WPH

Set up the Yakima Sidewinder on Mrs WPH's 2002 Corolla today. The Sidewinder swings open to the starboard side of the car (passenger side in N America, driver side in Australia) as it comes out of the box. This means tho' that you have to lift the timing/synch chain OVER the rear clamping mechanism to get the bike on the rack, which is not something I want to do with a 20kg tandem looming overhead if I can avoid it.

I unbolted the swing-arm (very stiff 3/4in nylock), greased the threads, bushes and washers and re-assembled so that the arm swings to port now.

Getting the bike on the car still takes some concentration but it is easier than before and I can do it single-handed no worries. The whole assembly is stiff and secure. The Sidewinder itself is a beast, very solidly built, really too big and heavy to leave on the car all the time. Luckily removal and reinstallation is quick and easy (10 mins max).

I would recommend anybody getting the Sidewinder to set it up to open to the port side of the vehicle so that it is not necessary to lift the timing chain over the rear clamp.

mstyer

I have mine set up on the starboard side of my Jetta Sportwagen. Lifting the timing chain over the boom tube cradle isn't too big of a hassle for me. After locking in the fork, I can lift the bike by the bottom of the rear tire and lift high enough to clear the timing chain. The bike is long enough that I can walk it around and stand behind my wagon before setting it down in the cradle.

One note about the Sidewinder; the fore-aft position is determined by the rear crossbar location. I initially had my crossbars set at 36", but the rear tire of the tandem limits how far the rear gate can open. I've moved the rear crossbar forward 6" to see if it improves the situation. The Sidewinder is rated for a 50 lb. bike if the crossbars are set at 24", so 30 lbs. of my Cannondale should still be very secure.

chojn1

Is there a big advantage of the roof mount over the hitch mount?
I used to use a roof mount exclusively in my mountain biking days,
but since we have been riding tandems, I have switched over to a rear hitch mount.
Mounting the bike is so easy now with no worries about injuring myself or scratching the car.
There is no risk of low head clearance parking garages, and it only takes a minute to mount and un-mount the carrier from the car.
CJ

mstyer

I live in NJ. Between the crazy drivers cutting me off on a regular basis and the narrow parking spaces that seem to be the standard, I prefer not having an extra wide hitch mount. (I also already had a roof rack, so adding a tandem mount was cheaper than starting from scratch with a hitch mount.)

chojn1

That makes sense.
In suburbs in Texas, we have a lot of space. Roads are wider and parking spaces are designed for trucks and suv's.
Here is my hitch:


Back wheel rides in the trunk.
CJ