Roof Mount Question

Last week I had my fatbike fly off of my roof on the highway. The front wheel somehow came loose (QR) and the rest of the bike I assume caught a gust of wind and went flying down the highway. Wondering if anyone has come up with a way to make bikes more secure on their roof racks ? I’m thinking maybe some type of ratcheting system for longer hauls. I use a Rockymounts Tomahawk. Never want this to happen again !

I replaced the plastic straps and buckles that hold the wheel to the tray with some double sided velcro strips that wrap around. Much easier to use and way more secure.

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The only problem I’ve ever had was the Yakima install directions were wrong for my car. The Civic has a different roof in Canada than in the US and it resulted in a loose rack system. Once that was fixed, I’ve never had a problem again. I’m not familiar with Rockymounts.

I lost a bike off a hitch rack a few years ago. Since then, any time I carry a bike on a rack, I add an extra safety bungee for insurance. If the rack lets go then at least the bike will stay connected to the car and not get run over or fly through someone’s windshield.

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Did the front wheel come off the bike? If thats the case, not much would have saved it. I guess you could use this as an excuse to upgrade to a through axle fork.

Extra straps may have kept it on but it’s hard to say for sure. The racks that clamp over the frame rather then over the tries maybe would have kept it on in this situation but its really just a maybe.

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Correct, front wheel was still on top of the car. Somehow the QR let go. Not sure if I can switch to a thru axle but that would have saved me if the front wheel hadn’t let go.

What do you have for a bike? You may be able to find a bot on axle for you front wheel to replace your QR if its given you issues.

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2015 Specialized Fatboy Expert…I’ll have to do some research

Well… according to Specialized your bike should have a 135mm front hub on it, so you might be able to even just swap to a bolt on style QR such as shown below. A regular 135mm QR “should” fit.

Would be far less cash then new fork / hub but still offer some extra peace of mind.

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If it were me, I still might safety strap through the frame for extra insurance. That way if the wheels let go, the frame would still be tethered to the car.

That’s my plan I think. Bike’s and of course lives are too important to have that happen again. It’s a little more work every time but the peace of mind will be worth it.

I think you should take your bike to a shop for service and get it fixed, so you can stop worrying about how to strap it securely to a car.

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Those regular QR’s has been always lousy for me and one of the reason why I ditch fat-biking with no suspension. Everytime I ride them at fight trail they always come loose as those heavy tires and terrain action resonates thru the axles that makes hubs, disc brakes and cogs mis aligned-after heavy use. Thru axle bolt style could help it tightened up s bit but should be in constant check. :call_me_hand:

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wonder if you could do something like this with a set of axel lock washers


Never had a prob with the QRs coming undone, but do have to use two old school toe straps together to ensure the fatbike stays on.