Fat Bike Car transport

[fatbikegirl]

I would like to transport a Fatbike on the back of my car. I have a hitch/towball and am wondering if I can use one of the cheaper racks which hold the bike by the frame rather than the type where the wheels sit on the frame of the rack. Something like the Pacific A-Frame.

I will only be transporting one alloy Fatbike and sometimes two kids bikes.

I know FBs are heavier and I don't want to end up creating an accident by having a rack break. Are the racks built to certain standards?

[fatbikegirl]

Is there another bike forum where I can get an answer on this please?

[RonK]

I don't know that fat bikes are necessarily all that much heavier than an MTB.

And if it's a three bike rack and you are only carrying kids bikes with the fatty then I doubt the rack would be overloaded.

But it all depends what make/model of rack you have, and how the bikes are attached.

Let us know what rack you have.

[rolandp]

The bike rack should specify Maximum Load Capacity. Don't exceed it and you shouldn't have any issues.

I use a a-frame rack to transport a tandem, which is almost twice as heavy as a normal bike, so the load capacity was one of my requirements I had to check when purchasing my rack.

[eldavo]

If you have a Reese Hitch, to eliminate the play required to slide the hitch in, I ratchet strap the bike to the tow bar chassis not just the inserted hitch. It keeps the whole bike rack taught like it's on a traditional welded fixed hitch.

[fatbikegirl]

Thanks guys. I was concerned about maximum weight which often isn't listed with these "no name" cheap bike carriers. I picked up a Yakima on Gumtree today so happy that my load is under its limit and that I'm doing the right thing keeping it properly secured.

[trailgumby]

Thule make extra wide tyre seats for their racks to take fatbikes and plus bikes. Saw them at Racks and Bars at Brookvale when checking up on what was available for my new Levorg.

They had a cheapo fatbike mounted on one to prove the concept worked.

[bychosis]

I have a torpedo 7 platform rack. My big w fat bike will go on, but the wheels don't fit into the cradles which requires a longer strap than is provided.

As above, just don't overload beyond the design of the rack. The bigw fat bike is 23kgs, so I need to be careful what else gets loaded up as well. I also think that loading it closest to the car is a good idea to reduce the forces on the rack from bounce.

[RonK]

I picked up a Yakima on Gumtree today so happy that my load is under its limit and that I'm doing the right thing keeping it properly secured.

Good choice.