Takin' the Trike Along

Had a few questions on the hitch mounted rack pictured in my last post, so here's the scoop it was:

Sunlite Recumbent Hitch Rack, 2" Receive

ships from and sold by excelcycle.ordered through Amazon

• Easily adjustable wheel holders
• Fits two regular or two recumbent two-wheel bikes or fits 1-adult/recumbent trike and 1-two wheel bike/recumbent (up to 74" wheelbase)
• Padded top clamps
• No-wobble no-tools hitch system
• Folds flat against car when not in use (except when small wheel adapters are attached)

› See more product details

Here sits Rover II after a trip to and from Calgary- 2000 plus kms

As my old rack that only held two  2-wheel bikes was stolen along with Rover I while in Florida, I needed some kind of a rack so at my wife's insistence (honestly), I decided to upgrade. I still had my TT roof mount pads for placing Rover II on the roof of the Flex, but even with my 6'4" frame hoisting Rover II up there would be no mein feat.

And with the luggage roof bag already installed stuffed with loot from the various sales last winter all we needed was to add Rover II, a couple of lawn chairs, some buckets and a BBQ and we would look too much like the Beverly Hillbillies for my wife's sense of decorum. So we splurged.

It came knocked down in a big, heavy box and after spreading the pieces out on the parkade floor, I did considerable head-scratching before undertaking assembly. I had all the components for one 2 wheeler and one trike. Surprisingly by following the pictorial directions, it all went together on the first try. Who said real men don't follow directions.

All the bits and pieces for the complete reconfigured Rack including hold down straps, cable lock, chain lock, locking pins

Back here in Rainy River before setting off for the wild west last month, I reconfigured the rack to carry only one trike. The MTB sat in the garage and moped. Serves it right for throwing me last winter. It's pemanently retired to the part transplant heap.

The spare bits and pieces needed for configuring hitch for one two wheeler and one trike. Oops forgot the padded top claps that you use on a 2-wheeler- really quite neat pieces but did not find I needed them on the trike.Eliminated a post and some weight

This complete Rack (The name stenciled on it is Hollywood Bike Rack) is one heavy beast but the reconfiguration reduced the weight by about 50%. I have added a few parts of my own. A locking main hitch pin, a locking secondary tilt pin, a couple of reflectors, and a locking cable as well as a locking chain. Not theft proof but they are going to have to work at it and will probably set off the car alarm before they get it off. 

The flexible configuration of this rack is very nice. it is sturdy and I have not had any transport issues with it.

The anti-rattle tightener that tightens the attachment in your hitch receiver eliminates the bangs and rattles you get with standard hitch attachments. When unloaded you can flip the hitch up 90 degrees so it's not hanging out the back or leave it down, open your rear gate and then fold up either of both sides for access to the rear of the vehicle. (Got to remember to put the sides down before you close your gate).

Empty rack flipped 90 degrees to up position. Note anti-rattle tightener crank at bottom centre of unit and adjustable pads to accommodate different size wheels. Highly adjustable frame components using hand tighten knobs and/or hex set screws

The trike is snugged down to the wheel racks with buckled straps that are secured with good velcro fastners. Never had any issues with trike or bike shifting over several thousand mile plus trips even with a few suspension shuddering bumps. . I always take off my lights and speedometer readout. Have left the wheel sensor in place without incidence but on reflection I might wrap it with a bit of duct tape.

A couple of unavoidable drawbacks. With any attachment the back up alarm goes crazy when you put vehicle in R so read your manual and learn how to turn of that alarm temporarily. This is a good mental exercise as all MEN should read their vehicle manual at least once... you know it's that thick book in the sealed package in the glove compartment.

Also it does stick out the back a ways, so parking can be tricky, but haven't noticed any handling issues

So there you are, everything you did not want to know about my rack and maybe a couple things you did.