Bike Racked

I’m back in town after about ten days of vacation. A day or so before we headed out, I took delivery of a new bike rack which I hoped would solve the dilemma of how to transport our recumbent tandem.

It’s a hitch rack that accommodates up to four bicycles, so I figured that it would surely hold two halves of one bike. What I didn’t count on was the challenge of mounting the bike given its rather unusual and unconventional arrangement of frame tubes. But I’m happy to report that after a little remodeling of the rack, the tandem pieces fit securely onto the rack. It’s not the most elegant arrangement, but it works. Here’s the proof.

Couple of things to note. These photos were taken just to prove the concept, as it were. So in  real life, the chain won’t dangle, and I’ll leave the front wheel mounted. However, I may remove the seat from the half that’s upside-down. I don’t think it’s in the line of fire of any tire-launched debris, but I may not want to chance it.

I’m quite happy with the rack itself (and with the half-price sale at Nashbar). It’s sturdy and well-built, and it came with a long heavy-duty cable lock, as well as a hitch receiver lock. I especially like the hitch tightening system that allows you to remove all the slack between the rack and the receiver, eliminating all wobble. And the rack folds down far enough to open the truck’s tailgate to access both the bed and the “trunk” in the bed.

I’m also getting better at disassembling and reassembling the bike. Each process now takes less than ten minutes. And now that I’ve figured out that I don’t have to break the chain each time, I have a lot more confidence that we’ll be able to ride without fear of repeating a certain ugly incident that doesn’t merit recital but you may know what I’m talking about.