike rack.

I bought a brand new Yakima Mighty Joe trunk mount rack two weeks ago. I installed it exactly as the owner's manual instructed. I used it three times. The first two times the rubber straps that hold the bike in place came loose and I had to re-tighten them every few miles of driving. I could not drive over 40 MPH without the straps coming loose. Yesterday, the third time using this alleged top of the line rack, the straps came entirely undone and my new Raleigh M80 mountain bike fell off onto the highway. I turned back around and it was gone. Someone must have picked it up. I checked with the Sheriff Station, but nobody had returned my bike. I assume if someone did, the bike would have been damaged from the 45 or so MPH fall.

I am very disapointed with this product. I purchased it because I believed Yakima to be a reputable brand name. Unfortunatly, the rubber strap system is very poorly designed. I wrote Yakima a letter asking they compensate my loss. I hope they accept liablity.

I found another person at www.mtbreview.com who had the same problem. However, he/she was able to recover the bike with severe damage caused by the fall and traffic. I was unable to recover mine whatsoever. I contacted this person by email and he or she (I am not sure if male or female by the first name) said Yakima offered to pay $150 for the damages to his/her bike. Although $150 did not cover the value, he/she accepted it. My bike with the attached accessories was worth almost $800 and that is what I am asking Yakima to compensate.

If anybody here has had the same experience with a Yakima rack using the rubber strap system, please contact me by email at peter_gar@yahoo.com. I think Yakima should not sell products that so easily come loose and cause bikes to fall off in traffic. If Yakima does not compensate me I may seek a class action suit in addition to filling complaints with the Better Business Bureau and Federal Trade Commission. I would appreciate any and all assistance anybody can offer. It is unfair that I, or anybody else, should loose hundreds of dollars worth of bicycle because of a poorly designed product.

I will place this same message with a different topic in another area in the forums. I apologize if posting this twice is unwelcome.

Thanks!

Peter Garabetian