I have a new carbon frame bike and we commonly put 4 bikes on our Saris rack. Saris makes "Saris Protect-O Pads" which are foam cubes but look cumbersome to use.
How do you protect your bike frame when putting multiple bikes on a rack?
Thanks!

Excellent question! First, where the bike is likely to encounter the rack itself, I have masking-taped on some folded-up paper towels. Primitive to say the least, but effective nonetheless. Otherwise, I make sure the bikes are very well secured and don't have room to move around and hit into one another. Old popped tubes work really well as ties to hold everything in place.

Lastly, if there were particular problem areas, I would tie/secure more old tube sections where impact/chafing would seem of concern. I haven't yet done this, but I imagine it would work very well.

Obviously, this expects a few things: Your roads are as bad as mine, you're as bad at changing tubes as I am, and you're as much of a hoarder as I am, resulting in you having a lot of old tube lying around with nothing to do.

I don't. I bungee the front wheels so they don't move around and bungee the frames so they don't swing out with the wind.

On old style round tubes, I've used water pipe insulation foam available a most hardware stores in different sizes. You can put it where the bikes might touch. I've had some of the foam squares, but seem to lose them. The pipe insulation is cheap.

I also run a bungee cord from the front rim to somewhere on the frame or rear hub to keep the front wheel from swinging around.

That's why I use a roof rack. Bike don't touch each other, rack only contacts bike at forks and a strap over the wheel.

NOTHING touches the frame.

Bikes piled on a trunk rack are always gonna get dorked up.

The newer hitch mount racks with individual bike holders are pretty nice too. That would be the only rear mounted rack I would consider.

Also, don't let tires hang in front of the exhaust pipe.

^^^^^^

Carrying bikes on any strap rack (no mater how much protecting you do) will eventually result in something very bad happening.

Top of car or a rear of car tray (like the Yakima HoldUp), or some combination to get four bikes, is the only way to go.

Saris sells these cube looking foam pads that sell for $13 that either attach the the rack or you can attach the to the frames. they are big enough to keep the frames at safe distances.

Decent racks these days all have some sort of anti-sway system built into the arms or frame cradles. So bikes stay separated and don't swing. Then it's usually a question of making sure the pedals aren't going to turn and get to where they can hit anything. A bungee takes care of that. I try to never tie or trap the wheels so they can't spin, because I've seen too many examples of tires burnt from exhaust heat. The spinning prevents that more effectively than anything else.

Eons ago when we'd just pile bikes onto racks with simple arms and no cradles I used to go the the carpet company and ask for the samples of discontinued carpets. They'd give me a few for free, and I'd punch holes and load them onto the racks between the bikes, but that era is long past.

OTOH- I'm very blase about my bikes which I routinely toss into a car with wheels off and placed on top. IMO bikes for riding and enjoying, not obsessing about. I've tossed my best bikes into bus bellies and pick up beds, onto trains, ferries, and airplanes (before box rules) --- I was once paged at JFK airport to come and untangle 12 bikes I'd loaded into an Electra, which had settled into a tangled mess during the flight. Also tied them to the pontoons of a seaplane, and the rails of sailboats.

If you start worrying about your bike, it'll limit your options. While some obsess about every ding an nick, I consider them souvenirs of the good times we've had together.

When I purchased a bike rack I limited my selection to those that don't come in contact with the frame. The Kuat Sherpa and the oneupusa are both very nice racks that contact the tires, not the frame. They aren't cheap, but both are highly rated. I chose the Kuat.

As mentioned..... HoldUp 2" | Yakima

i just purchased one of these. It's awesome. Takes a minute to load the bikes and neither touches the other.

Well worth it in my opinion.

Okay, so here is my first post/comment/question...

Recently we purchased a Kuat NV 2.0 for transport of our carbon road bikes, it attaches by a hitch to our truck. We did not have any issues transporting them locally but on a recent trip 9 hour round trip, I noticed pitting and huge dings on the paint of the bikes, scratches and lots of road grime, sand and grease in my cassette, chain rings etc. My question is how can I prevent this from happening again. Is a bike bag a solution or could the flapping of the bag also rub off the paint? Please advise.

+1 for water pipe insulation. That, a pair of scissors, and a roll of electrical tape.






and I'm replying to a zombie thread! Kudos at least, for using the search!

been known to use pipe insulation & cut pool noodles. time for a resurgence of bike rack threads. it is spring after all!

A month ago several fellow riders and I went south of Miami to ride, we put 4 bike on his Saris rack and I'll never do that again. One guy's Zipp wheels got effed up, a QR damaged the paint on my fork, such that I'm having the fork sent back to Trek to be re-painted, hopefully under warranty but I doubt it. I'll never put my bike on a trunk/hitch rack again. I have a Yakima rook rack and that is how I will always transport from now on.