Ride report....

[William]

Coming soon.:)




William

[Nooch]

you're going to ride the bike on top of the car?? MADNESS!

(or some teen wolf isht...)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Is that a suction cup only rack for cartop?

MADNESS! . . . :eek:

BBD

[mnoble485]

Looks like the suction system used by professional glass installers. Still a bit frightening.

Mike

[William]

Is that a suction cup only rack for cartop?

MADNESS! . . . :eek:

BBD

Vacuum cups. Big difference.

Will report after testing. They have already done the 140 mph test on top of a stock car (with all cups attached, and then again with only one holding). That covers the wind test. Mine will cover the super gnarly "road" angle = bumps, jolts, and quick whipping side to side & up/down action. More extreme than any normal vehicle will encounter.

Report to follow.:)






William

[2wheelwill]

Been dying to find someone other than me to try these. If they really work I'd be all over a set for my car. Would also love to know how much hassle is involved with installation.

Look forward to ur report!

[Louis]

Just because they suck now, how can you be sure that they'll still suck later?

[William]

Been dying to find someone other than me to try these. If they really work I'd be all over a set for my car. Would also love to know how much hassle is involved with installation.

Look forward to ur report!

Installation was simple. It took a total of about 40 seconds to mount on top of my Landcruiser. Dampen the area you're going to mount it with a rag and a squirt from my water bottle. Then put a couple drops of water onto each cup, spread it around with your fingers and mount. After it was on I left it on while I ran errands. Each time I got out of the vehicle I would grab and reef on it trying to pull it off. I had the cruiser bouncing from side to side and it doesn't move at all.

A detailed report to follow.




William

[William]

Ended having to run a bunch of errands today so I mounted up the Sucker and hung the Peloton Single Speed on it. Ran all over RI with nary an issue. Even started raining toward the end when I got home to snap a couple picts.

Next week I'll be mounting it up top and on the back and hitting some gnarly four wheel drive roads to test how well it works getting jostled all around with a bike mounted on it.





William

[fiamme red]

I'm glad you're not doing the testing on the Zank. :)

[William]

I'm glad you're not doing the testing on the Zank. :)

I thought someone would mention that!:D Actually, rain was in the forecast and I didn't want the Zanc getting sprayed up with road grime. My confidence is high on this so you'll see the Zanc and the Sawyer getting mounted up.





William

[efuentes]

Could you please bolt a fork mount to the rack, I am having nightmares seeing the bike along with the rear window glass laying in the ground in a remote trail.

[William]

Could you please bolt a fork mount to the rack, I am having nightmares seeing the bike along with the rear window glass laying in the ground in a remote trail.

Well, I think it is true, the rear glass would pull out before those vacuum cups would let go of it. That said, the rear window isn't going anywhere.:)





William

[AngryScientist]

that truck is just too f'n cool. i want one.

[esldude]

Glad you are trying this out. Have had my eye on one for awhile.

I know all the tests and such. Plenty strong, just a psychological thing about trusting something attached this way. Don't they have a tab or something that pops up if you have lost vacuum, some visual indicator?

[Ti Designs]

Just because they suck now, how can you be sure that they'll still suck later?

If they failed it would really suck.

[jwad]

I've been wondering about this rack. Looks promising.

I've been shopping for a new rack after someone hit my raxter in a parking lot. Thankfully it wasn't loaded. This would be a lot harder for some moron to drive into.

[BumbleBeeDave]

For your sake I hope this product REALLY sucks hard . . . in a good way! :eek: :rolleyes: ;)

BBD

[William]

Glad you are trying this out. Have had my eye on one for awhile.

I know all the tests and such. Plenty strong, just a psychological thing about trusting something attached this way. Don't they have a tab or something that pops up if you have lost vacuum, some visual indicator?

If you look at the picture of the Talon in the first post, you will see a cylinder with a white band around it (orange on some) on each vacuum cup. When you push the cup against the glass/metal, you start pumping that with your finger. As the air is sucked out the cylinder gradually comes out less and less until it won't come up. if you can't see the white/orange band it's at full power. If it does leak for any reason you'll see the white/orange band start to show. That tells you that you either need to re-pump it, or re-mount. In the stock car test they had it running at 140 mph with only one cup holding the bike on. You have four cups holding the bike, three on the fork mount, and one holding the rear wheel. I call that a four tier redundancy.;)




William

[William]

For your sake I hope this product REALLY sucks hard . . . in a good way! :eek: :rolleyes: ;)

BBD

Oh, it REALLY sucks!;););)




William

[katematt]

Classy cranks on that ride, still have some on one of my mountain bikes.

Thanks for risking life, limb, rear window and a bike for our benefit!!

[zennmotion]

Two words:

Summer heat. Test it with a Magna from Walmart, and check on your liability insurance. Being behind the failure would be worse than in front of it.

[William]

Two words:

Summer heat. Test it with a Magna from Walmart, and check on your liability insurance. Being behind the failure would be worse than in front of it.

Yep, that would be true with any bike/rack that fell off your car.

Seeing that these things come from Florida, they've been heat tested.






William

[William]

Classy cranks on that ride, still have some on one of my mountain bikes.

Thanks for risking life, limb, rear window and a bike for our benefit!!

I aim to serve the forum!! http://www.tigalaya.com/public/style_emoticons/default/bow.gif





William

[ultraman6970]

Knowing latino very well (im part of them) and knowing how business are ran in miami I wouldn't assure that the suckers had even tested the item that much.

Seeing that these things come from Florida, they've been heat tested.






William

[William]

Knowing latino very well (im part of them) and knowing how business are ran in miami I wouldn't assure that the suckers had even tested the item that much.


That's a very broad statement, and I'll leave it at that.

A lot of people confuse the vacuum cups on these things with suction cups.

Vacuum cups employ the force of atmospheric pressure to grip a surface: When a vacuum exists between the cup and the surface on which it is attached, the weight of Earth's atmosphere holds the cup in place with incredible force. Unlike suction cups that produce a vacuum as they pull away from the surface

That's why they are used to move heavy glass panels. People trust life and limb to how well they work. In a previous life I used them extensively on huge glass panels and sculptures and never had one let go.

It seems to be the biggest misperception people have about the product.







William