Hello,
New to this site...bought my Smart Car a week ago and am interested in purchasing a bike rack. Besides the rack Smart offers, is there a particularly good rack?
What we did was have Uhaul install their smart car reciever hitch (installed with wiring) about $330 also includes the ball hitch that fits in the receiver. We now can use any of our existing three bike racks of various ages and designs as all are receiver type racks. The Saris two bike rack will be on Marta along with two bikes when we travel to the Dells this weekend! The test drive went well
...the use of the tow hook screw points on the back bumper are not designed for up and down movement such as would occur during driving with a bike attached. These attachment points are designed for towing which is a lateral motion. In that direction they are strong. I've heard that before the dealer rack is mounted to those points, the bumper is removed; the tow points are reinforced in some fashion to be stronger in the up and down directions. The bumper is then reinstalled. In short, the aftermarket bike rack you may see sold on the Internet for less money than the dealer, does not make that reinforcement.
I got the one from Smart Madness and very happy with it. I am using it for almost 6 month. Very stable, can hold two bikes. Possibility to add attachments (skis and golf bags). Installation and removal takes minutes. No need to remove rear bumper as on the OEM bike rack. Takes little space in the garage when not in use. Would recommend it to anyone.
...the use of the tow hook screw points on the back bumper are not designed for up and down movement such as would occur during driving with a bike attached. These attachment points are designed for towing which is a lateral motion. In that direction they are strong. I've heard that before the dealer rack is mounted to those points, the bumper is removed; the tow points are reinforced in some fashion to be stronger in the up and down directions. The bumper is then reinstalled. In short, the aftermarket bike rack you may see sold on the Internet for less money than the dealer, does not make that reinforcement.
The rack we offer has an additional strap that attaches to the rear door/boot and the rack itself. This type of an additional attachment takes care of this issue. The other racks that are on the market do not have this system and due to this a problem can occur. The rack is easy to put on and take off and can be stored in the back of the smart when it is not in use. You can also add on a golf/ski/snowboard attachment.
Yakima "Q" towers, 2 sets #116 clips, whatever length roundbars you wish plus whichever Yakima bike carrier you like. Total cost about 1/2 that of the smart factory setup, on or off in seconds, does not interfere with hatch or doors.
But you will need to get $499 tow hitch to use this one.
CUBE
Looks like the price has dropped slightly to $460. This is the one I use and I've been extremely happy with it. It provides more ground clearance than the U-Haul hitch. If ground clearance isn't an issue in your area, you could save money with U-Haul.
The rack we offer has an additional strap that attaches to the rear door/boot and the rack itself. This type of an additional attachment takes care of this issue. The other racks that are on the market do not have this system and due to this a problem can occur. The rack is easy to put on and take off and can be stored in the back of the smart when it is not in use. You can also add on a golf/ski/snowboard attachment.
The strap and buckle has a combined breaking strength over 1000 lbs. This is more than the turning moment exerted at the hinge point of the tow support. We are in the process of posting pics with the strap. Stay tuned. . . .
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