Yeah, and since they are secured down, it also keeps the bike from moving left and right, or up and down. You’ll notice bounce, but that’s from the entire rack if you go over a bump while driving, so everything moves in the same direction, and the bikes don’t shift and bang into each other. I don’t mind if I crash and scrape up my bike, but I don’t want damage coming from just transporting it from point A to B. That’s just lame. :-)
@@OurMTBJourney I have a Kuat with the swing arm for my van but I rarely take it off. If I took it off and on more often I would probably scribe a line on the insert tube to make it easier.
Nice video. I'm sure you are aware but the bolt in the front will secure the rack from moving back and forth when tightened. Also you want to put that pin in the whole further down to make sure the rack can't lean forward if it dislodges for some reason. We have the 7 rack version and love it!
Yeah, I just didn’t film myself tightening it. We’ve enjoyed the rack, it’s very solid, and keeps our bikes safer during transport. We just got the security cable from them a few days back so I can lock the bikes during longer trips. I won’t leave them out over night, but it’s nice to have it for short stops.
That seems like a lot of weight for that poor hitch. Isn't the Sorento rated for ~350lbs tongue weight? That weight is at the ball, so having it further back makes quite the moment arm.. unless I'm missing something? (ie: ~80lbs or so for the rack, + bikes, all of that being 2' further back than where the tongue weight would be if there was a ball)
I'm looking into all of it to see. And yes, I looked and the TW is 350lbs for the car. The hitch is rated up to 750, but it would go off the lower number. The rack is going to be about 80, the 5 bike version is 85, so lets go with that number. The sauces bike is 26 lbs, The Weasels bike is 29 lbs, and mine is 36. That gives us a total weight of 176. That is just about at the half way mark of the 350 lbs. I'm not sure on the math to determine what the effective weight would be with it offset as you mention. The car seems to handle just fine with the rack and bikes on it however. Here is the video of the hitch being installed on the vehicle. ua-cam.com/video/q-CxPqKmf5g/v-deo.html
A follow up, just got done talking to my father in law, who is a mechanic, and the one that installed the hitch. He said it is fine, and the hitch is more than capable of handing the weight. Plus as stated in various online sources, the TW, even if overloaded would cause extra spring compression in the rear, which might impact performance on driving, but more so on hauling trailers, not a bike rack which has no contact with the ground. Thanks for pointing it out in any case, it's always good to have the knowledge.
@@OurMTBJourney All right, at least you checked! There's so much misinformation out there about towing... Max capacity is another one for people pulling trailers, since tongue weight needs to be considered in addition to passengers and whatnot and that can drastically reduces the capacity advertised in the fancy brochures. You are skinny however so I'm guessing that's not an issue :) I'll do some more reading on the Velocirack, but I'm tempted to go with the North Shore which would be much easier to remove frequently because I'm "built" like you so...
Follow up for anyone who cares: I ended up opting for the North shore rack (4 bikes) due to my concern about the weight. It can be folded when not in use, and I can easily take it off the car or install it myself without throwing my back out. My bike and the kids bike fit well (MTB). Seems good quality as well, and made in Canada. Super sturdy, nothing moves when driving with it.
I like how both wheels are secured. The bike rack I used similar to that style, the front wheel was free spinning in the wind.
Yeah, and since they are secured down, it also keeps the bike from moving left and right, or up and down. You’ll notice bounce, but that’s from the entire rack if you go over a bump while driving, so everything moves in the same direction, and the bikes don’t shift and bang into each other. I don’t mind if I crash and scrape up my bike, but I don’t want damage coming from just transporting it from point A to B. That’s just lame. :-)
Haha, you nailed it perfectly on the slide in. That's usually the trickiest part, lining up the holes. Good job.
Haha. Yeah. I’ve done it a few times so far now. Maybe all that practice paid off. The rack is super heavy.
@@OurMTBJourney I have a Kuat with the swing arm for my van but I rarely take it off. If I took it off and on more often I would probably scribe a line on the insert tube to make it easier.
Thanks for sharing, I've got the 7 version and love it.
Nice video. I'm sure you are aware but the bolt in the front will secure the rack from moving back and forth when tightened. Also you want to put that pin in the whole further down to make sure the rack can't lean forward if it dislodges for some reason. We have the 7 rack version and love it!
Yeah, I just didn’t film myself tightening it. We’ve enjoyed the rack, it’s very solid, and keeps our bikes safer during transport. We just got the security cable from them a few days back so I can lock the bikes during longer trips. I won’t leave them out over night, but it’s nice to have it for short stops.
@@OurMTBJourney That cable is awesome. I use it to lock the bikes up in the garage too. It is soo long!
That seems like a lot of weight for that poor hitch. Isn't the Sorento rated for ~350lbs tongue weight? That weight is at the ball, so having it further back makes quite the moment arm.. unless I'm missing something? (ie: ~80lbs or so for the rack, + bikes, all of that being 2' further back than where the tongue weight would be if there was a ball)
I'm looking into all of it to see. And yes, I looked and the TW is 350lbs for the car. The hitch is rated up to 750, but it would go off the lower number. The rack is going to be about 80, the 5 bike version is 85, so lets go with that number. The sauces bike is 26 lbs, The Weasels bike is 29 lbs, and mine is 36. That gives us a total weight of 176. That is just about at the half way mark of the 350 lbs. I'm not sure on the math to determine what the effective weight would be with it offset as you mention. The car seems to handle just fine with the rack and bikes on it however. Here is the video of the hitch being installed on the vehicle. ua-cam.com/video/q-CxPqKmf5g/v-deo.html
A follow up, just got done talking to my father in law, who is a mechanic, and the one that installed the hitch. He said it is fine, and the hitch is more than capable of handing the weight. Plus as stated in various online sources, the TW, even if overloaded would cause extra spring compression in the rear, which might impact performance on driving, but more so on hauling trailers, not a bike rack which has no contact with the ground. Thanks for pointing it out in any case, it's always good to have the knowledge.
@@OurMTBJourney All right, at least you checked! There's so much misinformation out there about towing... Max capacity is another one for people pulling trailers, since tongue weight needs to be considered in addition to passengers and whatnot and that can drastically reduces the capacity advertised in the fancy brochures. You are skinny however so I'm guessing that's not an issue :) I'll do some more reading on the Velocirack, but I'm tempted to go with the North Shore which would be much easier to remove frequently because I'm "built" like you so...
Follow up for anyone who cares: I ended up opting for the North shore rack (4 bikes) due to my concern about the weight. It can be folded when not in use, and I can easily take it off the car or install it myself without throwing my back out. My bike and the kids bike fit well (MTB). Seems good quality as well, and made in Canada. Super sturdy, nothing moves when driving with it.
What racks does everyone else enjoy using?