rgolding

We carry bicycles on a rack between our RV and our toad. It is the type that the bikes sit on their tires and has a loop over the cross bar. Our bicycles are carried 100% of the time, wouldn't travel without them. I strap them down tight, but I'm disappointed with them getting scratched on the finish even though I pad them well. I have used foam pipe insulation and even fuzzy seat belt straps, but there is still some wear. Has anyone found a really good padding to prevent scratches?

fietsbob

when bikes are shipped from the factory across the pacific to ehe west coast ,
each is in a separate box, and is wrapped in plastics within that box ,
and hundreds are in each maritime cargo container ..

you can buy reusable bicycle shipping cases , and dismantle them to fit ..


these cases are usred by many international competition cyclists ,

and we in the place where bike tours start and end, do get boxed bikes and some in hard reusable cases,,



In short to Not have Your bike finish effected by travel wear and tear you have to pack them well .

Ideally replicating how they were packed when they left the factory..

sew up sleeves closed with velcro , of washable material,
so you can launder out any grit they may pick up, and wrap the painted surfaces with
essentially polishing cloth .

mount the bikes so they don't move, at all, on the rack .. as its that motion that rubs things ..








....

aggiegrads

Helicopter tape.
https://www.amazon.com/Allstar-Perfo...=fsclp_pl_dp_1
It isn't cheap, but with a 2", 30' roll, I have done three bikes, my bumper (where I change my shoes), and still have half of the roll left.

Use soapy water when you apply. It makes installation much easier to remove bubbles, and makes an almost invisible installation.

Iride01 

Maybe some stretch wrap like they use to wrap loads to pallets. Although that stuff is typically 15" or wider rolls there are also some narrower rolls of 3" to 4" that we used quite a bit for bundling stuff prior to palletizing. Pretty much the same stuff as Saran Wrap or Glad Wrap for food. A few wraps might be enough to deter the damage from rubbing for a while and look acceptable to leave in place for a few trips.

Personally though I wouldn't worry about it. No one looks that close at your bike, especially if you are riding it. Museum pieces should be in a museum IMO.

hokiefyd 

One idea is to wrap the contact points (wherever they may be on the frame) with some sort of tape, so the tape takes the wear instead of the finish. It could be as simple as clear packing tape or black electrical tape (if your frames are black). Or you could buy the frame protection tape that's designed to protect frame finishes. In the end, your bikes will continue to get scratches from use and from loading and unloading from your toad...it's just the nature of the beast. You'd have to wrap them in bubble wrap all the time to completely protect them, which is obviously not practical.

Here's another unconventional idea: depending on the nature of the bikes (mountain bikes? hybrids? road bikes? old frames? brand new?), you could disassemble the bikes and spray-paint them in bedliner type material. This is sometimes done by commuters and folks in the city whose bikes are constantly chained to bike racks and getting banged around with other bikes. If you get a scratch in the finish, just spray on more material. This probably isn't an appealing solution if your bikes are new $2,000 road bikes, but if they're older bikes and you just don't like the paint scratches...this could be a potential approach.

Good luck.

hokiefyd 

I should also follow this up and say they do make bike racks for vehicles that don't contact the frame at all. The bike tires sit in trays and a swing arm will come up and cinch down on top of one of the tires. Your RV certainly has a Class III or IV hitch...does your toad? If not, you could consider installing a hitch and getting one of these types of bike racks. It's not a cheap solution, but it probably would eliminate much of the wear you see from racks that hang the bikes by the frame.

I personally use a rack like what you have -- where a cross bar ratchets down on the top tube. I wrap the top tube with a microfiber car wash towel and just cinch the bar down. It seems to do a pretty good job of protecting the paint from wear, but I also don't carry the bike like that very often; most of my riding is local, straight from the house.

Crankycrank

This. Apply to any spots that make contact with the carrier and straps. Anytime you have rubbing no amount of soft and furry protection will stop wear as dirt works it's way in-between and acts like sandpaper. Best solution is to apply a non-moveable sticky tape and Helicopter (Urethane) tape is very good for this. Lasts a long time. Get the Outdoor/UV resistant type.

Loose Chain

Helicopter tape here also. All of my bikes and vehicles and motorcycles use the stuff in wear areas.