E-Bike car roof mount help

Forums › Health and fitness › E-Bike car roof mount help

Haydz117

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#310473 23-Oct-2023 00:36

Hi all I have two e bikes one weighs 23 kgs with removable battery and another weighs 24kgs without removable battery. I'm in a situation where I will be towing jetski this summer so my normal towbar bike rack can't be used. I have decent prorack roof racks but I can only seem to find bike racks that have a weight limit of 20kgs. So one bike will be under that weight with battery removed but the other bike will be 4kgs over. Any recommendations or advice would be great thanks you.

ascroft

387 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3151178 23-Oct-2023 04:10

No way to mount to trailer?

common sense is not very common

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Goosey

2766 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3151196 23-Oct-2023 08:18

Get a Tow Bar Hitch welded cleverly to the front of the trailer?

(just off the front gate)?

What sort of vehicle?

normally the weight loading of the roof racks should be proportional to the vehicle specs on what you can put up there..

remember wind resistance with having the bikes up there will add load to the roof... so having a max 20kgs on roof racks will in fact be increased once you add speed and wind force on the bikes and racks.

in the past year or two ive seen a few incidents.... bikes swooped over the side of the car (yeh they have bent over), bikes hitting garage doors and the odd person thinking they can use maccas drive through)

pdh

283 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3151212 23-Oct-2023 09:32

Perhaps just drill a hole in the trailer's tongue and put in a tow ball.
Then you can use your normal rack, but facing frontwards.

Depends how much room there is between the bow of the jetski and the car's boot.

Grunta47

94 posts

Master Geek

#3151665 24-Oct-2023 09:05

Im looking at the Yakima High Road for a Trek Rail 9 eBike.

The Yakima can take 20kgs, plus it doesn't grab onto the bike frame so is suitable for electric bikes.

For the Rail 9 it weighs in at 23.4kg, with a battery weight of 3.5kg. So, just fits in the 20kg limit, though I would have gone to 21kg. I'm not concerned about wind resistance, because surely Yakima would have thought about this as it would be hard for Yakima to argue that the user should have thought about wind force/resistance when purchasing their product.

Ive seen a few setup's like this and the guy who camps behind us at christmas has 2 eBikes on Yakima roof racks for the last couple of years, though on the back of a ute hardcover/roof racks so partially protected by wind.

Bung

6327 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3151668 24-Oct-2023 09:19

I don't have a bike rack on the roof but I do carry a 20kg ladder occasionally. I wouldn't want to be lifting a bike that high unless there was no other solution.

wellygary

8171 posts

Uber Geek

#3151684 24-Oct-2023 10:19

Bung:

I don't have a bike rack on the roof but I do carry a 20kg ladder occasionally. I wouldn't want to be lifting a bike that high unless there was no other solution.

Yeah. that's my next thought, How do you get a 20 KG bike on the roof of your car in the first place, and then stand it up!!

If its a taller SUV this would be a nightmare....

mudguard

2061 posts

Uber Geek

#3151696 24-Oct-2023 11:14

wellygary:
Bung:

I don't have a bike rack on the roof but I do carry a 20kg ladder occasionally. I wouldn't want to be lifting a bike that high unless there was no other solution.

Yeah. that's my next thought, How do you get a 20 KG bike on the roof of your car in the first place, and then stand it up!!

If its a taller SUV this would be a nightmare....

Yeah we used to put DH bikes on roof racks and if the car was an SUV the arms would get a bit wobbly!! And they're generally a bit lighter than e bikes.

Grunta47

94 posts

Master Geek

#3151723 24-Oct-2023 12:36

Yep, have been thinking about the weight as well, as one of the reasons of going to an eBike is getting a bit older and have a stuffed shoulder.

Currently have a Trek MB weighing 15kgs and can usually get this onto the SUV by myself. The bike rack is a Thule Pro-Ride model, so has the support arm that needs to be adjusted while holding the bike, which can be blinkin tricky.

To make it easier I've started taking/using a step ladder and that is way better..

The Yakima (or Thule Upright) should be a lot easier to use as it locks onto the front wheel, but yeah the weight is something I need to think about.

FineWine

2961 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Nurse (R)

Lifetime subscriber

#3151735 24-Oct-2023 13:07

How about a custom job like this one: https://www.facebook.com/BoeingTrailers/videos/custom-pwc-trailer-with-additional-bike-rack/1736395246492521/

Though keep in mind the max hitch weight (jetski trailer + jetski/s + bike rack + ebikes)

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

MikeAqua

7767 posts

Uber Geek

#3151750 24-Oct-2023 14:00

As others have said, the main problem will be lifting the bikes up there. Especially the one with a non-removable battery.

I used to lift ~25kg kayaks onto the roof of our Pajerto and standing them on edge. I'm a tall stronger than average guy. That was total pig of a job.

In the end I got an old luggage trailer and put the roof racks on that. If I had your challenge I'd contrive a way to get the bikes on the Jet Ski trailer. Even if you have to fit a longer drawbar.

Mike

pdh

283 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3151758 24-Oct-2023 14:36

I've done a lot of lifting 23 kg kayaks onto tall vehicles - and it's hard.

So, just thinking outside the square here...
Jetskis are narrower than full-on fizz-boats - is there room for a side-mounted bike ?
Next to the jetski - even if its up at 1m above the road - it's still a manageable 'lift'.

Also has the advantage that the rack could be left in place during launching & recovery of the ski.