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Old 03-18-15 | 11:08 AM
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dminor
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Joined: Oct 2004
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From: The 509

Bikes: Bike list is not a resume. Nobody cares.

I have direct experience with the Hollywood Sportrider 3-bike rack, which is virtually identical to the Nashbar Shadow and very close to the 4-bike Performance Transit 4-bike rack. Of the two, it looks like the Performance is a bit more refined/improved over the Nashbar/Hollywood versions.

My observations:
  • I bought mine because its has far fewer plastic critical pieces (wheel trays, etc.) than mainstream Yakima, Saris or Thule offerings. I wanted metal wheel trays and I wanted a rack that, if something cracked/needed repair/reinforcing, I could weld it instead of buying overpriced replacement plastic. All plastic, no matter how good, gets aged and brittle in exposure to the elements.
  • Frame hooks on the Performance are ratcheting - - that's good. My simpler star-knob/bolt clamping (like the Nashbar setup) works but the cheap-grade hardware eventually rusts. I replaced all my nuts/bolts with stainless hardware last year. Wheel trays have plain steel bolts/star knobs too. Grease those so they don't rust as soon.
  • Keep an eye on the plastic wheel-strap "buckles" in the end of the tubes - - as the plastic ages they like to fall out. I've lost 3 so far. Once again, the Performance design looks a bit better.
  • Loop your unused Velcro wheel-straps back on themselves when not in use. This will prevent them 'unlooping' and falling off.
  • Put rubber caps (or tape even) on the end of the frame hook where the end of the tubing sticks out from the foam covering (look at the picture close-up and you'll see what I mean). If you drop the hook down you could ding the end of the tube on the top of your frame. My then-nearly-new SB66 got it's first ugly chip from that
  • Adjustabilty of the wheel trays side-to-side means you can fit ANY bike and make it fit with other bikes in the rack without interference - - downhill bikes with hybrids with trail bikes, whatever. Once you get settings you like, mark the tubes with a paint pen.

All-in-all, I've been happy with my similar Hollywood. Just wish it was a 4-bike.
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Last edited by dminor; 03-18-15 at 11:19 AM.
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