Bike Rack Review - Smarteparts

[tcirillo]

i am a Smart owner since november of 2008 and have during that time followed many of

the forum threads and reviews concerning bike rack solutions.

i have not been happy with any of them. But let me be clear about this: this is

entirely my opinion. You may have a completely different opinion, and other available

solutions may work very well for you.

But for me, none seemed to really hit the 'sweet spot' that i defined to include:

. good engineering
. very well made
. ease of installation
. esthetically acceptable
. economical
. durable

each seemed to come up short.

so it was with some hesitation that i ordered the "Toe Eye Receiver and Bicycle Rack"

from Joe Monteleone of Smarteparts in AZ, after a brief conversation with him.

the approximate cost of both including S&H as of august 2009 is $225, but check the

website for current figures.

they arrived last week so i have had only limited experience with them so far but here

is what my current assessment is:

. the "toe eye receiver" is a good solution from an engineering perspective (everything

involves compromises, but IMHO, this is very acceptable).
. the overall quality is very high, especially at this price point
. installing it couldn't be simpler (the instructions could benefit from slight

improvement)
. i am completely satisfied that a one-bike load will present no problem whatsoever to

this rack (i will likely only use it for one bike. at present it has my heavy off road

bike on it and is stable and secure)
. result is a unit that is easy to use, easy to remove (bike rack part), easy to live

with, and esthetically very acceptable.

i cannot comment on durability at this point.

one last thing: smarteparts shipped this unit in it's original box which isn't secure

enough for prime time. i told them about this and they are likely to improve the

shipping carton.

in conclusion, i highly recommend this product. after much search and evalution, this

is proving to be the one for me.

ps, i have no affiliation with smarteparts or it's owners.
pps, you can see from the website that various other accessories for carrying other

items are sold by them as well. i did not evaluate anything else at this point.

[tcirillo]

i have been advised by smarteparts that there is a potential problem with their bike rack (although i have not experienced it). the toe eye bolt 'receiver' is apparently susceptible to cracking. i have been advised that i should not be using this rack without additional support, and that they (smarteparts) are working on a solution. consequently, i advise anyone interested in this solution to contact them for a direct update.