1Up double rack and license plates

[rcannon100]

Did you ping the rack vender?

[Tania]

What’s he going to do about it?

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Tania 164380 wrote:

OK, I got the double tray this past Friday and I love it. Except for the fact it completely obscures my license plate. I got the 1Up holder for it but I thought somehow it flipped up and down so that I could install the holder and then flip the position as needed but it seems I need to unscrew it, rearrange and then screw it back on in order to have it in different positions (to accommodate the rack up and then the rack down and loaded). Ugh. I don’t want to do that. Lemme rephrase – I won’t.

So, before I say “eff it” and sell the darn thing and buy a single plus one, what are my options? Is there a license plate holder that lets me swap display positions WITHOUT tools? Can I hang it in my back window maybe?

Between the license plate holder and my backup camera being blocked, I don’t like the rack. If I could solve at least the plate issue, I could be convinced to keep it. Otherwise keep an eye out on DC Used for what is essentially a brand new 2″ super duty double.

I’m sure there are magnetic license plate holders (like dealers use) that would allow you go quickly relocate your plate. You’d run into problems of 1)potential theft and 2)driving at night, when your plate is required to be illuminated. Neither is a huge deal or particularly likely, but probably not worth the risk for a bike rack. Also, are you sure the single rack will be any better? Looks very similar in “coverage” as the double.

I’m a roof rack fan myself, which has two primary downsides….height clearance and loading awkwardness. But for 4+ years, neither has actually been an issue.

[hozn]

@TwoWheelsDC 164389 wrote:

I’m a roof rack fan myself, which has two primary downsides….height clearance and loading awkwardness. But for 4+ years, neither has actually been an issue.

If you don’t absolutely *need* to hit the nearest drive-thru for fast food after a hard race or all-day ride, we need your secret!

I used a roof rack for awhile; they do work fine. I was surprised at the noticeably lower fuel economy (w/o bike), but only once did I almost drive my bike into a garage ceiling. It was lucky hat it was on a Honda Prelude so I actually fit under many “low-clearance” bars with my bike on top. I remember being disappointed to not be able to use a drive-thru post race, though, so I definitely will not do roof rack again.

Honestly, I never considered how visible my rear plate was with the rack up. I figured that this is what the front plate is for (in VA)! . I think it’s actually fairly visible with the Kuat, but I’ll check next time I put on the rack.

More t the point, in Europe, or at least the parts where people care about laws, I have seen license plates mounted to the outside of the racks. Not sure if it was a magnetic mount or something else. But this is definitely a problem that is well solved across the pond. License plate shapes aren’t the same, but hopefully there is a good solution waiting out here.

[drevil]

@Tania 164380 wrote:

OK, I got the double tray this past Friday and I love it. Except for the fact it completely obscures my license plate. I got the 1Up holder for it but I thought somehow it flipped up and down so that I could install the holder and then flip the position as needed but it seems I need to unscrew it, rearrange and then screw it back on in order to have it in different positions (to accommodate the rack up and then the rack down and loaded). Ugh. I don’t want to do that. Lemme rephrase – I won’t.

So, before I say “eff it” and sell the darn thing and buy a single plus one, what are my options? Is there a license plate holder that lets me swap display positions WITHOUT tools? Can I hang it in my back window maybe?

Between the license plate holder and my backup camera being blocked, I don’t like the rack. If I could solve at least the plate issue, I could be convinced to keep it. Otherwise keep an eye out on DC Used for what is essentially a brand new 2″ super duty double.

Might sound stupid, but are you allowed to have 3 license plates in Va? Or are you allowed to have both in the back (1 on the rack and 1 on the car)? It blows my mind that in some states (like Cal), you can at least temporarily drive without any license plates at all.

[anomad]

If you really like the rack there are ways to mount your tag in a way you can move it without tools. Magnets would be my first thought, like Hozn suggested. A couple nuts and bolts and creative use of a couple hydraulic hose couplings would be an option too. Both will require some figurin’ and may be appalling third world solutions depending on your sensitivities.

(The front tag on my jeep is held on with safety wire.)

[huskerdont]

Ima suggest a benefit here. We drove to Key West the winter before last and, since that Florida toll system just shoots pics of your license plates and bills you, and they don’t have front plates down there, we drove for free. You could do some crimes and not get caught. Etc.

I have the same car though and, as silly as I thought the backup camera was at first, now when I can’t use it, I feel a bit blind. For such a reasonably sized car, it’s odd how you can’t see behind you very well.

[Tania]

The three plate solution would be ideal but given it’s Virginia, I’m going to guess it’s not legal.

I could keep the rack folded down BUT I’ve been rear ended at lights before and my old car was hit TWICE in my resident garage (HOW DO YOU HIT A PARKED CAR???) so I feel like making my car longer/bigger would be tempting fate. Too many distracted asshats in the area. Plus, both biceps are painfully bruised from raising and lowering the rack. It’s not all that heavy, but I do have to squat down and use two hands to pull back on the release bar which puts the weight of the rack solely on my biceps. I’m a delicate flower.

I do really like the rack. The sucker is solid.

But, the single plus one that’s now on order will be just as solid.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@hozn 164390 wrote:

If you don’t absolutely *need* to hit the nearest drive-thru for fast food after a hard race or all-day ride, we need your secret!

I used a roof rack for awhile; they do work fine. I was surprised at the noticeably lower fuel economy (w/o bike), but only once did I almost drive my bike into a garage ceiling. It was lucky hat it was on a Honda Prelude so I actually fit under many “low-clearance” bars with my bike on top. I remember being disappointed to not be able to use a drive-thru post race, though, so I definitely will not do roof rack again.

I’ve been through a couple drive-thrus where it was reeeeally close, but none where I just couldn’t get through. One McDonald’s we recently hit had safety bars that were too low, but there wasn’t actually anything in the drive-thru lane that hung out over the car, so I just went wide around the bar and through the drive-thru window like normal. Also, there may have been a hotel we stayed in with a garage where I had to take the bike off first, but most places we’re driving with a bike on top, we’re staying in places with parking lots.

[drevil]

@TwoWheelsDC 164406 wrote:

I’ve been through a couple drive-thrus where it was reeeeally close, but none where I just couldn’t get through. One McDonald’s we recently hit had safety bars that were too low, but there wasn’t actually anything in the drive-thru lane that hung out over the car, so I just went wide around the bar and through the drive-thru window like normal. Also, there may have been a hotel we stayed in with a garage where I had to take the bike off first, but most places we’re driving with a bike on top, we’re staying in places with parking lots.

So many good personal roof rack stories:

1. Day 1 of owning Yakima roof rack – I proudly had my bike on top of the Audi 4000 and tried to enter a parking garage at University of Maryland. I heard the saddle rubbing the ceiling when trying to get the ticket from the machine. I put it in reverse, then BOOM! The whole roof rack popped off the gutter mounts, and it landed squarely on my hood, with the bike still attached. A huge line of cars filled with angry students start honking at me to get out of the way because they’ll be late for class.
2. Second Eff-Up: headed up BW parkway, cruising ~70mph, when I hear a clunk on the roof. I look in the rear view mirror and see my front wheel rolling down the middle of the highway and cars swerving to avoid it. Driver pulls up beside me and motions me to pull over. I thought he was going to chew me out because my wheel hit his car, but he just told it fell off and where to look for it. I lucked out that day that nobody got hurt.
3. Third Eff-Up: I have parked in my old work garage many times with the roof box, but it’s always been in the upper levels. One day I arrive late and they ask me to go to the lower levels because the upper ones are full. I told them I can’t go because the exposed pipes are too low. They say nooooo, you’ll be fine. I give in because I’m late. They motion me towards a specific spot, and I told them no way. They say they’ll watch, and I still tell them no way. They reassure me, and I back up. BANG! The box crunches into a pipe. WTF, over. I yell, they half apologize, but not much more I can do because they’ve hooked me up with the occasional parking discount, and I don’t want them to get into trouble.
4. Fourth Eff-Up: I borrow my mom’s Honda CR-V and mount my bike rack on the factory roof rails. One day I’m rushing out the door with the bike mounted, but our visiting house guests ask if I could drop them off at the Metro. I go into the College Park metro Kiss and Ride as I have multiple times with the bike mounted onto my wife’s Tercel, but nobody reminded me that the CR-V is a little taller than the tiny Tercel. I hit overhead sign and bend it to heck. I also trash $240 seatpost, wreck saddle, and put a sizeable dent on the roof of mom’s CR-V. My frame survived though.
   
5. Final one: I drive 20 miles from my house, through DC, on 395 at speeds up to 65mph. I take the exit, then as I take a slow right turn, the bike falls sideways, only attached by the strap on the rear wheel and the rare time I use a u-lock on the rack, threading it between the chainstay and tray. Nice dent where the handlebar hit the side door.
6. OK, one more: I’m riding with a buddy who mounts his bike on a fork mount, facing backwards, but doesn’t bother putting the rear tire strap on because he thinks it’s no big deal. At 70 mph, the rear of the bike lifts up, pivots, and a pedal goes through his side window. I think he learned his lesson there
   [img]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3249/3049081592_2f30e02382_z.jpg?zz=1[/img]

After primarily using roof racks for 18 years, I get my first hitch rack – a 1UpUSA – in 2009, and I couldn’t be happier. I prefer how much easier it is to access and mount bikes compared to roof racks. My only concern with it is if I’m parking where there is a lot of tight parallel parking because of the possibility of people nudging up against the bike/rack when trying to maneuver into a spot behind me. I think it has happened before and ended up bending/breaking a few parts on the rack. I ordered new parts and it was good as new.

[MFC]

I f-‘ed up twice and then gave up on roof racks. At least for me, the cost of buying the hitch from U-Haul (not using any sort of expedited service) and having them install it was not significantly different that buying the hitch elsewhere and installing it myself. I did get rear-ended once after getting hitch mount rack, and while my bike was not on the rack at the time, the rack went through my rear windshield and sent glass everywhere, making me grateful for shatterproof glass.

[hozn]

Yeah, I bumped my saddle once thinking I could fit into a garage, but I was watching out for it and luckily no one was behind me. I would always ride with the sunrood open on the Prelude to remind myself it was up there. I could not fit under drive-thrus (not that this is something I typically care about). I’ve seen plenty of damage to cars and bikes so won’t buy a roof rack again. I guess this was a bigger deal when I did more mountain biking as I’d be driving the bike around more.
Now the rack is mostly for the occasional race. Since I use it so seldom I usually take the hitch rack off now to avoid just having the steel parts (tongue, hitch) rust out.

[rcannon100]

Maybe we could get Bike Arlington to provide an answer about bike racks and license plates?? (sending them a direct note)

[Author]

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